Wow, that's a hard one to answer. I've had a number of tt setups through the years $1.5k to $8k total price of analog setup. My digital setup is at about $8k. I seem to be in a tiny minority (perhaps a minority of 1), but I prefer my present digital to the equivalent price analog setup. Both are very carefully setup, modded, no excuse setups.
Yes, the analog is smoother, less mechanical sounding (all my tt setups have been), they also have richer harmonics. I consistently have problems with analog dynamics and resolution (detail). I may be the only one in the world with these criticisms but I know what I hear. I'm further modding my phono stage and purchasing a much higher cost cartridge in the near run. I suspect my analog setup will cost well over $10K to compete with my digital. And my digital setup is not state of the art, I've heard better.
Yes, the analog is smoother, less mechanical sounding (all my tt setups have been), they also have richer harmonics. I consistently have problems with analog dynamics and resolution (detail). I may be the only one in the world with these criticisms but I know what I hear. I'm further modding my phono stage and purchasing a much higher cost cartridge in the near run. I suspect my analog setup will cost well over $10K to compete with my digital. And my digital setup is not state of the art, I've heard better.