In today’s world digital can be very comparable and as satisfying as vinyl. In general, it will cost a little more to get digital to sound as good as analog but I would say it is very much worth the money. While you can go the CD route, it is rather a dead end. About ten years ago I bought a very good CD player (Sim Moon 650D) which was already marketed as a CD player / DAC. That can be a good way to go… at some point adding a high quality streamer to this you can have streamed music at CD quality or higher (much content like Qobuz is of higher resolution than CD. I ran a VPI Aries and Van den Hull Frog back then. If you make a good choice of streamer (think turntable) and DAC (think phono stage) and invest about the same amount as your TT/phono stage you will probably have a pretty satisfying digital end. If you invest 25% or more additional funds into your digital end can be equal. But you have access to nearly infinite music for $14.99 / month. This is clearly the way forward.
To do this you have to make smart choices in equipment like you have on your analog end. But it is absolutely worth it. You need to immerse yourself in understanding the sounds of different DACs and Streamers. Don’t worry about the technology, read lots of professional reviews and if you can listen to some. If you can go to a high end audio dealer and tell them you want to listen to their best digital system. Once you hear it is really achievable then you can comfortably start work.
I struggled with the deficiencies in digital for decades. And made strides, but not until the last few years finally realized what it took (for me buying a good streamer). You don’t have to get equipment as good as mine to achieve a satisfying digital end… you have a different system and budget. You can see mine by clicking on my user name.
Right now my analog end is about 25% less in cost than my digital end. My analog end has a bit better detail and air. But both are completely satisfying and I listen to 90% streaming as opposed to 75% vinyl. I have 2,000 CDs which I never touch… work well as sound diffusers.
To do this you have to make smart choices in equipment like you have on your analog end. But it is absolutely worth it. You need to immerse yourself in understanding the sounds of different DACs and Streamers. Don’t worry about the technology, read lots of professional reviews and if you can listen to some. If you can go to a high end audio dealer and tell them you want to listen to their best digital system. Once you hear it is really achievable then you can comfortably start work.
I struggled with the deficiencies in digital for decades. And made strides, but not until the last few years finally realized what it took (for me buying a good streamer). You don’t have to get equipment as good as mine to achieve a satisfying digital end… you have a different system and budget. You can see mine by clicking on my user name.
Right now my analog end is about 25% less in cost than my digital end. My analog end has a bit better detail and air. But both are completely satisfying and I listen to 90% streaming as opposed to 75% vinyl. I have 2,000 CDs which I never touch… work well as sound diffusers.