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Vinyl vs. top-notch digital

I have never had an analogy rig. My CD player is a Meridian 800, supposedly one of the very best digital players out there. From what I've read, it appears there is a consensus in our community that a high-quality analog rig playing a good pressing will beat a top notch digital system playing a well-recorded and mastered CD. So here are my questions:

1) How much would one have to invest in analog to easily top the sound quality of the Meridian 800 (or similar quality digital player)? (Include in this the cost of a phono-capable preamp; my "preamp" right now is a Meridian 861 digital surround processor.)

2) How variable is the quality of LPs? Are even "bad" LPs still better than CD counterparts?

Thank you for any comments and guidance you can provide.
jeff_arrington

Showing 1 response by grannyring

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
I think great digital does indeed sound better than vinyl. One basic reason, I cannot get past all the noise with even the best of vinyl systems. All those clicks and pops etc - they drive me crazy and get in the way of the music for me.

I hear to much noise for my liking.

Sure, noise can be greatly reduced with lots of cleaning effort etc, but I still hear those clicks and pops.

That said, vinyl does indeed sound better if one can get past this reality. I cannot.

I wish I could as I do think vinyl sounds more "natural".

Bill
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