Worth pursuing analog sound from digital?

“on a quality system, with a quality source, they should sound the same“.

I respectfully disagree, they cannot sound the same (close maybe) even if the playback is from the same master file. Everytime I heard and compared, Vinyl and Digital (CD or Streaming) setup, they sounded different not better or worse but different.

The key here is to tweak both setups to your liking and enjoy the music. They both can be very engaging and satisfying.

Analog isn't the only thing, I would never get rid of my digital.

Digital can be enjoyable, even involving, terrific, however:

Digital is a broken chain, no matter how many links, how much you polish those broken links, Digital will/can NEVER be the unbroken chain analog is.

Analog is definitely higher noise, but, higher involvement, go figure. 

I sum it up: Analog gets the overtones right, something digital loses along the way, despite the incredible sampling rates, ........

Track selection, replay, play lists, FREE, EASY: digital's the answer,

Experiencing the Artist's conceived presentation of their chosen play list, in the order presented, is a part of LP, (and Reel to Reel, 8 track, cassette, ...)

New LPs, or Used LP's in great shape sound terrific, any minimal noise disappears within the achieved involvement.

Old LP's, with their dust, scratches, clicks, pops, you won't play them, except to remember something.

Before CD, we trained our brains to filter out noise, hear the content. Noiseless forever digital was a dream, but turned out to be less than nirvana. We had to re-acquire the ability to filter the noise inherent in Analog, then, back to more immersive involvement.

R2R, TT, they need/take prime surface to operate them, and the content takes space. And $ to acquire content. R2R, TT, both systems require acquired skills to get their high potential. 

And, let me add, amplification, it's the same, transistors were the instant on, less heat, more affordable dream, again, just not nirvana, not Analog like tube amplification is,

so

IF Analog LP, then Analog Tube Amps, therefore, start with efficient speakers so that power requirements are reduced.

How about cutting me a little slack. Even the same system with the same source sounds different in different rooms. Hel-loo! It’s the nature of the beast.

I also bought a Nuwave DAC. It was good for the price. I then bought a Directstream DAC. WOW! It is a killer. Very analogue sounding. I see that the price for used ones has slipped recently. TMR has one for $2799.00 I think. You will not regret buying it. Joe

In my case it was easier to get analog to sound more like digital. I've got a decent analog chain (Denon DP47f, Krell KPE) and I upgraded my cartridge to a Hana SL. With the Hana the sound of analog and digital are remarkably close.

I've never had listener fatigue from digital - I got my first CD player in the 80's. In fact, the opposite is true. I am particularly sensitive to clicks, pops, and vinyl distortion from wear on the record. Listening to a worn vinyl record is stressful to me and many times I will turn it off halfway through. The clicks, pops, and distortion have the effect of focusing my attention to the defects and I find myself literally grinding my teeth.

CDs were a blessing from the start. Yes, there are some very poorly transferred CDs and I don't listen to them. But I have several hundred CDs and records of the same recording and the great majority of them sound pretty darn similar.  I have always been able to listen to CDs for hours without fatigue. The great majority of my audio goosebumps have come from listening to CDs.

I have had a succession of CD players (8 players, 2 transports and 2 DACs) and they have steadily gotten better. I now have a Marantz SA8005 for SACDs, a Krell KAV 250/2 for HDCDs, a Denon DVD 3800bcdi for Blu Ray HD Audio, and a PSA PerfectWave II DAC and Transport for regular CDs. Whatever millercarbon is hearing is just foreign to me and I couldn't be more thankful. Music from CDs have given me thousands of hours of enjoyment and have made my life better.