Will a $700 turntable outperform a CD player?

it's ok to have both, then you'll know

Why such an insistence on either/or? I'm quite pleased by the various vinyl or streaming fashionistas who declare the cd dead, as they're loading up the shops with their discards. My collection grows each week as I raid the local record store; the proprietor, maybe the most interesting and knowledgeable guy, musically speaking, I've ever met says cd's are inconsequential to his concerns, even as he stocks the best selection I've ever encountered and prices classic cd's as low as a dollar. Vinyl may be his bread and butter, but his stock respects a much broader taste.  

I like vinyl very much, having recently purchased a table and a decent selection of good pressings of (mostly jazz) albums. But holy hell, the prices are exorbitant. $54 for a Three Blind Mice label record? $35 for an Impex Records pressing? I get that using analogue masters are pricey, but I have a mortgage and children's braces to pay for. And as paulburnett notes above, even poorly-done reissues, made from digital sources, cost silly money these days.

How about recognizing that "the more the merrier" makes good sense here, instead of claiming that "putting up with digital" is some kind of audio sloppy seconds? 

To reply to the question: It all depends, right? 

It seems like you need to spend around $2 towards a vinyl rig to equal $1 on the digital rig. That is my experience anyway. That is just the equipment. That doesn’t factor in the expensive audiophile pressings that really bring things to life.

That said, I prefer vinyl. I like the ritual of playing lps and love the sound. I’m way deeper (cost wise) into vinyl so I can out‐preform my modest streamer and DAC. I’m ultimately ok with this though. I guess it just depends what you like ultimately.

Definitely all depends. Some of my vinyl sounds better than digital and vice versa depending on release. CDs played on a good 21st century transport always sounds equal or better than the Redbook file. Many tracks are indistinguishable between Redbook & HiRez. I know what music I like and much of it is not available on vinyl. 90% of all recordings are Redbook. 

I’ve been playing records since 1965. That was on my dad’s Garrard and HH Scott receiver and Wharfdale speakers. I enjoy records immensely!

i also have CDs. I also have streaming digital sources. 

I dont spend a lot on vinyl, not on my (14) turntables, nor cartridges (82). I inherited 4,000 LPs from my folks. My mother worked as Quality Manager for Columbia Records pressing plant in California, 1955-1967. I’ve added just under 1,000 LPs myself. Mostly eBay and thrift stores. 

All of the digital sources I have only serve as an expensive convenience, and to verify just how good all the vinyl sounds. 

When i want REALLY GREAT listening, it’s from vinyl.

All this talk of spending $1,000s for a vinyl setup is absolute garbage. Not necessary. 

And, if digital is so great, why the preoccupation with searching for the best DAC? Absolute garbage, too! Don’t you know?? Digital is perfect already!