Will a $700 turntable outperform a CD player?

Sometimes, but it all depends upon the recording.

I once heard a basic Pro-Ject deck (way under $700) playing an Elvis LP totally outperform a Sony ES CD player playing back the same songs. The CD sounded flat and restrained, whilst the LP had punch and drive.

I must also add that it wasn’t a case of like for like because the LP and CD were different compilations. I don’t know if it’s just me but Elvis on CD has always tended to sound a little too polite whereas on the other hand The Smiths on CD can sound at least as good the vinyl releases. Louder Than Bombs sounded great on CD.

Mastering matters more than format in many cases as I don’t think any CD player at any price would have matched the vinyl cut in that example, not with that CD.

I’m guessing that since albums recorded before 1980 were cut with vinyl in mind, their later CD counterparts are always going to be nothing more or nothing less than digital interpretations of the originals according to the mastering engineer responsible.

Similarly most recordings after 1990 would have been mastered for Compact Disc, so any vinyl issues would again be mastering interpretations of the original digital recording.

This makes it very difficult to compare like for like when it comes to comparing vinyl and digital recordings as you’re not only hearing different formats but different masterings too.

@cal91:  Think of all the exercise you could be getting if you had to keep getting up to tend the turntable.  As the old say goes, “Use it or lose it!”  😉😆

A lot of it is truly (as people have said here) personal taste.  I am one of those who have never felt the CD sound was right.  My ears keep telling me something is amiss.

Before my Nos dac, all other sigma one sounded harsh with unnatural instrument timbre....

Before implementing the controlling methods i use for the mechanical resonance embeddings, the electrical house embeddings, and the most important acoustical room embeddings, all my sigma dac never sound right... 


With a modest NOS dac, Starting point Systems, and all the embeddings under my controls.... Upgrading to a costlier dac never comes to my mind again....This NOS dac kills all my sigma one to oblivion even a well known  good one...

Conclusion: Any piece of electronic component in an audio system cannot be at his S.Q. potential level without these embeddings controls.... This is the lesson in my audio journey.... :)

Yes and no.It depends .But I still love getting good cds now for like a buck.Yesterday I got Tin Machine first and Miles Davis Essential double cd never opened both for 2 bucks .20 years ago they would of cost 30 bucks .They sound excellent. I'm old school ,I  like having the cd of lp .