vinyl versus digital redux

seventies

Sound waves are sine waves....air waves do not ’travel’ in digital bits. A digital signal cannot be more than an approximation of a sine wave, but a closer approximation as potential digital resolution (equating to bit depth times sampling frequency) increases.

This is a widely shared belief but it is a misnomer. Provided the signal is within bandwidth to satisfy Nyquist Theorem, the sine wave can be reproduced exactly.
Remember that Nyquist isn’t a theory - it’s a theorem.

If you can’t get your head around the math, this guy offers a pretty good visual demonstration.
mijostyn

My phono stage runs through an ADC into 24/192 digital to digital processor ... Conversion back and forth into and out of 24/192 digital is invisible (inaudible).

Like @mijostyn, I can make outstanding quality digital files from LP that I think are indistinguishable from the LP source. It requires good equipment and it’s a tedious process, but it’s do-able.

I’ve also made several digital 16/44 copies of vinyl albums. I keep it simple - each digital copy has two tracks Side A and Side B.
I do no need to have a digital recording of each track

On playback on my audio system I am unable to discern and difference between the the two sources.

My reason for doing this is so I can enjoy the digital version of the album in any other part of the house/garden on a streaming device and NOT have to setup a more elaborate solution.

I use a Behringer UCA222 - comes with Audacity software
https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0A31

But you will need a pre-out (or tape out) on your amp

Regards - Steve

willewonka and cleeds and others,
1. I am gratified to hear that audiophiles like yourselves with high end equipment cannot discern the difference between vinyl played 'directly' and vinyl converted to hi resolution digital....as has been my experience.
So why does vinyl sound different (I would say very different) from digital without intermediate conversion of a digital signal to vinyl ?
2. Regarding the Nyquist theorem, sampling at the 'Nyquist rate' can capture 100% of the information contained in a sine wave.
But we are talking about digital encoding of that signal, a very different matter.  With one-bit encoding, for example, DSD employs a sampling rate of 64 times the 'Nyquist' frequency, and on up to quadruple that number.
3. So why purchase a lp from, for example. Presto Classical (the British vendor) as opposed to a 24/192 version pf the same album ?
Why don't the 'labels' offer ultra  high end digital conversions of
those lp's....to DSD, DXD, your choice ?
I see huge savings in postage, storage space, and of course ease of playback.
So why ???
Regards to all, 'seventies'.

The answer is that vinyl contains euphonious distortions and artifacts that are accurately captured and passed through a hi-res digital recording. I’m saying this as someone who records vinyl to DSD128, and generally prefers these recordings to HD Tracks hi-res digital downloads of the same material.

I do differ with others insofar as my DSD128 vinyl recordings do not quite equal the vinyl source played entirely in the analog domain. But they are close enough.

@seventies - what I said was - I cannot tell the difference between the vinyl and the digital AS PLAYED & RECORDED on MY system 

Let's not forget the many nuances of musical reproduction...

From a piece of vinyl.
- the details of the master cutting and subsequent pressing
- the sound of te actual cartridge
- the mounting of the cartridge - impacts sound/tone
- VTA - Toe-up or down, changes the sound to suit a person's hearing
- the cables/connectors involved
- the phono stage

From a digital source file.
- how the data is transferred to the DAC
- the cables used
- the abilities of the DAC
- the abilities of the DAC's analogue stage

Even before you posted - I listened to an album that I have in both formats from the record company - the digital download was 16/44 
- from  a "fidelity" perspective, I could NOT hear any difference.

But that is NOT the case with ALL albums
- e.g. for some reason my Peter Gabriel album, SO, sounds much better on vinyl. Again, the cutting/pressing process may account for this.

Some Albums are exquisitely recorded in analogue and then reproduced in digital
- in this case the vinyl has 100% of the signal
- whereas the digital does not really have 100%
- doesn't it stand to reason the vinyl should sound more "complete"?

The Nyquist Rate, whilst providing significant scientific evidence as to why digital should work, does not really factor in everybody's hearing abilities.

The ear is an extremely sensitive "instrument" and is different, person to person - in some cases NOT so sensitive :-)

Also, don't forget the "romantic" allure of vinyl. The pops and crackles that add to the "charm" of older recordings

AND those readable vinyl covers
- you get great artwork, sometimes words and thoughts of the artist
- you may get them on a CD, but you need  microscope to read them
- not very "appealing".

Also, if you attend a live performance - there is crowd & venue noise, artist/band mistakes and ad-libs
- with vinyl there are the pops and crackles to add "COLOR" 
- with digital there is just "perfect music"
- which actually sounds a bit too clinical for many ears..

When I started in this hobby there was no digital
- when it came out I switched - I liked the cleaner sound
- my vinyl rig was not very good and the CD player was much better than the TT
- then I started to improve the analogue rig

Today - I can listen to either - if not for the pops and crackles, they both [provide about the same level of "fidelity" and enjoyment

My older pressings - going back to around 1954 will always sound better on vinyl - complete with pops and crackles.

The newer albums sound great in digital - better dynamics and imaging

The ones in between? - depends on MY mood and whether there is a a glass of scotch in play :-)

One album I have is Annie Lennox singing some oldies
- it has some pops and crackles and it adds to the charm.
- It definitely would NOT sound as nice in digital
- this is album I recorded WITH pops and crackles, as mentioned above
- sounds great anywhere I play it.

No real answer to your post, but hopefully some insight into the more  "human" side of vinyl

Regards - Steve