vinyl versus digital redux


Has anyone compared the sound of vinyl with the sound of digital converted from a vinyl intermediary ?

I am referring to 'rips' of vinyl made with high end, high quality vinyl playback systems, with
conversion to high resolution digital.
I find it nearly impossible to distinguish the two results.
The digital rip of a vinyl record sounds identical...or very nearly so...to direct playback of the vinyl.

If one has 'experienced' the foregoing, one might question why digital made without the intermediary of vinyl sounds so different from vinyl.   A detective story ?

We are talking about vinyl made by ADC (analog to digital conversion) of an amplified microphone signal and re-conversion to analog for output to the record cutting lathe, or from analog tape recording of an amplified microphone signal, and then....as above...via ADCl and back to analog for output to the cutting lathe.

Of course vinyl can be and is 'cut' (pressings made from 'stamper' copies the 'master' cut in lacquer) without digital intermediary.  Such practice is apparently uncommon, and ?? identified as such by the 'label' (production)

Has anyone compared vinyl and high resolution digital (downloads) albums offered by the same 'label' of the same performance ?  Granted, digital versus vinyl difference should diminish with higher digital resolution.   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.

If vinyl and digital well made from vinyl intermediary sound almost identical, and If vinyl and digital not made via vinyl intermediary sound quite different, what is the source of this difference ? 

Could it reside....I'll skip the sound processing stages (including RIAA equalization)...in the electro-mechanical process imparting the signal to the vinyl groove ?

Is there analogy with speaker cone material and the need for a degree of self-damping ?
Were self-damping not to some extent desirable, would not all speaker cones, from tweeter to sub-woofer, be made of materials where stiffness to weight ratio was of sole importance ?

Thanks for any comments.
seventies

It seems that the latest posts are from technicians or engineers, as opposed to "high end" music lovers.


The reason I specified "high end" is because most of the qualities pertaining to high end audio gear can not be measured; as a matter of "fact", after the engineers finish with Audio Research amps, they give them to audiophiles who don't even know Ohms law for final tuning based on their educated ears.

I have earned a living as an electronics technician, and I am a devotee of high end audio equipment. We begin where specifications end; that is in the subconscious audio realm in regard to the subjective evaluation of the music.

Presently, I'm listening to a new noiseless record that has me in a state of quiet euphoria. Were I to compare it to a CD, I already know the difference; "some of the emotional component would be missing"; we call that "musicality". The only meter qualified to measure such a quality resides in the mind, which is located somewhere in the brain.

Like many of the finer things in life, this love for high end analog is left for the connoisseurs of such things to enjoy, while those with less sophisticated taste look on.
That is why those of use who are true audio....connoisseurs drive a manual.
Atmasphere, what is wrong with digital signal processing assuming it is used correctly? I know it is easy to screw things up, done correctly.
Many a recording engineer and many an audiophile would disagree with that comment on DSP. The recording engineer because he uses it to emulate analog sound and the audiophile who raves over the result not knowing why ... They just like it.

Orpheus the topic is can digital capture and playback vinyl such that it is indistinguishable.  Many with very good systems, and even with very experienced listening skills would argue yes if done right.   There is no audiophile magic in this.

 
audio2design, no, there is no magic, but you must have the right equipment; this plus I changed a card in my computer to enable a smooth conversion of the analog to digital process.


https://benchmarkmedia.com/products/benchmark-adc1-usb-audio-converter


The people who would benefit from doing what I have done were too busy saying it could not be done instead of doing it. Now it's possible that they are correct, because it can not be done if what's needed to do it is no longer available.

How sweet it is to lay in bed and enjoy your vinyl collection in all it's glory, the same as if you were dropping the needle on the LP, at 3:00 in the morning (I sleep sporadically)


Enjoy the music.