Does Anyone Think CD is Better Than Vinyl/Analog?


I am curious to know if anyone thinks the CD format (and I suppose that could include digital altogether) sounds better than vinyl and other analog formats. Who here has gone really far down both paths and can make a valid comparison? So far, I have only gone very far down the CD path and I just keep getting blown away by what the medium is capable of! I haven’t hit a wall yet. It is extremely dependent on proper setup, synergy and source material. Once you start getting those things right, the equipment gets out of the way and it can sound more fantastic than you can imagine! It’s led me to start developing a philosophy that goes something like this: Digital IS “perfect sound forever”; it’s what we do to the signal between the surface of the CD and the speaker cone that compromises it.” 
So I suppose what I’m asking for is stories from people who have explored both mediums in depth and came to the conclusion that CD has the most potential (or vice versa - that’s helpful too). And I don’t simply mean you’ve spent a lot of money on a CD player. I mean you’ve tinkered and tweaked and done actual “research in the lab,” and came back with a deep understanding of the medium and can share those experiences with others.

In my experience, the three most important things to get right are to find a good CD player (and good rarely means most expensive in my experience) and then give it clean power. In my case, I have modified my CD player to run off battery power with DC-DC regulators. The last thing that must be done right is the preamp. It’s the difference between “sounds pretty good” and “sounds dynamic and realistic.”
128x128mkgus
While I would rather have music in HD which is basically a digital copy of the master tape (be it analog or digital master), CD is better than vinyl if your goal is to hear what is on the master recording.

Why? 

Vinyl has VERY LIMITED dynamic range physically. CD is close to 50% better with HD files being MUCH better than that. If you want to hear 1/2 of a snare drum crack - listen to vinyl.

Vinyl's "warmth" is actually second degree harmonic distortion. Why on God's green Earth would you pay for that killer $10,000 preamp and then feed it a distorted source. Again, a physical liability of vinyl which is an AGE OLD format and not reflective of today's best audio reproduction technologies.

I get it if you are digitally burned out and like listening to music in the order the engineer, producer and artist wanted. I get it if you like holding the record and reading the liner notes. I get it if you like shopping for music on speculation and being able to buy worn out old records for a buck or two. I get all of that.

But then again for $15 per month, you can get Amazon Music and have a TON of music in HD, meta data on nearly every record EVER MADE with iPad access that is superior in all ways to the above setup. 
"Digital is more accurate.  Analog is more interesting." - me, talking about color film vs CMOS sensors, but it probably applies here, too.

SACD from my Sony SCD777 was VERY interesting.
When CDs require a special anti-static brush, a special mat, a lockdown clamp, a tonearm with riser, cleaning before each use, a supplemental preamp for MC, periodic re-calibration and cartridge replacement, meticulous handling and storage, etc., I will consider going back to vinyl. Until then I will stick with quality CDs.
There seems to be a group of people who keep saying...'who cares about the format...it's about the music...or 'it's up to you which you decide to go with' etc. 

The real question can never be answered if you keep changing the conversation. We have the freedom to think/say whatever we want...but the general consensus from my recent inquiries in the interwebs is that R2R is the best listening format, followed by the LP and then CDs.

(I listen to mostly LP...no way I'm gonna invest in R2R until the recording industry goes back to tape. Just like some people aren't going back to LP)

You can argue the technological math but the many actual ears are affirming otherwise.

Hi-res digital is another factor but I imagine that R2R will prevail if the original masters were tape. 




Anyone who has ears can hear that vinyl is far superior to digital. If you can’t hear the difference, you don’t have audio ears.