How many of you are digital only systems?

100% digital 20 years ago. Now going Qobuz HiRes streaming.

@yermajesty:

"In my experience, digital did sound harsh . . . in the early days of CDs." 

Yeah; my first Sony CDP in the early 90's sounded terribly metallic and shrill. I  switched to a Denon, which was definitely better but nothing like my current Moon transport + Aqua DAC combo.

"And to me, vinyl has always sounded more natural than digital does."

Well, OK.  Each to his/her own. You're certainly not alone in this regard. Vinyl does indeed sound different to me than CD but on good systems, I have no preference. I hear nothing that impels me to seize upon vinyl as a "benchmark". Perhaps I simply haven'y yet heard a sufficiently costly  vinyl system but I have friends with systems costing at least 50K and to my ears their vinyl systems are not superior to my 25K digital system. Others would no doubt reach a different conclusion.    

I'd agree that it's far easier to assemble a fatiguing-sounding digital system. When I decided to move from a CDP to a separate DAC and transport and began demo'ing DACs, I was astonished by the differences.
Some were so resolving that to me, all sense of the "forest" was lost, due to the severe overaccentuation of focus upon the "trees". I could not imagine how anyone could possibly enjoy such an "unnatural" presentation. Nevertheless, I found it helpful in my selection process to hear DACs on both ends of the spectrum.

This process led me to conclude that it's more important to know what one's preferences are as a listener, when going digital, as opposed to   vinyl.  And such knowledge can only come from experience, so perhaps it makes sense for beginners ought to start out with vinyl. 

@stuartk, Great points all. I plan to see Rick about a first-rate digital streaming device next month . . . maybe even before I add a "Keel" to my LP12. What's your recommendation for a current digital streaming device?

Thank you.

decided to move from a CDP to a separate DAC and transport and began demo'ing DACs, I was astonished by the differences.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found out my 
cayin CD17 6922 tube player , very close to 
my Shanling 3000 6922 tube player
and the Jadis DAC Entry model(Shanling as Transport)  just a  tad superior to the Shanling DAC .
All 3 are  well crafted and all 3 sound excellent.
What did make a gain in the Jadis DAC are 4 new high teck JFET opamps, 4 duals. 
My Philips phono sounds  only a  miniscule superior to a  tube DAC which has these JFET's  in the opamp slots. 
IOW these new opamps have really made nice gains in tube DAC's/players. 

@yermajesty:

I'm sorry-- I'm afraid I'm no help in that regard as I'm firmly wedded to the physical medium of CDs. Having to interact with yet another electronic screen holds little appeal for me. Plus, I'm old-fashioned (and old) -- I like being able to hold a CD case, read liner notes, etc. 

Sounds like you have a local dealer whom you trust and who knows your system. -- if he'll allow you to bring gear home to try out, I'd certainly start there.