1. Home
  2. misc-audio
  3. 167679-89202

Listening to digital and analog

Assuming there is a difference in the nature of analog sound compared to digital sound (as I do,) there are different ways of listening to each.  To me, analog is more textured and real sounding, (some, or many  may not agree)  but does that mean it’s not possible to enjoy digital sound?  On the contrary, I must adapt a different way of listening that doesn’t actively compare the two.  If one keeps the analog ideal always in mind, it makes it difficult to appreciate digital music. Therefore I have to block that ideal from my mind and listen to digital on its own terms. It must generate its own reality.  Only then, can I sit back and enjoy.
rvpiano
kennyc
2,961 posts
 
@rvpiano
but does that mean it’s not possible to enjoy digital sound?
This is your personal subjective opinion not supported by the robust sales of digital gear, media, and streaming. If you’re asking can one enjoy their digital audio as much as analog is also highly subjective AND it depends on the quality of your audio chain.

Although the audio quality of digital components are growing rapidly, the sound approaches analog at significantly higher price points such as MSB, dCS, Soulution, Lampi, etc. The cheapest “analog sounding” DACs I’ve found is the $10K Mojo Mystique or the $15k APL Hi-FI DSD-SR mk2 (this DAC was designed to sound analog).  

Maybe you’ll enjoy a tube DAC, like the $3k PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC, better than your current component.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,740 posts
 
glad both camps of creators seek to best the other…..some of us continue to invest in digital, the LP and high speed tape and enjoy the music, very rarely available….wait for it……on all three formats….

Music lover and Audiophile…


speakermaster
738 posts
 
Digital is more picky on quality of speaker and amplifier but when your system is setup up correctly with the necessary components and speakers both are magic and you just pick the best recordings on either format and enjoy.
kennyc
2,961 posts
 
@tomic601
and high speed tape 
Ha- I’m barely surviving building my analog+digital chains.  Adding R2R plus tape media would not pass WAF and my bank account.  Survival trumps audio bliss.
midareff1
182 posts
 
I'm forever amused by those who spend a couple hundred bucks on a streamer and then run it through a dozen year old processor and post their $80,000 (or way more) analogue setup is way superior to it. 

Digital runs from the wall out....  plug, AC lines and conditioning, streamer, processor and then on to the rest of the system.  Treat and tweak digital the same way you did your analogue system including running the streamer on a good router and good Ethernet cables, be sure your streamer to DAC is on the best sounding cable for that link, and DAC to preamp, and so forth.  Do the work and you will get the sound.
More to discover