Sound quality of new vinyl recordings.

OP,

Your last comment really brings up a lot of subjects.

On my system, digital and analog sound “the same”. Very, very close. To verify this it has taken all sorts of tests, attempting to get the exact same masters… etc. it gets really complicated. For one thing, vinyl masters deteriorate very quickly, so the pressing number in the series has an impact… not so in digital. But I listen to music about three hours a day and switch among streaming and vinyl… I have long since given up CDs and stored files as streaming is equal or better. But it is really clear that with the right equipment… digital can equal analog in sound quality. Unless we are talking about really good systems… greater than $250K… where analog wins because of its greater resolution.

So, here is the point. If you are constrained… let’s say to a system less than $20K… then vinyl can constitute a really compelling case… it can sound better than digital. But as your system gets better… digital can sound as good for the same amount of money. So, now the dilemma. If you are building a better system over time… then you will quickly reach better quality by investing in only digital… since spreading your investment into two technologies reduces the sound quality in both.

My analog end and digital end were about exactly equal at $45K digital and $42K analog. I am not sure why, but I have increased my investment by about $12K in $3K increments over the last year and a half. So, my analog rig sounds a little bit better… but, it depends on the recording. I just have to stop doing this!

This relates to recording quality in that what you hear is highly effected by the quality of the equipment you use to reproduce it. 

to me, digital would win, based on "average" sound quality. It varies a lot less than vinyl. I don’t have money for expensive albums, so half of my collection is pretty poor quality. But about 10% of my LPs is way better than any CD, as it has been described many times: it has a soul, ambience, nostalgia, authenticity, it’s natural and has no digital characteristics (on my system, it’s brightness, unnatural highs, "scratchiness")

It also has to do with the type of music, soon after CDs surpassed vinyl, I think digital became preferred and both our ears and producing music adapted to digital. I have no vinyl from the 90s and most of my CDs are pretty flawless. (e.g. Dylan vs U2)

@grislybutter 

I agree and have observed this as well. Vinyl has a greater variability in sound quality. Which I attribute to the mechanical pressing process (right or wrong). 
 

I continue with vinyl because it has been the best (or only) option for about sixty years of my life… I am 70 now. If I was under 50 I would not bother with it. 

Not a fan of putting modern digital masters on an inherently noisy and  flawed 100 year old format. 
 

Granted the packaging can be very nice. 

@ghdprentice and I know close to 0 about streaming.

We are probably the two opposite examples - system-wise, your system is as good as it gets (I know you keep improving it) and I don't just have poor albums but very basic components as well, that don't help.

That said, there are CDs that just suck too. I guess we either have good sources pre 80s or we don't - which 90% of what I listen to.