I could not hear a difference between Analog and digital...... what gives ?

Noromance- I just ordered it with a 30 day in home trial period and will get it Monday. Let it break in over Christmas week and will know more by the 1st of the year if it’s a keeper. The unit is made completely different than what I have today. My current dac is fpga based with no more updates and this new dac isn’t fpga based.

Hi OP

I had the same journey / experience in the past. At first it was the Phono Pre-amp that was not good match. my analog was sounding poorly as compared to my digital, I then replaced it and even upgraded my Cart. and the journey moved on. Assuming you had stated that you did your comparisons correctly and tested it with proper controls. then IMO, why you are observing such that you cannot tell the difference is because maybe your downstream gear cannot resolve the difference. I am assuming that your hearing is very good and you can DISCERN difference in Tone, PRAT, spatial presentation. 

I experience these phenomena that I could not discern a difference between analog and digital. so, I wondered why analog as some people say, can sound better

BUT as I journey and started replacing cables and matching components, I started to hear improvements. so, in the end, Yes Analog can be Good or even Better, but that is a matter of opinion.  For me, I run Streaming 90% of the time and subscribe to Tidal. but on weekends of nights that I want to hear the same recordings on Vinyl, then I start up my Analog setup, and I get a different kind of music presentation, that I (my opinion only) sounds better, more engaging, sounding more as other people say, a bit more surreal. 

Let me be clear, both digital and analog today is very close and sounds so real, that like others have posted, either one is Best to one’s hearing enjoyment

@hjdca 

It sounds like you’re in a good place. There’s a couple of comments that I’d make.

Firstly, you can never be sure that the mastering is the same when comparing formats. In the case of vinyl, it is always going to be different.

Secondly, the different formats all have their pros and cons. In an idea world, I’d have them all to get the best mastering. 

Beyond that, I think choosing between formats is a matter of personal preference. My choice is vinyl, but that’s only me. You may feel differently. The main thing is that you're happy with what you’re hearing.

Many times the differences are miniscule to nonexistent.  Also, it has been my experience that very often the person who make the biggest noise about differences turns out to be the big phonus balonus.  That is true for all things pursuant to audio and has been so since forever.  You have already been given excellent advice in this thread to which I can only repeat to you; don't worry about it, instead enjoy the music. 

A OP - Michael Fremer did the same comparison:

"As for the DCC, I would never bet against the house of Hoffman/Gray, then operating at Artisan and the DCC is a model of good EQ taste and clarity, plus a fine 180g RTI pressing. Just for the hell of it, I also listened to the DCC gold CD. Give me a break! Martin Barre plays a descant recorder (a small, inexpensive wooden wind instrument in the key of C) on, among other tracks 'Mother Goose.' It's 'flutey' and 'woody' and 'airy' and 'round' on all of the LP editions. You can barely hear it on the CD."

It might be worth playing that passage. If the recorder is unclear on both the CD and LP, then it suggests that hearing damage (ref your comment about shooting) is at issue and that limited hearing bandwidth is homogenising the sound - further exacerbated by the fact that McIntosh does tend to have a common sonic signature as well.