Vinyl vs Streaming

My audiophile buddies that I grew up with; those of us that owned "I Want To Hold Your Hand" on a 45 rpm single; merely say to each other, "I don't get it" referring to the record/vinyl craze.   We are the generation that went vinyl > cassettes/8 track tape > CD's >  streaming.  We would spend so much time trying to take care of our beloved records using a "Discwasher" with every play.  Sometimes using special inside album sleeves.  Being sure to try not and put any finger prints on it, etc.  Yet scratches, ticks, and pops would persist.  Tapes would literally become twisted or caught up in the internal mechanism of the tape player.  Digital is so much better.  The only issue with digital, is lousy recordings (plenty of them) sound even more lousy the higher one travels up the equipment chain.  Now this is not to minimize the nostalgia often associated with vinyl as nostalgia as an important place for all of us emotionally.

Having owned a decent streamer (Moon 280D) for over a year, I appreciate digital more. I have also heard more expensive streamers at my dealers. They sound good and I could live with just streaming. However, when vinyl is good, it's better. No question about it in my mind. Over time I have to replace my favorite albums that have become worn out, but that's not a huge expense.

I have had a turntable all of my audiophile life. I'm old enough when that was the only way to play music, aside from radio. I developed a record collection of several hundred records. When CD came out, I played mostly CDs because my turntable, cartridge, and phono preamp were bottom rung. I was about to get rid of my albums when I read a column by Michael Fraemer giving a few hints on how to improve my analogue experience. This is thirty years ago, so you have to excuse my ignorance. First, he said, get rid of your free RCA cables and buy some decent ones. Following his suggestions and upgrading a bit, my analogue system began to sound better.

Fast forward to today. I have put about $25K into my analogue front end. And I own a thousand records. And I spend money on new records or replacements. Would I suggest an audiophile who is into digital to also get into analogue? No. Too much work and expense. 

I am not a religious person and do not go to services. My stereo and my expesnive espresso maker are the alters at which I worship. So, I don''t mind hassling with records a bit. For anybody who has nurtured the analogue habit for many years, you will know that the rewards are worth it. Nothing sounds as immediate and detailed and alive as a good record on a good analogue rig. And, by the way, I go to live classical, jazz, and rock concerts, so I have the real thing to compare it to.

But digital will just keep getting better and for those not into analogue, I think it makes no sense to begin.

"...just wondering if you ever feel if it's worth all the extra work."

Nope.

Need to start by saying I enjoy the older Conrad Johnson tube sound over modern tube or digital sound, and for me that includes the sound of quality vinyl (jazz, blues, and classic vocals), which in my experience has been original pressings in most cases.

My vinyl experience is less of a hassle than most because I have a rare Aiwa LP-3000 turntable, which was state of art in late 79.  Besides having superb sound quality it's fully automatic. I just drop vinyl, push button and the arm loads and when it's done I just flip album and push button.  If it's an album I am really in the mood for I hit repeat button initially and it will keep playing the album side until I hit the reject button or I can program how many times I want it to repeat.  Also, it has a review button if I want to repeat a certain track I just need to get up and hit button after track is finished.  The TT also can be programmed to play the tracks on a side in your preferred order or selected tracks.  It also came with an even rarer remote, but I have given up searching for that after 5 years.

Several things to take into account.  My most recent comparisons brought to light that, for me, a tube phonostage and an R2R DAC are quite comparable, but then it comes down to preference in taste.  The RIAA EQ sound from vinyl produces quite a different sound than digital, so again, it comes down to taste.

Solid state phonostages and Delta Sigma DACs are comparable, IMO, but it gets down to splitting hairs, and again, personal taste.

There is, however, NO comparison in convenience, and cost.  Streaming wins in that regard.  By the time you invest in a GOOD turntable, cartridge, and phonostage that can even challenge digital, you're knee deep, even before acquiring good, clean vinyl records.