Does anyone have a digital system that is as involving as their analogue front end?

When I started my hifi odyssey in 1974 I was an 18yr old college freshman. Vinyl and 4-track reel to reel tape recorders were the thing, along with 100w stereo amplifiers and heavy wood cabinet speakers that could push a lot of air. After decades of collecting thousands of LP’s, CD’s, and tapes in every possible format, the advent of music streaming was a godsend because now I don’t have to physically go thru my music library to listen to the music that I like. 
 

 I built my home system around my Chord TT2 DAC and Mscaler, and then I specifically chose the best components, interconnects, power supplies, a power conditioner, and a good passive RFI/EMI filter, that I believe gets me to about 95% of how I think the very best analog systems that I’ve heard sound. I use Roon to pick music from Qobuz because it gives me access to literally millions of recorded tracks and artists. Plus with wifi my family can play anything they want in any room or on the go. 

 I still love dusting off my vintage Thorens turntable and spinning records. The entire tactile process is immensely satisfying in its own way. You definitely don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to get there if you’re like me and listen to music and not your gear. 

@audphile1 

I don't know when it's arriving. I just bought it yesterday. They haven't shipped it yet. I'd estimate about a week. I still listen to my streamer. It's not terrible, just a bit dead and flat compared to analogue. A well-recorded violin on a decent analogue record sounds like it's in the room. Not on my Moon 280D.

This distinction between analogue and digital is interesting, though. I had audiophile friends who simply could not hear the difference between a record and a CD. They did not see the point of buying an analogue rig. And a lot of my CDs sound very good. I have a McCormack UDP-1 which was made from premium parts 25 years ago. It still sounds good, and a bit better when I use the Moon 280D's DAC. I'm sure they will sound even better with the Meitner's DAC. I'll let you know.

I have more than one digital front end that sounds a lot better/runs circles around my analog front end or any analog front end. 

You can't pull a carriage with a cat, even if it is a expensive cat that was fed muscle milk and made to believe it had audiophile street cred. On the contrary, you'll need a horse to pull a carriage. Even a mediocre horse will cake walk through it.

Good luck.

Does anyone have a digital system that is as involving as their analogue front end?

@deep_333 

I think the analogue/digital issue is partly subjective. As I said in my last post, I have audiophile friends who simply do not hear what I do regarding analogue. Digital can have a kind of precision that a lot of analogue rigs can't match. What I have never heard from digital, however, is the "air" I hear in analogue. I think some people either can't hear it or it just doesn't matter to them. I would be very curious to hear the 1/4 million dollar dCS rig. Again, I will repeat that Michael Fraemer said it was "almost" as good as analogue. But one might argue that he is quite biased. I am committed to continue to experiment within the confines of my budget which is tied to my wife's sanity. She and all of my friends just cannot understand the thousands of dollars I spend for an upgrade they cannot hear. And even if they could hear it, they still wouldn't understand.

@audio-b-dog You and me both brother!!! Fortunately, I have a few audiophile buddies that my wife likes so at least my madness is supported!!  All she can do is roll her eyes because my hobby allowance is sacred and indisputable!!!