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

The short answer is NO….. my current digital front end is a Vivaldi One Apex, now with the outboard clock, it is good, maybe great,  BUT it is not as involving as my analog front end. The DCS has incredible detail retrieval and does many things very well, you just never get that second (or third) glass of Bourbon warmth, relaxed, comfortable feeling you get from a good analog rig and decent pressing. I nostalgically feel like my old EAD dsp 9000 was the most relaxed DA I’ve had, or maybe it was just rolled off, warm, and smooth. The newest generation of converters seem to be capable of much more in terms of precision, separation, and maybe exactness, for lack of a better term. The Wadax Studio system may be the outlier here as I felt like it was warmer and still had the precision and presence that is closer to analog. I have not spent enough time with it to make a personal decision on it, Time will tell, but I have never been tempted to forgo the intimacy that vinyl continues to provide, however much hassle it may be. Should I find a digital front end that gets 95% there, I may consider going fully to the digital (dark) side. 
MJ

Give Jplay a try @charles007100 

both the UI and sound quality much better than mconnect or mcontrol. 
I’m using Roon and Jplay. 

@miketj 

Interesting perspective given that you’re nearer the top end of digital than most of us. I hope it’s not presumptuous of me to mention that while many love the sound and consider their offerings some of the best available, DCS is also a somewhat polarizing brand.

Personally I’ve heard most of their offerings, including the Varese stack, and while that particular model is well out of my budget, not even it moved me. They are fantastically detailed and precise but more digital sounding to me than some other top end units I’ve auditioned, including the T+A unit I ultimately selected.  

As you own the Vivaldi Apex and find it limiting, it wouldn’t surprise me if you find the Wadax studio to be a better solution for you.You might also want to explore MSB or Lampizator which, like the WADAX, are a decidedly different flavor than DCS. And while I haven’t heard it (yet), rumor has it that the Master Fidelity DAC and Clock are truly superb as well.  

My own T+A DAC is equally involving as my vinyl rig to my ears. Indeed, on the same recording (vinyl pressing vs streamed via Qobuz) are shockingly close but for the surface noise on the vinyl. So it can be achieved.

I use a PS Audio AIRLENS and feed it ROON from my NAS. The Airlens is connected to my dac via i2s.

@mgrif104 

i appreciate the advice, I have not spent any time with  T&A gear, I will certainly give it a listen. DCS is extremely polarizing as to their “sound” and have myself thought it forward or strident in some systems. I spent a considerable amount of time listening to the Varese stack before I purchased the clock for the Vivaldi One. I  didn’t think the Varese was nearly the upgrade that my local dealer insisted it was. I did listen to the MSB Cascade and while I thought it was an excellent sounding front end, it didn’t do enough to justify switching from my DCS.

 The majority of my problem is the waffling between wanting to hear and feel the same thing from the myriad number of live shows we attend. When I get, what I perceive is closer to that goal, a year  or two down the line, I am desperately wanting a more laidback sound.

 My problem is always me and the sound I think I want long term, then staying happy with it.. With that aside I still have not found the  analog equivalent from digital gear, but I will continue to slowly listen to what is out there trying to find the same satisfaction I felt when I hooked a new pair of Merlin 3B’s up to a McCormack DNA 1 and pre-amp, probably an Adcom CD player, laying on the living room floor listening to SRV playing Riviera Paradise on repeat and thinking it really can’t get better than this.
 My many hundreds of thousands of dollars, current system, is theoretically better in every respect, but sometimes I wonder if it really makes me as happy, of course that may go for every single piece of gear I have purchased in the past 35 years. Happy searching and let us all know if you find that perfect match. 
MJ