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


I have a good analogue front end. Not stratuspherically good but good enough for this comparison. VPI Prime Signature 21 turntable, Pass Labs XP-25 pono preamp, Pass Labs XP-30 preamp and Hovland Radia amp. It has a lovely, very involving sound. On the right recording, I just drop everythng and am drawn in to listen.

My streamer, on the other hand, is decent but not spectacular. It is better than my CD player, but it is not jaw-dropping like my analogue front-end. My question is this: does anyone have a high-end, tier-one streamer (dCS Bartok Apex, Lumin X2, or something like them) that can rival a good analogue system?

audio-b-dog

Yes.  I have emmLabs DA2i dac going into an emmLabs PREi preamp.  Theses are driving a pair of Mola Mola Ossetra amps.  In the same system I have an Audio Research Ref 6SE preamp feeding a pair of Rogue Audio Apollo Dark mono.  Both setups are driving a pair of Estelon X Diamond Mk2's.  I have tried 7 different high end dacs.  All were great, but the emmLabs DA2i dac sounds like the best of any other Class A setup, no matter the price point.  Once you cross the $100K price point, for a dac or power amp, it gets so close that it comes down to personal sonic preferences.

I took a leap of faith and added the Ferrum Wandla GSE DAC/Pre and Hyssop external power supply with my Aurender N200. Digital improved so much from SimAudio NP 390. Sound is great and at times almost at same sound quality level. Analog still better with my VPI 19/4 with upgrade package (SAMA, TNT delrin/steel platter), Fatboy 10 uni-pivot, Palo Santos cart, and Ayre P-5xe phono pre. Powered by McCormack DNA 225 thru Nova V speakers and 2 REL T-9 subs and Transparent Ultra MM2/G5 cables. Happy and satisfied with Ferrum-Aurender combo. Hyssop external power supply does boost the Wandla sound quality. Ferrum continues to upgrade/update firmware that keeps improving sound quality and my digital side.  

Yes, my digital is as "involving" as my analog front - end however, it depends more on the recording quality versus the source.

Also, if you've outlined and admitted your digital is not on par with your analog due to applied funding (or lack thereof), you've answered your own question.

After considerable evaluation coming out of Axpona I just upgraded my streaming to the dCS Rossini Apex along with the Rossini master clock.  Very happy with the result.  I really appreciate the nostalgia associated with analog but there is no way I can justify the level of expenditure required to match the streaming quality.  Would be really cool to look at but with Tidal, Qobuz and ripped FLAC files so convenient, in all reality, I would likely never use it!

@wswright20 

You've kind of hit the upper end of digital for normal folks who won't spend $250,000. Your digital system should sound very good. Until I heard a system at your level I couldn't really comment. But are you comparing a high-end analogue chain to your high-end digital chain? Not that I'll ever buy the dCS Rossini Apex with a Rossini master clock. Pretty much out of my league. But I'd love to hear it if I ever got the chance.