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

@audphile1 

Cassandra Wilson's "Blue Light 'Till Dawn" sounds fantastic streaming on the Meitner MA3. It also sounds fantastic on CD playing through the Meitner MA3's DAC. I would have to listen very hard to pick out the differences with the album, although there are some. With your upgrade, it may be equal.

@goose 

After 1980 the music industry turned to digital. Most albums were recorded digitally and from a digital master pressed onto vinyl. Not all, though, I have a few exceptions from the early 80's. I go on adventures looking for good vinyl. It kind of takes a love of the hunt. I have a newer copy of "Graceland" that I'm pretty sure was pressed from an analogue tape. It sounds great. "Rhythm of the Saints," however, sounds terrible. i had to go looking for a well-pressed copy. I talk to Chatgpt a lot about recordings, often giving it record numbers. It helps steer me down the right path. But then there is always finding a truly mint- copy.

If you want to hear a really terribly pressed album, listen to Springsteen's "Born to Run." I listened to it through a new phono preamp and was sure something was wrong with my new piece of equipment. Earlier Springsteen stuff sounds good. "Born to Run" was just at the point where digital took over, plus it was pressed hot to be played on car radios not our mega-buck rigs. And now there are purist engineers and recording labels going back to analogue tapes to press AAA vinyl.

@audphile1 

I will end up using Mcontrol. Unfortunately, Jplay is flakey with my Meitner. It stops in the middle of cuts and played one cut silently. I think the Meitner is made to work with Mcontrol. I'll get used to it.

@audio-b-dog cool. You can email jplay. They might resolve the issue for you. It’s so much better than mconnect it would be a shame if you can’t use it. 
Also keep in mind there’s an ongoing Qobuz issue. Some tracks just won’t play. It’s been going on for weeks intermittently. Some tracks won’t play on roon and jplay. Roon mitigates it by just skipping to next track. Jplay looks like it plays it silently for few seconds then errors out. Not a fault of either, like I said it’s a Qobuz issue. 

@audphile1 

Thank you. Streaming local and Qobuz is much better than it ever has been for me. On a par with vinyl for many albums. It’s wonderful. Does make me wonder if vinyl is strictly necessary anymore. 
 

Long may it last.