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?
My analog front costs 3x than my digital setup but the sound I get from the both setups are equally enjoyable. However, the analog doesn't sound 3x better. They are just slightly different in terms of presentation and tonality. Digital sounds more focused and forward. Analog sounds more soft, lucid, liquid, and harmonious. I don't want them to sound same, that would defeat purpose of having them, imo
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excellent point @panerai557 if both sounded exactly the same, you could just sell one and use the other. In which case streaming will win. @newton_john thank you! I will check out that channel. I’m not a not a huge fan of jazz rock but when it’s very good I dig it. Miles Davis’ “Pangaea” album is crazy good although pretty out there…if you’ve never heard it do give it a listen. @audio-b-dog what you’re describing is most likely your network setup. Yes there are issues with qobuz but in those isolated cases the song just simply won’t play. If it jumps in the middle of playing a track to next selection it’s most likely network related. |
Thanks for all your input. I think I've straightened out my network problem. Ethernet cable direct from an ethernet plug in the fiber hub. Looking at ll the complaints in the forum you forwarded to me (thank you) I think it's Qobux. I'll pay attention to when it skips. It doesn't seem to on shorter songs, but more on long classical pieces. BTW, I'm listening to Lizz Wright a fortyish jazz singer whom I must have discovered in her twenties. I've had CDs of hers forever. "Holding Space" is a knock-out live album made in Berlin. Sonics are great. |
@audio-b-dog Yep I’m familiar with Liz Wright. “Samba Em Preludo” and “Perhaps You’ll Wonder Why” from Melody Gardot’s Entre Eux Deux album ”Stand By Me” from Dominique Fils-Aime’s album Three Little Words “If You Go” from Shirley Horn’s album You Won’t Forget Me “Norwegian Wood” a Beatles cover by Patricia Barber on her Live: A Fortnight in France |
I'll check them out. I think I've heard a few of them. Are you into ta Brazilian music and jazz? In the seventies some great Brazilian jazz was happening. Tania Maria, whom I've seen live several times back in the early eighties, was classically trained on piano in Paris. Her piano playing is amazing, as well as her singing. Her best album to try is Brazil With My Soul. Luckily I have most of her albums and those that wore out on my seventies $79 cartridge on a tonearm that didn't have counter weights (or I didn't know about them), I've repurchased mint copies. I have enough Brazilian music to play eight hours a day for weeks. Many CDs too. |
