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

I was at a high end shoot out with different digital sources on top end Wilson speakers and CH precision electronics and Shunyata cables that may have cost more than my entire system.  The verdict was Cd sounded the best, ripped files were second and streaming was last.  This was from the exact same sourced music.  It was interesting since the digital trail can be compromised it's travel.

@goose I’m not surprised. 
The only consideration is that we can’t possibly know it’s exactly the same source. You can guarantee it between a cd and a rip. But you just don’t know what’s on streaming. Tidal and Qobuz sound different to me playing the same album on the same system. Streaming is awesome. Once you learn its shortcomings. 

@goose @audphile1 

I have compared a well-recorded CD played through my Meitner MA3 DAC to a well-recorded streamed recording through the Meitner. The streamed recording sounds more fleshed out, the individual notes are more resonant. The CD is thinner, but its transcient attacks sound better defined. Is that because the music sounds thinner? I don't know. I think, though, that some recordings I would rather play streamed and others on CD. One example of what I consider a well-recorded album is Cassandra Wilson's "Blue Light 'Till Dawn." I have it on vinyl also, and that is the best of all worlds. The sound is fleshed out as well as the attacks. I don't think I'll ever have enough money to purchase a streamer that sounds better than my analogue front end.

@audio-b-dog I have that CD, it is also ripped to SSD, and I got the blue note vinyl mastered by Kevin Gray. I only have my buddy’s old Audio Research player now that I used as both player and transport. The player is leaving my system soon. I have listened to this album and yeah the CD sounds cleaner but slightly leaner. Vinyl sounds warm and full bodied. Streaming is somewhere in between. 
This is actually a perfect example of what I was talking about - completely different master/source material. My original CD bought when the album was released, the Kevin Gray analog mastering to vinyl, and who the heck knows version that’s on streaming. We’re not exactly comparing apples to apples and we’re not even comparing formats in this case. But rather both the format and the master. 
My favorite is vinyl in this case. But even then there are variables - the associated equipment. I heard this recording on 3 different phono stage and I actually preferred streaming and CD to one of them. This was in my system. 
That’s what makes this fun and mind boggling all at the same time.