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

@audphile1 @newton_john @zlone @mclinnguy 

I have a lot of Dylan albums but admit to not listening to him often. The one I mostly put on is Nashville Skyline where Dylan sings with Johnny Cash. Mostly I like Dylan done by others. Judy Collins has a knock-out version of "Just Like Tom Thumb Blues" on her live album. She's sung it twice but this one rocks out and has Ry Kooder playing slide guitar.

The reason I liked Javon Jackson Plays Dylan is that its sound is excellent, and sometimes I like smooth jazz. I'm into intellectual and complex jazz, but not all the time. I've got my share of Paul Desmond, Stan Gets, and Chet Baker. I'm also into Flora Purim when her voice is like Coltrane. But, anyway, it caught my attention and will explore Jackson's other albums.

BTW, thanks to @audphile1 for gently pushing me a bit, this Meitner MA3i can be like vinyl on well-recorded albums. I was listening to Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" and my album had a bunch of clicks and clocks. I put on Qobuz's high rez version and it sounded like the album only without all that wear.

@audio-b-dog cool! 

Check out James Taylor Live on streaming. Great sounding album. 

@audphile1 

James Taylor Live is very analogue sounding. 

@cousinbillyl CDSA is over 20 yrs old at this point and a good 6 generations behind the DA2i in terms of dac technology. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what the latest Emm Labs digital is able to achieve. IMO it’s better than most vinyl rigs I have heard and at parity with high end tables assuming playing modern records. 

@audphile1 

Try Javon Jackson "Jazz in the New Harmonic." The sonics are excellent. It was made with David Chesky who made some of the best sounding CDs I've heard. The music is a bit like later Miles, but not as edgy. 

@chesebert 

I agree with you about Emm Labs, although I am still down at the Meitner MA3i level, but I've heard it's close to the higher priced spread.

The one place I would disagree is with your statement "assuming playing modern records." Records after 1980 almost all come from digital sources. At 24/192 that can sound very much like analogue, but not always. Sometimes digital sounds like the sound has been torn apart and reassembled.

I think the best sounding records are AAA reissues. Other reissues are very iffy. I bought the reissue of "First Take" by Roberta Flack and it sounded so bad to my ear that I went looking for a mint copy of the original pressing. Finding good records has become more difficult.