Analog
versus digital: some personal experience
July
12, 2020
Marc,
My
brief foray into vinyl is over. I'd been all digital since 1986. Over 30 years. Some of it
was ugly.
Within
the past year, I picked up a budget turntable, cartridge, and phono stage. Highly rated
components, all for $6000 tops. I learned how to align a cartridge and set tracking force.
I learned how to clean an LP.
My
son is a budding audiophile and takes a liking to headphones. He doesn't have the money
for a top-flight digital front-end. We made two identical conclusions about analog. It's
amazing just how good budget vinyl can sound. Nearly within a fraction of some great
digital. We visited a few audio dealers with state-of-the-art analog. Amazingly great, but
no better than the best digital through today's digital processors.
If
I had a giant collection of late-'50s and '60s vinyl, I can hear the reason to spend big
money on the best analog gear. I don't have that collection. I have two crates of
late-'70s and early-'80s rock and pop, on energy-crisis vinyl. Big difference.
I
gave the analog rig to my son as a present. For him it makes sense. And he loves it.
I
go forward all-digital with an Aurender server and two fantastic DACs from Berkeley Audio
Design and EMM Labs. Way more similar to each other, but different views on the same data.
Both highly musical.
To
my ears, the best high-res digital recordings surpass the same great recordings on vinyl,
through the best digital front-ends. I truly hope more audiophiles will investigate and
embrace what digital today has to offer.
As
an added bonus, I found Qobuz. All of their music is of at least CD quality, and they
offer a lot of high-res recordings. For the music I've searched for, some quite obscure,
they have about 75% of it available. For about 15 bucks a month. Let me say that again.
Most of the music I want to listen to, at my fingertips, for around $15 a month. Today's
digital is amazing. Today's digital is musical and highly listenable and enjoyable.
Best
of all, I enjoyed the experience. Vinyl, digital, and all.
John
Leosco
Add
me
July
1, 2020
Marc,
Add
me to the e-mail list.
Randolph
Nugent
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send e-mail to rl@theaudiobeat.com.
-Marc Mickelson
