Hi Chadsort.
I’m not going to try solving your problem for you, as I don’t have the expertise with turntables others have. Though I’m a long time audiophile and have owned a turntable for many years, it’s only very recently that I dove in with much seriousness into higher end vinyl playback.
And since you asked about people’s experience comparing digital to vinyl playback, that’s what I’ll respond to.
(BTW trying to answer if one has used the "best of digital" playback is always going to be contentious and somewhat subjective, where one can always hear retorts "THAT DAC or CD player isn’t great, this OTHER one is great!" So I’ll just state I use a Benchmark DAC. If it’s good enough for the pro market, it’s good enough for me...though I’ve also owned high end Meridian CD players and DACS)
We have to be careful not to fall for audiophile hype, as it tends to be mostly subjective. When we hear things like "vinyl CRUSHED the CD in sound quality" that’s pretty much someone’s subjective opinion, not some objective fact that entails we will agree. And, of course, you can always bet that you’ll hear from other audiophiles that, if you don’t agree their most beloved format sounds great, then they’ll point to some flaw in your equipment or set up. (Or worse...your faulty hearing. It’s always "your gear, or your ears.")
To that end, I’ve never been down on digital at all, and have mostly used digital playback since the early 90’s. Loved it. It does help no doubt that I "sweeten" things somewhat with tube amplification, but when vinyl fanatics say silly things like "digital is just wrong, it doesn’t sound natural, it can’t provide true musical satisfaction" they are just speaking of their own biases. I’ve loved my digital playback for decades, including getting in to ripping my CDs to stream them, and Tidal streaming.
As for turntables:
For many years I owned a nice Micro Seiki turntable given to me by my father-in-law. I’d used it occasionally to dip in to some of the records I’d kept from my collection (I’m 55). I was always taken aback by how enjoyable the sound was. It did not sound as accurate as the digital sources, but it had the classic warmth and texture, spaciousness etc that made it a really nice place to visit.
As the "vinyl revival" gathered pace, I couldn’t help notice all the wonderful albums, both old and re-issued, and new, that was being released, and often with really beautiful aesthetics in art and design. So I started buying more vinyl. And at some point it made sense to look at upgrading my turntable. (Because...hey...that’s what we do here).
Once I did upgrade my analog front end - a nice phono stage, and trading my Micro Seiki for a sturdy, serious Transrotor magnetic drive turntable, with a far better cartridge thrown in the deal, that turned a corner for me.
I’d never heard vinyl sound so quiet in terms of background noise. Nor so smoothly detailed and clear. Where my previous turntable set up had a "warmth" it tended towards a constant coloration, and a slight homogenizing of the sound with that pleasant coloration. The upgraded system revealed more tonal nuance, accuracy, realism, subtlety and range. So what I was getting now was a sound that retained the general virtues I liked in vinyl - that analog ease, richness and warmth, but with a clarity and lack of noise that was more similar to the virtues of digital.I found it astonishing how I could hear so clearly into any mix on a decent record, how low in distortion it sounded. There was more of "hearing a master tape" vibe listening to good vinyl, with that combo of warmth, ease AND amazing clarity and detail.
So now I actually tend to prefer listening to vinyl over my digital source. I don’t think, generally speaking, that the vinyl is technically better. Only that the set up I have now seems to have a beautifully balanced combination of the artifacts that make vinyl sound appealing while providing an amazing sense of insight into the recording that I’m used to with digital.
It’s just a subjective take, not "one is better than the other" and I still really like my digital source in terms of sound quality. But records are more satisfying and fun to play as well.
One issue, as it seems you are experiencing, is that it DOES take a while to dial things in right. Near the beginning the sound I had was a bit on the thin side. Later a bit too lush. Finally I got a nice balance where I can stop fiddling. Most of this had to do with finding the right vertical tracking force combined with choosing the right impedance for my cartridge. My phono stage allows convenient front-panel switching between impedance and I take advantage of this. Sometimes I like the impedance a click lower than strictly accurate, as it can make the sound a bit more spacious, rich and lush. Most of the time I have it so the tonal balance sounds like a match for my digital sources (as a benchmark of accuracy).
Having compared a number of digital versions to LP versions, most of my preferences go toward the LP versions. Talk Talk’s Right Of Spring album, for instance, came out with a new master session on both CD and LP several years back. Comparing back to back, my LP sound gives me all the detail I hear from the CD version, but with that slightly more compelling textural, tonal presence that seems to make things a bit more present, the speakers seem to "disappear" a bit more. This is generally the case when I compare the LP vs digital. Though I have had some cases where the digital was clearly "better" in terms of accuracy, and even showing more detail, separation, information. And yet even in those cases, where the LP wasn’t showing me as much info, there was still some aspects of richness and presence that let me enjoy the LP as well.
So, that’s my story.
I certainly agree with others that, especially as you’ve already sunk some time and cost in to vinyl playback, it’s worth sticking with it, because it really does take some time to get right...or at least to nudge towards the sound you find most pleasurable.
