Back to analog ..was it a mistake???


Like alot in the 1980s I went totally digital.Took my 300+ album collection and boxed them up never thinking I would venture back.My current digital system is about everything I always wanted.Black background,nice sound stage,fast,clean,detailed yet very musical.The speakers disappear and instument seperation is there and in the correct locations.Vocals are superb on all types of music IMO..
From strong suggestions from my bro I decided to try the analog approach again even though the analog systems Ive heard recently never came close to my setup.I bought a mid 1980s Linn lp12 and did some upgrades to it..Mose/Hercules2,new Akito2 arm,belt,oil,Denon DL160,cables..had it setup correctly.Bought a new Musical Surroundings Phono.Spent days cleaning records.What I have in sound is nothing short of a big dissapointment for the time and money spent.Forgetting the snap,crackle, pop which is very hard to get around the sound stage is nowhere to be found.The speakers no longer disappear,its like taking 10 steps backwards..Yea, I know the Linn isnt the beat all table as well as the phono but something is amiss here.Ive tried a few adjustments and things seem to become a little better but when I do the digital it becomes clear my analog attempt sucks.Am I expecting too much from my new investment back to analog???Is all this analog talk just talk from guys who never had a great digital system??Any positive imput or suggestions is appreciated..Thanks in advance
missioncoonery
Don't give up on vinyl. I was just listening to a radio interview of Steven
Stills , an accomplished musical person with no agenda and a lot of various and currant listening experience, I would assume. Can't vouch for his hearing, I'm not crazy, and the interviewer did mention that "uncle Fuzzy " was not here tonight, the smart guy Stills was here tonight.

In the course of the conversation it came up that digital was inferior to vinyl. The opinion was that the sound was warmer, sounded better. tills mentioned "tubes and vinyl" specifically as the best. Just an opinion , and hear is in your head, so thereis no correct answer, as you know.

I think your table set up should be reviewed. Don't spend any money until you are completely satisfied that your table is level , etc. Many with a lot of advice to give also post later on that they have "opened up a new insight" or something like that when they finally understand that their carts were mis- aligned. Without an alignment gauge and a level that you can work with repeatable results, you have no chance for vinyl excellence.
Hi Missioncoonery,

you should stop vinyl - it might take you into deep emotional risks and huge investments on time and... You really want this? :-)
Yup probably is better once you get passed the surface noise ..... But wait you can't it is always there in some form ..... Be it a tape type hiss at it's best or crackling(including snaps and pops) like an AM radio station at its worse ......
It's your crummy Linn LP12, I know I had one. Here is your problem. http://www.high-endaudio.com/RC-Linn.html

Now, go out and good a better table, idler drive, belt drive, even direct drive. There are good ones in all formats, the Linn just isn't one of them.

Best,
Norman
Gee, I guess that guy really doesn't like the Linn!

I guess he's right and the countless satisfied owners who have run their Linn tables happily for decades (like me) must be wrong. It's the only piece in my system that has survived that long, though I have run various models of OHM speakers for longer.