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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

Showing 1 response by dividebytube

dividebytube
50 posts
 
I did the same thing, ditching my vinyl rig for a series of digital upgrades. I thought I had a pretty hot setup with a RAKK DAC (transformer coupled outputs)...

then my friend brought over a Rega P2 table which he uses for needledrops. We hooked it up to a tubed phono preamp and started playing some records. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much at all, but I was blown away. More detail, more naturalness and I started to enjoy music more too.

When listening to digital, I found myself skipping ahead to my favorite songs. With vinyl, I enjoy the entire side.

In the end, I sold off my digital rig and have gone with vinyl - VPI table and Threshold phono preamp. I still have an old Sony SACD player in my rack, but it rarely gets used.
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