How can we settle for digital?

If you are interested in having access to the maximum amount of the world's great music, you will have to embrace both redbook CD and LP, as there are so many marvelous recordings that exist exclusively on each format.

I know, speaking about music, rather than sound, is anathema on this site, but that is how I decide on a format.

I don't think everyone in the music business agrees that digital can only go so far. There seem to be plenty of people interested in pushing it further, and it does indeed make important leaps every few years.

I got back into vinyl about a year ago, after a 15 year hiatus. I was really excited about the vinyl that sounds better than CDs (although not all of it does--but what does, is terrific).

But then I traded up to an EMM CDSA-SE, and was startled. Now, more CDs could compete with my vinyl. And a really good SACD can REALLY compete with vinyl.

And today I was listening to one of the relatively new Linn Digital Stream players, the Klimax DS (which I barely understand). I've auditioned it several times before, and I continue to be surprised by how much it can get out of CDs that have been loaded on a music server. It's a lot of money, but it indicates that there is more progress available for digital.

My Playback Designs MPS-5 really does amazing things with my turdiest CDs. I've got $10,000 into digital and about $3000 in my analog TT and now, finally, consider them equally satisfying. Getting digital right ain't cheap, but it's being done. In another year or two we'll probably be able to buy DACs equivalent to Playback Designs, Emm, dCS and others of that ilk for $3000.

Strangely, digital software now costs less than the same analog. Whenever given the choice, I'm buying SACDs first, CDs next and LPs last, based on cost-performance ratio in my system.

Dave

My Theta Gen VIII / Sony 707ES clobbers my Dual 616Q / Adcom crosscoil every time.

there was a cd player, vintage 1994, that i auditioned in an all naim system. the naim cd player was the cd x.

i remember being startled at the sound coming out of a pair of naim speakers. what i heard seemed to surpass most vinyl set ups.

the problem with comparing vinyl to digital is that one cannot generalize. some cartridges and recordings are so bad that i would not want to listen to such a set up.

i personally prefer an old koetsu black cartridge to almost anything out there.

the point is that there may be a cd player which is more satisfying than some turn table /arm/ cartridge combinations.