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What sounds best: Vinyl or CDs

My system in an introductory level of high end music reproduction, I realize.  I like music, not so much gadgetry so I am content, although I keep tweeking from time to time trying to get better sound.  Martin Logan ESL mains, Def. Tech 800 subs (2),  NAD C375BEE Int. Amp, Project Debut Carton turntable w/Ortofon Red cartridge, Yamaha S300 CD player (with a Rega Apollo R player on order),  Niagara 1000 power conditioner. My question/concern is this:  My CDs sound Sooo much better than my vinyl albums.  My vinyl collection is substantial, from the '60s through the '80s, with all in great condition.  But on my system CDs are more volume sensitive, with more dynamics and depth.  Is this normal or am I missing something in my system?  I had originally thought, "Oh well, they are 40+ years old with 40+ year old recording technology".  But is there more? I have even gone to point of buying the CD if there is a particular vinyl I want to listen to frequently.  Comments?
chipito
islandmandan
848 posts
 
You have not mentioned how much experience you have at setting up your arm/cartridge, or how you went about it. When I returned to vinyl around ten years ago now, I was disappointed at first. In my naivete, I blamed my choice of equipment, when actually, it was mostly caused by my own inability to properly set up said equipment.

Since I am persistent, I eventually honed my cartridge set up ability, now my analog front end is at least on par, and recording dependent, superior to my digital front end. Don't fret too much at this stage, you're just getting started. Make sure all the set up parameters are spot on first, and go from there.

Best of luck, regards,
Dan    
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
1st, you will never rid your vinyl of Snap, Crackle & Pop tho money & time can reduce other elves causing problems

2nd, at a certain point, the mastering and recording processes will pre-dominate over any increases in system quality (which come at increasing cost per ’unit’ SQ improvement - the law of diminishing returns...), so you need to be careful about what versions of an LP or CD you buy

very early CDs (mid-80s) were not well recorded, and very recent releases may have a lot of compression (masted for gag-tunes)

the CD layer of an SACD may well sound pretty good as more care is often taken for SACDs

I have kept a couple dozen LPs (special recordings, MoFi etc.) and have ripped my 2,000 CDs onto computer using Apple Lossless, so that tells you where I’m at on this
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 

You say that you are a music lover so it really doesn't matter. There are so many performances that were only released on LP and have never been reissued in digital media, and so many CDs that were never available on LP that one needs both formats, irrespective of sound quality to enjoy our rich musical history.

But there are many better record players than yours, if it bothers you that it doesn't match your CD player for sound quality, just upgrade. Or downgrade your CD player and use the saved money to go see live concerts.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
3,018 posts
 
You can do much better than an Ortofon Red cart. Your TT is certainly competent enough to reproduce the wonderful sonics of well produced vinyl. It could be that your arm and cartridge need proper setup, but IMHO, a better cartridge would help.

And once the Rega CDP is in your system, digital will sound far better than  your current vinyl setup.
nordicnorm
173 posts
 
It's much cheaper to get decent sound from a CD player than an analog rig (all things being equal). A badly recorded or mixed album sounds like crap on CD AND vinyl.

You don't mention it, so I'm assuming that you are using the optional  PP375 MC/MM phono module?

From the info posted, I'd say your weak points are your phono stage and cartridge.

I listen to vinyl, CD, SACD, and DSD files to take advantage of the best of all worlds.

My vinyl rig can compete with my SACD/CD player (Esoteric DV-50S) in sound quality but it is 3x as expensive.

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