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Turntable got absolutely crushed by CD

Long story short, i've just brought home a VPI classic 1 mounted with a Zu-Denon DL103 on JMW Memorial 10.5 with the appropriate heavier counterweight. Had everything dialed in..perfect azimuth, VTF, overhang, with only a slightly higher than perfect VTA. Levelling checked. All good. 

I did a comparison between the VPI and my Esoteric X03SE and it's not even close. The Esoteric completely crushes the VPI in all regards. The level of treble refinement, air, decay, soundstage depth and width, seperation, tonality, overall coherence is just a simply a league above from what I'm hearing from the VPI. The only area the VPI seems to be better at is bass weight, but not by much. 

I'm honestly quite dumbfounded here. I've always believed that analogue should be superior to digital. I know the Esoteric is a much pricier item but the VPI classic is supposed to be a very good turntable and shouldn't be a slouch either. At this point I feel like I should give up on analogue playback and invest further in digital. 

Has anyone had a similar experience comparing the best of digital to a very good analogue setup?

Equipment:
Esoteric X03SE 
VPI Classic, JMW Memorial 10.5, Zu-DL103
Accuphase C200L
Accuphase P600
AR 90 speakers

Test Record/CD:
Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing (Redbook vs MOV 180g reissue)



chadsort
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
One is not better than the other... They are just different sounding.For the op: I say the main two fails: #1 is your phono box. using a built in phono. Second, how LONG has the turntable been in use? IS the cartridge even broken in? (A cartridge is a mechanical device, it need to get used some before making judgments on how it compares to some other device)                     
Also agree on fail if all you used was one record vs one CD. Female voice is not gonna be pretty on an unbroken-in cartridge.      

mhmeyers's avatar
mhmeyers
9 posts
 
I'll offer my two cents worth here.....
The LP you are using for comparison is highly suspect! Try finding an original pressing or a different selection.
Those 180 gram pressings don't necessarily mean you are getting good quality recording.
Case in point would be Journey's Greatest Hits on 180g vinyl......the source used to press that is clearly a digital copy.....zero soundstage, all is compressed and NOT musical at all!! Total garbage in other words. Proof is in comparing an original pressing of any song on that 180g piece of plastic. The original pressings I have blow that new LP out of the water. 
I'm surprised they can even sell such crap sometimes. 
orpheus10
5,988 posts
 

Why did millions of people chuck their TT's for CD players, and sell their records? It was because CD's and CD players sounded better.

After that fact, people in the "high end" said no, records sound better. They were right, their high end rigs sounded better than CD's and players, but they failed to mention the price.

Now, Michael Fremer, and his evangelistic followers, are claiming that a mid fi analog rig sounds better than CD; "What have they been smoking"?
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
They should never have ditched the cassette. It’s the best of all media. The most reliable, best sounding and least expensive. Everyone got hoodwinked. It’s all about the 💰💰💰💰
noromance's avatar
noromance
1,780 posts
 
An artist whom I know remastered the back catalog of a life’s work. You can now hear a brushed cymbal out of a dark grey background, a vocal rasp separated from a concurrent hand clap. It’s all very quiet, and delineated. And eerie, as if there is a light blanket over your speakers. Both on 180gr (and CD.) However, just like cutting a wheel to see how it works, the whole is lost in the experiment.
It no longer sounds like musicians playing together. The essential essence is gone.
When I go back to the 70s original, with its comparitive noisy vinyl, the beauty of the music is there. Utterly. Clarity, air, exquisite detail, mesmerizing midband, black backgrounds, and clean bass not layered in murk.
This is endemic through most remasters and almost all new recordings. Give me an original analog recording with vinyl noise any day.
If you’ve never experienced this difference, you cannot understand the love of analog.
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