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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
orpheus10
5,988 posts
 

I asked my young 40 year old neighbor, if any of his friends who he went to college with, were into records or CD's; "Neither", he replied, "They're into streaming"

I have my doubts about all these young people into records; maybe they aren't college educated, and therein lies the difference. Records are flat out dumb if you're not a "geezer", who already owns a bazillion records, or rich and bored.

First of all, I got a bazillion records, many that can not be found anywhere, plus I know the complete score, including the insanely priced hardware that's required; I have to go for a TD. While young people who don't own a record or a TT might be better off leaving it that way.


iamhe
31 posts
 
orpheus10:  The larger questions are, why do they stream and what are they listening with equipment wise.   
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
I would say the thing for anyone is to take stock of what is already owned. At this point, if a person wants to play good quality music, yet owns no LP or CDs, Streaming is the sensible way to go.    
THere are also downloads. Folks who like those are another group. 
For those who already own Cds or LPs, the respective machines are the way to go.           
Trying to jump into CD playback and owning no CDs. Well CDs are dirt cheap right now, and IF you live near stores selling them, Good deals can be had.  Where I live it would be easy for me to buy piles of good CDs if I wanted them. Plus Amazon has some good deals of Classical and Jazz CD box sets, which change now and then.
The same in not quite the case for LP, unless you live in an area with at least one good used LP store. Buying used LPs on line sucks. Buying new not a problem, other than the cost. The only way to buy used online is to find a few good sellers you can trust.
tzh21y
1,377 posts
 
I have had pretty good luck with online sellers.
inna
5,245 posts
 
We should only be interested in those who might become audiophiles, the rest have nothing to do with us. And for those few it is the same as for us - original pressings LPs for analog recordings and cds for digital recordings. Later probably computer instead of cds but not yet.
Buy less but of higher quality. Yes, buying records on line is difficult, but if VG+ is good enough it's not too bad. Average cost for me is about $25-$30 per record plus shipping but I mostly buy from Japan and Europe. 
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