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Can Digital beat our Analog installations?

Having gone a long walk on developing my analog systems I am addicted to phono reproduction. Nevertheless I always kept an eye on CDs and also SACDs. Before I currently updated my digital dCS chain to the complete Scarlatti boxes I experimented on the best wordclocking connections. in the end I decided going for an additional rubidium clock added to my Verona master clock.

I am using also a second system equipped with the Accuphase 800 drive and 801 DAC, an Esoteric XO1 Limited and a Wadia 861 SE for other utilization. Let's concentrate on the dCS stack. These four boxes are sounding such good and analog like that I like to question my friends, Why isn't Digital an alternative to our best analogue chains?

So it's time comparing digital vs. analog systems and maybe some sophisticated digital chains are beating our sophisticated analog systems. Will it be possible?
thuchan
thuchan OP
955 posts
 
Atmasphere,
you are favouring the Stahltek vs. dCS. May I ask you with which dCS stack did you compare? Did you listen to both systems in one chain or in different fair rooms?
What do you like most of the Stahltek?
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,606 posts
 
digital will always be limited by 44.1k. always.
bill_k
671 posts
 
Cerrot, I respectfully would mention that the limitation of the 44.1kHz sampling frequency is only inherent with redbook CD quality recordings. High resolution digital files continue to become more widely available in 24/96, 24/192, and DSD formats which are not limited by such a restriction.
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,606 posts
 
Obviously.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
7,068 posts
 
Seems to me its been the Elgar, which was accompanied by some sort of upsampler unit. For a long time this was one of the better setups I had heard, until hearing the Stahltek.

The Stahltek is the first unit where I was not thinking about analog/digital when listening to it- it was very much about the music. None of any previous digital systems I have heard were that successful at not drawing attention to themselves. I don't know how else to put that- the Stahltek is simply more musical (and without coloration). Anyone who has heard it knows what I am talking about.
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