Pearls before swine, mate!
Marco.
Pearls before swine, mate!
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
Main system : VPI Scout 1.1 / JMW 9T / 2M Black / Croft 25R+ / Croft 7 / Heco Celan GT 702
Second System : Goldring Lenco GL75 / AT95EX / Pioneer SX590 / Spendor SP2
Location: East Riding of Yorkshire these days
Posts: 4,779
I'm Shaun.
James, I know what you are saying wasn't aimed at me but this vinyl/digital thing is a really good benchmark with which to position one's self for the future. I would much rather use vinyl and whilst I did, by and large, I loved it. My problem was that I got a much 'easier' system and sound with CD. To match my CD system would have required the spending of way more than I did and here I decided it stopped, the spending that is. I reached a point where to me it was just no longer worth it. I certainly will miss the subtleties of vinyl replay but in the same breath, I will not miss so many of the irritations. My finest vinyl moment was way back in 1997 when I had an Alphason Sonata with HR100S MCS tonearm. Awesome, I bloody loved it.
I completely understand peoples position on Vinyl and Digital playback and their reasons for using either one or the other or both. There is no doubt that Digital is here to stay especially in its streaming capacity and I am sure Hi Rez material will eventually become the norm, no one should really be getting anything less than CD quality these days. I also understand the convenience and lack of irritating aspects of digital audio and respect the fact that for some Vinyl is labour intensive by comparison and frustrating to get right especially as so many pressings are quite poor from new. The mechanical set up and constant attention Turntables require is a bind although I like noodling around with this aspect.
CD can now sound very good indeed with the implementation of a great DAC and I am sure these will go from strength to strength. I agree Shaun that Vinyl systems can get very expensive before you acquire something that sounds stunning and by comparison digital can be relatively cheap and so much easier to live with.
I know of a few people who have lots of time and unlimited budgets (in comparison to mine) who have also decided to give up Vinyl completely and listen exclusively to FBA system having decided that this was the superior route. You have made that same decision and I am sure it is the right one for you as i have followed your endeavours on AOS for quite a few years and I know you take your hifi and more importantly your music seriously.
Main system : VPI Scout 1.1 / JMW 9T / 2M Black / Croft 25R+ / Croft 7 / Heco Celan GT 702
Second System : Goldring Lenco GL75 / AT95EX / Pioneer SX590 / Spendor SP2
Mana Acoustics Racks / Bright Star IsoNodes Decoupling >> Allo DigiOne Player >> Pedja Rogic's Audial Model S DAC + Pioneer PL-71 turntable / Vista Audio phono-1 mk II / Denon PCL-5 headshell / Reson Reca >> LFD DLS >> LFD PA2M (SE) >> Royd RR3s.
From a technical point of view is there something intrinsically better with vinyl to give better separation and 3d sound-stage than digital?
Edward (always learning)
Current: [P20] Roon/Tidal > Custom PC> Chevron Paradox NDF16 > Phast Pre > Neuro. 686 > Tannoy Berkley (RFC tweaks)
The ability of either to do it is completely swamped by the effects of the room and speaker placement. So it's a bit of a non-argument. Even if that wasn't true it isn't cheap or easy to do it with vinyl.
FWIW the best system I have heard for imaging used a digital source. On paper at least I'd expect digital to be better at imaging than vinyl, all else being properly sorted. And don't forget all that imaging has to be on the recording in the first place. A lot of productions for rock and pop are pretty average in that regard.
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.
The only digital device I have heard that can match vinyl for 3D soundstage and particularly depth is the DAVE DAC. Simply awesome and sounds very analogue. Chord are definitely onto something with that DAC and if they keep going they will nail all aspects of the audio performance and probably move beyond vinyls capabilities.
Main system : VPI Scout 1.1 / JMW 9T / 2M Black / Croft 25R+ / Croft 7 / Heco Celan GT 702
Second System : Goldring Lenco GL75 / AT95EX / Pioneer SX590 / Spendor SP2
I've found digital far harder to get to produce stage or image depth. Most digital IME has less stage depth than vinyl but it doesn't have to. It's not necessarily expensive to get digital to perform the trick, just attention to detail.
TT 1 Trans-Fi Salvation with magnetic bearing + Trans-Fi Terminator T3Pro + London Reference
TT 2 Garrard 301 with NWA main bearing + Audiomods Series Six 10.5" + Ortofon 2M Mono SE
Digital Lindemann Bridge + Gustard R26 with LB external clock
Pre and Power Amp EWA M40P + M40A
Bass Amp & DSP Behringer iNuke NU3000DSP x 2
Speakers 1 Bastanis Sagarmatha Duo with twin baffleless 15" bass drivers per side
Speakers 2 MarkaudioSota Viotti Tower