source type choice

[Mike Lavigne]

i'm all-in on all three (digital, vinyl and tape) formats at 'uber' levels........so my ship has sailed.

but if I had a clean slate i'd stick with digital at this point. it can be amazing sounding and ease of use as well as access is dramatically better and your whole approach can be simpler and more elegant.

OTOH if you are looking for optimal emotional musical connection, then analog is inevitable. analog (vinyl or tape) can pull you into the music in a special way that digital simply cannot. and messing with tt's, cartridges, arms and tape decks has it's own pull and fun quotient. hard to place value on those experiences for someone else.....but it's undeniable.

so stay away from it. then your digital journey will be blissful. even knowing how great analog can be, I'm not sure I would go there if I could re-boot right now. but without analog I doubt I would make the same commitment to the hobby that I have. and that commitment has been life altering. so the degree of personal commitment you desire is also a barometer that might point you to whether analog is worth it for you. hard to pull back from it once committed.

 

[a.wayne]

Mike,

I'm hoping you are willing to post up pics and info here on your latest analog journey , always a pleasure to follow along ...



Regards

 

[aKnyght]

...but if I had a clean slate i'd stick with digital at this point. it can be amazing sounding and ease of use as well as access is dramatically better and your whole approach can be simpler and more elegant.

OTOH if you are looking for optimal emotional musical connection, then analog is inevitable. analog (vinyl or tape) can pull you into the music in a special way that digital simply cannot. and messing with tt's, cartridges, arms and tape decks has it's own pull and fun quotient. hard to place value on those experiences for someone else.....but it's undeniable.

this very directly describes exactly what i would hope to gain from analogue, musical connection and the fun quotient of working with an analogue source system... and, the tradeoffs versus digital.

it seems that many here also have a similar left/right brain conflict with digital and analogue.

so, after processing all this information, i think the best way to proceed is a hybrid of the two paradigms described at the outset... initially, it makes sense to acquire a better digital capability and then evaluate over a period of time.

at some point subsequent, i can then begin to explore analogue along a slower, deliberate and less committing path. maybe start with something like the vpi player just to get involved.

also, while off the beaten path, tape sounds like it might be interesting to at least research and learn more about - i have nice memories of an R2R playing in the house when i was a kid. not a likely path though.

i want to thank everyone for sharing their insights and experience here.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike,

I'm hoping you are willing to post up pics and info here on your latest analog journey , always a pleasure to follow along ...



Regards

thanks.

I will make sure I post my progress here as I go along. i'm a few months away from that point right now but it's coming fast. lots of loose ends to deal with.