source type choice

aKnyght

aKnyght

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if you could have only one source type, which would you choose: analogue or digital?

< please note, this is not a "which is better" question >

i am in process of expanding and upgrading my system and would be very interested to hear others' answer to this question and two or three of the reasons behind it. the goal here is to gather facts, opinions, ideas, etc. to help guide my project.

now that i have ample time, i have been working on my system and am at the point where a choice on source(s) needs to be made. the two paradigms that make the most sense for me are 1) continue on with an acceptable but not great digital source and focus exclusively on building a really nice analogue source stack, and 2) forget about analogue completely and focus on building a top notch digital stack.

relevant issues that i have been wresting with include: ease of use, availability of media, future obsolescence of components, integration with tube based amplification.

thanks in advance for the help!
 
I think you've asked an excellent question. May I ask, is the bulk of your current media digital or vinyl? The reason that I ask is if you have 10,000 CD's and 5 albums, the cost of analog can get quite expensive. With Tidal streaming, the entry level to a vast library (millions of albums) is $20/month.

However, if you already have thousands of albums (vinyl), then that changes things.
 
at the moment i predominately use streaming via tidal and apple music subscriptions and a library of purchased /downloaded files. in terms of physical media i have ~250 CDs which have been ripped and 0 LPs.

so, as you can see i have a very blank slate to work from.

the cost of LPs is a relevant issue but i am also concerned with availability of titles -- while vinyl is certainly on the upswing, my casual observation is that it can hard to find LPs for titles that are not current / new releases. but then again, the search can be part of the fun.
 
Digital for me:

1. Tidal streaming
2. My library is thousands of CD's with little vinyl
3. Upkeep is easier with digital
4. Digital keeps improving
5. Music selections I use are better in the digital realm
6. Set up and go
7. No source material preparation
8. Convenience of selecting a song from the listening chair

Clicks, pops, and all that other jazz never really bothered me. It's the listening experience I'm into and while vinyl is excellent, I find it hard to become completely engrossed in the session when I am getting up every 10-20 minutes to flip or change the LP. I know many see this as the routine, but I'm a toddler compared to many here and its not part of the music routine I ever experienced growing up.
 
For me. The Digital is like a going to a buffet restaurant. You will have all kind of different foods with various choices but nothing really special. However, as myself, if I like to enjoy the quality food I will go to the restaurant with specializing one ( could be two :) ) That who has only few menu to choose from but the taste so delicous with good history - Just like Analog. Again it's just me
 
If pushed to choose, it would be digital.

Mostly pure convenience. No turning over the LP, cleaning (LP & stylus), I can play a CD 10k times and it will sound the same as the 1st. I have LP's I bought in high school, a few decades ago, that are in good condition but there's eventually going to be a pop and maybe even surface noise. I've read threads where guys have complained about new vinyl having noise.

With that being said and for no extra charge, I have decent collection of both LP & CD, my approach is to have each source at a equal enjoyment level.

If I had no LP's I doubt I would get into it. That's me though, 'm a plug & play person. If I could set a table up and tweak it, I may reconsider.

I also hate the idea of ripping CD's and thinking of touching a computer to play music.

So who knows what I'll be relegated to in the future, LOL
 
I agree with everything Mr. P. said. Digital is convenient, sounds great and is the future of music. There are great sounding DAC's at all price points. And there are several DAC's that have an analog sound if that is what you like. Computer storage is also dirt cheap. I just saw an 8 TB external HD for about $170.

I have a modest vinyl collection and about 5 TB's of music. While in many instances, I prefer vinyl, it does not always sound better than my digital sources. Digital allows you to make play lists and you can listen for hours uninterrupted.
 
Additionally, while analog sources will continue to improve, I'm not sure how much room is really left there. The best tables, tonearms and cartridges are already shockingly good. Whereas in the digital world, it seems reasonable to assume that there's more room to improve, that improvements will come much more quickly, and that things will continue to progress well into the future.

Plus, there's storing the LPs, moving them, etc.
 
thanks for all the great responses. seems to be a bias toward digital so far.

going into this process, i was pretty much equally divided between the two, but leaning toward analogue... my left brain wants digital while my right brain is screaming analogue.

for all the reasons above, digital makes a lot of practical sense... except that once set up most all the tweaking is really just computer hardware/software sys-admin, and i get more than enough of that elsewhere around the house.

analogue on the other hand is, well, analogue... more zen like and a "purist" source - at least from an historical perspective. and, i am of an age where that is appealing - however, i have been told nostalgia is not what it used to be.

but now that i have researched the lampizatOr dacs, the decision might be swinging towards digital. given the ability to tube roll, their dacs do offer a little bit of the analogue gestalt.

looking forward to more thoughts and opinions...
 
Paul said:
For me. The Digital is like a going to a buffet restaurant. You will have all kind of different foods with various choices but nothing really special. However, as myself, if I like to enjoy the quality food I will go to the restaurant with specializing one ( could be two :) ) That who has only few menu to choose from but the taste so delicous with good history - Just like Analog. Again it's just me
Click to expand...

This puts it perfectly. I have both sources at pretty high levels (of course, everything is relative), but the one that makes my hair stand up more frequently by far is analogue.

If you’re just starting, why not both? There is some dilution, but you may be able to avoid an either/ or decision.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Hounddog said:
...but the one that makes my hair stand up more frequently by far is analogue.

If you’re just starting, why not both? There is some dilution, but you may be able to avoid an either/ or decision.
Click to expand...

its not so much an either/or as it is the dilution you note. my thought is to pick the source type that makes the most sense for me and then make it as good as i possibly can. if i get it right, i will have a really nice and concise system rather than a larger, more average system.
 
Analog is a deep deep hole. It's hard to get right. The infinite number of combinations of cartridge, arm, and table allows you to tailor sound and create something wonderful.
When analog is done correctly, it is very good indeed. Proper setup is critical, so you need to have someone help you with it.

I like the tactile part of the analog experience -- handing the physical media, enjoying the album art and packaging. There is just something comforting about it.

I have been spinning LP's since I was a kid. I didn't give up my TT for "Perfect Sound Forever". If I didn't have this history, I'd be all digital by now. That, and my best sounding music is analog.

But digital is improving dramatically so that my $2200 Benchmark DAC3 HGC often outperforms my $15k analog front end. And digital keeps getting better and better while prices drop.

While I like the everyday convince of streaming and having immediate access to my entire media library, I definitely miss the tactile experience.

Tom
 
aKnyght said:
if you could have only one source type, which would you choose: analogue or digital?

< please note, this is not a "which is better" question >

i am in process of expanding and upgrading my system and would be very interested to hear others' answer to this question and two or three of the reasons behind it. the goal here is to gather facts, opinions, ideas, etc. to help guide my project.

now that i have ample time, i have been working on my system and am at the point where a choice on source(s) needs to be made. the two paradigms that make the most sense for me are 1) continue on with an acceptable but not great digital source and focus exclusively on building a really nice analogue source stack, and 2) forget about analogue completely and focus on building a top notch digital stack.

relevant issues that i have been wresting with include: ease of use, availability of media, future obsolescence of components, integration with tube based amplification.

thanks in advance for the help!
Click to expand...

I have a reasonably large analog LP collection and some tapes along with a sizable CD collection if i had to live with just one it would be digital..


Hands down easy Choice ...
 
My opinion is that to go analog starting out (which it sounds like you are) you have to be well off financially, really like the sound of LP’s and not mind their particular sonic gremlins, and be a bit of a masochist. Even with all that, if you like several genres of music you will end up listening to a lot of digitally sourced music because that may be all that is available.
 
90% is my listening is via vinyl playback, if I were giving advice to someone with zero LP records I'd tell them not to bother. Vinyl collecting, playback, optimization of your LP frontend and the know-how required will consume a good portion of your free time not to mention money - the commitment is an order of magnitude greater than digital. Beyond that, just building a vinyl collection from scratch is tantamount to needing your head examined, JMHO.
 
rbbert said:
Hounddog said:
But, gosh, it’s fun and it sounds so good ...
Click to expand...

??
Click to expand...

Yes.

For some folks it is enjoyable. The physical interaction with music and the routine and the sometimes limitless dynamics of a well setup LP (or 15/30ips master tape capable) playback system and ...

If that enjoyment of physical interaction is not there, there is always the other non-physical extreme of a wireless digital interface to stream music for convenience.

I say find a happy place (at any level of convenience or in-between) and get to the point where one can enjoy the music of choice. It's all good.

Dre
 
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