I agree that much of the allure of vinyl is that many people (me included) prefer a warmer and more musical sound to an analytical (and probably more accurate) sound. I believe this warm sound is achieved by rolling off the high end, and/or by introducing even harmonics (i.e. distortion) to the sound. As in most things, you can go overboard on anything. I dont like any system that attenuates the high end, but I do have a tube preamp that introduces a modest amount of even harmonics to the sound. I do prefer the sound of my Benchmark DAC => tube preamp => solid state amp to the sound of the all solid state chain consisting of the DAC => solid state amp. So, even though I know full well that introducing a preamp (or any extra gear) into an analog chain will ALWAYS add noise and distortion, there are some circumstances where I actually like the sound better.
Im also not too distracted by a moderate amount of surface noise (pops, crackles) of vinyl. So, that doesnt bother me. Maybe this is because I got into hi-fi long before CDs came along. I think all of the above is a matter of personal preference. What Im curious about is what price range (if any) do you need to pay for a turntable/cartridge that sounds better than a good digital input. -- duke43j ------------------------------------------------------------------------ duke43j's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=15911 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=85590
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