Can someone go to one source format and be happy?

Mdp632

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May 29, 2016
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I've been thinking about this a lot recently. Could I live with one Source in this case Digital and be happy? If one is limited in resources and time does it make sense to focus on the highest quality you can afford? Rather than have a compromise in one area of the other.

I'm leaning towards No. Because in the end its the music and media that matters. Rather than chasing the latest and greatest source component.

Has anyone else every been faced with the same decision? If so, what did you decide.
 

still-one

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Yes. I could live with digital only going forward. I would get out of this hobby before going exclusively vinyl.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Hi MDP632...happiness is all about YOU. But i can share with you a decision i made coming when i first bought my first audio component towards a system over 25 years ago.

I PROMISED myself i would commit all of my resources to the best digital i could afford and be done. I know how great LP and Tape are...and of course, there is all manner of hi-res digital. But i realized i prefer to have the best redbook i can afford, than a bit of LP, a bit of tape and a bit of digital. That's just me. But with the Zanden 4-box digital (fully tricked out with isolation and some emi/rfi shielding), i have never looked back and just enjoy buying 2nd hand CDs on Amazon now for anywhere from 1 penny to a few bucks. I know if i had gone for LPs, Tape, and then the machines to with them, i would probably have not gone the whole hog towards the Zanden, and this particular digital stopped me from looking elsewhere, and that has made all the difference.
 
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NorthStar

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Feb 8, 2011
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Yes me too. I can live with one, or many sources of music and be happy...be it digital or analog.

Days exist when I'm happy listening from the analog music radio, many days were happy days from analog albums.
I stopped spinning LPs few years ago...long story...for another time...but it can come back anytime...it's right there, ready anytime I am.
I had magical experiences from recording my own music playing on R2R tapes, cassette tapes, CDs.

I'm in bliss listening to multichannel music from SACDs, DVD Audio discs, Blu-ray Audio/Video discs.

I can be happy with only one digital audio format...the stereo CD. ...Or get back to LPs.

Right now, I am totally @ peace and happy listening to the wind.

? Cool thread. :b
______

? http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/headphonedust/yes-tales-from-topographic-oceans-2cd2dvda/
? http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/headphonedust/yes-tales-from-topographic-oceans-3cdblu-ray/
 
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PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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I've been thinking about this a lot recently. Could I live with one Source in this case Digital and be happy? If one is limited in resources and time does it make sense to focus on the highest quality you can afford? Rather than have a compromise in one area of the other.

I'm leaning towards No. Because in the end its the music and media that matters. Rather than chasing the latest and greatest source component.

Has anyone else every been faced with the same decision? If so, what did you decide.

Great question! I did ask myself this a while ago, and when I got back into the hobby around 2003, I bought both a turntable and CDP. I listened to both and enjoyed the system very much. A few years later, as I got more into vinyl, I decided to pool my resources and focus on optimizing just one format. I still have the CDP, but I listen only to LPs now. Of course it restricts my access to new music, and I realize that is not ideal, but I so enjoy the vinyl from my source which I could not have afforded if split with the cost of a few digital upgrades over time.

So, I made the decision and am extremely happy with one format. I do listen to new music on digital at my friends' houses, in my truck, and on YouTube. That is fine, but for serious listening at home, in is all vinyl. It might change someday, but I don't think anytime soon.

I'm now at the point that if I decide to spend any more money on audio, it will be on upgrading components elsewhere in the system rather than in my analog front end or a second digital source.

I think this is a very personal decision and it is different from everyone.
 

Mdp632

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2016
431
140
173
Great question! I did ask myself this a while ago, and when I got back into the hobby around 2003, I bought both a turntable and CDP. I listened to both and enjoyed the system very much. A few years later, as I got more into vinyl, I decided to pool my resources and focus on optimizing just one format. I still have the CDP, but I listen only to LPs now. Of course it restricts my access to new music, and I realize that is not ideal, but I so enjoy the vinyl from my source which I could not have afforded if split with the cost of a few digital upgrades over time.

So, I made the decision and am extremely happy with one format. I do listen to new music on digital at my friends' houses, in my truck, and on YouTube. That is fine, but for serious listening at home, in is all vinyl. It might change someday, but I don't think anytime soon.

I'm now at the point that if I decide to spend any more money on audio, it will be on upgrading components elsewhere in the system rather than in my analog front end or a second digital source.

I think this is a very personal decision and it is different from everyone.

Thank you Peter. I agree its a very personal decision and choice no right or wrong answer.
 

Al M.

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Sep 10, 2013
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Hi MDP632...happiness is all about YOU. But i can share with you a decision i made coming when i first bought my first audio component towards a system over 25 years ago.

I PROMISED myself i would commit all of my resources to the best digital i could afford and be done. I know how great LP and Tape are...and of course, there is all manner of hi-res digital. But i realized i prefer to have the best redbook i can afford, than a bit of LP, a bit of tape and a bit of digital. That's just me. But with the Zanden 4-box digital (fully tricked out with isolation and some emi/rfi shielding), i have never looked back and just enjoy buying 2nd hand CDs on Amazon now for anywhere from 1 penny to a few bucks. I know if i had gone for LPs, Tape, and then the machines to with them, i would probably have not gone the whole hog towards the Zanden, and this particular digital stopped me from looking elsewhere, and that has made all the difference.

Same here. I have gone with just CD since the beginning of my audiophile journey. Like for you and Peter it was also an issue of not spreading my resources too thin. Vinyl is great but way too much fuss for me, and too great an investment for competent playback as well. Also, the availability of new music is an issue with that format, as is the availability of a wider array of music on hi-res. I am glad I didn't invest time, energy and money in SACD, knowing from the beginning that it would be a doomed format in the sense that it would never carry a sufficiently wide choice of titles.

I am happy with my current CD playback and have experienced the awesome potential of the medium on a dCS Vivaldi stack and a dCS Rossini DAC. Beats hi-res on lesser machines anytime. Enough for me to know for sticking with CD, the medium where all the music can be found, until I die.
 

rbbert

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Dec 12, 2010
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As should be apparent from my signature, I made the decision in 2002 to go exclusively digital. There were three main factors involved. First, SACD and DVD-A sounded better to me than LP's on similarly priced playback equipment (still true, IMO). Second, by far most of the music I listened to then (and it is even more true now) is only easily available in digital format. Third, the expense involved in trying to keep 2 or more sources at the same sonic level will really impact what you have to spend on amplifier and speakers, to say nothing of music.

The only regret that I have is that for non-classical recordings (and unfortunately even for some classical), mastering practices for digital releases have regressed dramatically from focusing on sound quality :mad:
 

jeff1225

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Jan 29, 2012
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I sold my company and decided to invest in my system. I always enjoyed record collecting, hunting for records, going to shows, cleaning....ect, so I decided to go all in on an analog system. What's easy about this decision is that new music is so shitty. I've never been happier.
 

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I've been thinking about this a lot recently. Could I live with one Source in this case Digital and be happy? If one is limited in resources and time does it make sense to focus on the highest quality you can afford? Rather than have a compromise in one area of the other.

I'm leaning towards No. Because in the end its the music and media that matters. Rather than chasing the latest and greatest source component.

Has anyone else every been faced with the same decision? If so, what did you decide.

We, audiophiles, have the FOMO (Fear or Missing Out). You won't be missing much going full with Digital. Most recordings are on Digital and if they aren't they can be ripped. Frankly the differences are so slim that die-hard are regularly fooled by ripped to CD LPs. I am not saying there aren't differences, simply they're slim enough in most cases to fool die-hard analog fans.
So invest in digital and while you're at it. Try ROON and Tidal (400/lifetime Roon subscription + 20/month for Tidal)and prepare yourself to have more music available than time in your entire life. All that from your smartphone and your Internet connection.
And why do you think the greatest medium is analog? Not my opinion.
 

treitz3

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Dec 25, 2011
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Hello Mdp632 and good evening to you. I have two a part answer to your inquiry.

The first answer is actually a question. Why? I am sure there are many people who could live with one format or another and be perfectly content. So, to answer your question.....yes. I believe that some folks would be able to. In my case, I have just about as many LP's as I do CD's, XRCD's, SACD's, etc.. So, if I were to give up the goose and stick with one collection, I would essentially lose half of my music collection. Could I live with one format? Yeah, I am sure I could but why? Some of my LP's sound better than the CD counterparts and vice-versa.

Secondly, some of the music I have is not available on the counterpart format and never would be. FWIW, some of those just so happen to be on my "top shelf". Not for it's audiophile credentials but for sheer musical enjoyment. If you were to take the top shelf selections from both LP and the digital counterpart? Once again, half of my most cherished selections would be gone. For obvious reasons, most all of us gave up on cassettes, 8 track and laser disc. I did as well. I am down to LP's and the digital counterparts now. So, I guess my second answer will end up with a question as well. Why limit yourself to just one?

Tom
 

Mdp632

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2016
431
140
173
Hello Mdp632 and good evening to you. I have two a part answer to your inquiry.

The first answer is actually a question. Why? I am sure there are many people who could live with one format or another and be perfectly content. So, to answer your question.....yes. I believe that some folks would be able to. In my case, I have just about as many LP's as I do CD's, XRCD's, SACD's, etc.. So, if I were to give up the goose and stick with one collection, I would essentially lose half of my music collection. Could I live with one format? Yeah, I am sure I could but why? Some of my LP's sound better than the CD counterparts and vice-versa.

Secondly, some of the music I have is not available on the counterpart format and never would be. FWIW, some of those just so happen to be on my "top shelf". Not for it's audiophile credentials but for sheer musical enjoyment. If you were to take the top shelf selections from both LP and the digital counterpart? Once again, half of my most cherished selections would be gone. For obvious reasons, most all of us gave up on cassettes, 8 track and laser disc. I did as well. I am down to LP's and the digital counterparts now. So, I guess my second answer will end up with a question as well. Why limit yourself to just one?

Tom

Hi Tom ,

It's mostly an OCD thing with me and matter of resources and focus.

If I can focus my time , money on the best digital I can afford for example.

Then perhaps I can sit there and and not wonder about all the analog variables.

I need this cart with this stage and this arm. Etc and plus a simplification of components too.
 

asiufy

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It's very possible, but of course, the system needs to be at a certain level.

For sure I wouldn't mind living with an MSB SELECT DAC only :)


cheers,
alex
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Hi Tom ,

It's mostly an OCD thing with me and matter of resources and focus.

If I can focus my time , money on the best digital I can afford for example.

Then perhaps I can sit there and and not wonder about all the analog variables.

I need this cart with this stage and this arm. Etc and plus a simplification of components too.

You will also enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that what you have is the 'best' for you at what it is...the best digital, the best LP, the best tape, etc. If this works for you, enjoy! It has worked for me for all these many years...
 

fas42

Addicted To Best
Jan 8, 2011
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Yes. I did a super simple, CD only, system 30 years ago which switched on "convincing" sound for me - and have never looked back. No analogue in the intervening decades, ever - and I probably will resist the music server approach for some time yet. Simplicity is a huge friend in getting competent sound, so if having the satisfying experience is key I would go with exclusivity ...
 

Al M.

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treitz3

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Agreed but one can always KISS on more than one format. ;)

Tom
 

rbbert

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JackD201

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Apr 20, 2010
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Yet another yes from me. Sometimes I feel analog and digital are separate hobbies! Indulging in both is simply a choice. Either can be satisfying. Even as an analog guy first and foremost, I can't live without digital. I need my music on the go and analog today won't give me that.
 

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