Hifitommy - the definition was changed by the cd makers with the advent of cd - there is no dynamic range advantage and that is a FACT - Cd players post 100+DR figures and when you back calculate it comes to about 79-80.

The word diminishing returns is being used often as if to say there are no returns. I saw a speaker radio set for $1.00 in my dollar store. going from no sound to that $1.00 system is a HUGE fantastical improvement. going from that to an Atom yields X improvement. Blah.

Go to Soundhounds in Victoria BC. You can listen to the Audio Note Turntable TT3(Voyde Reference) Against the Top of the line Linn rig and Linn's $30k Cd player or any other cd player they carry since they all sound the same when in working order and not deliberately altered??)apparently and The AN DAC/Transport combo's

Bring a bunch of LP's and the REFERENCE CD's stereophile globs all over. And they have nice 30k speakers.

It will be abundandly clear that the Linn etc cd players do somehting other than make real life music.

In fact that table/system has renewed my interest in turntables. The Project which was not too pricey at around $500.00Cdn was quite good. The cd variants had less of 3d soundstage and more of a compressed rather uninteresting sound.

You certainly DON'T need to be a golden ear to tell which one makes a guitar and piano sound more like a guitar and piano. It doesn't matter - because most people won't listen - they will rely on what magazine reviews and those who measure the wrong things tell them. But of course you can't rely on what you hear - I mean buying music and listening to music requires none of that listening.

Cd's are handier ergonomically friendly, portable, easier to copy, used copies are generally as "perfect" haha, as they were when new - some used LP's are horrible, poorly pressed poorly maintained by prior owners etc.

And most people geenrally had lousy tables which are lousier than cd players. Hell even my NAD - just getting a slight alignment adjustment and a proper stand.

Buying the relatively new Sarah McLachlan Remixed album - more deep bass and not some euphoinic bass the SS crowd likes to incorrectly infer, but actual deep bass. Where my cd player wins is high frequency extension(not smoothness) but my rig is pretty low end. There is still no question between the LP and CD which is superior. And the CD version is about as well-recorded as CD gets. No pop click or anything else either.