Audiophile hearing aids

Ignore pages 1 to 44 - they are just speculation about what the Topping DX5 ii might be like as a DAC/headphone amplifier.

Finding a favourite Mozart piano concerto on vinyl, I dug out a long neglected player, and was rewarded with richness, warmth - a kind of smile in the sound.
Normally I’m all CD.
Well I bought the CD version to compare. Grain! Muddle! A cold remoteness I can’t put words to. Admittedly this is a single comparison, but now I unfortunately notice similar grunge in many of my CDs. I wonder if the attentiveness that comes with deafness, or perhaps the lack of higher-up masking, makes us more critical?

I wonder about lifespan difference between vinyl and CD. Perhaps it is another factor worth to be considered?

@ellisonvoice said:

Well I bought the CD version to compare. Grain! Muddle! A cold remoteness I can’t put words to. Admittedly this is a single comparison, but now I unfortunately notice similar grunge in many of my CDs.

The biggest problem is the record labels, are too cheap to use the original masters, and just use a compressed copy to mfg the CD version.
I can’t count the times I’ve been disappointed w/ the CD version of a great sounding LP.

The world of remastering our beloved lp’s is levelling the playing field. Picking up a fine hoard of them via Qobuz and modestly tweaking equalizer settings. Volume output is key.