1 - This if freaking awesome. Makes me want to start buying stuff on vinyl again, copy it and stow away the original until the copy wears out. If only this could be used to cure skips...
2 - The only beefs I really have with digital vs. vinyl is the artifacting produced by compression (almost non-existent on properly recorded CDs, and only distractingly noticeable to MY ears on mp3s of 128Kbps or less) and the god-awful sonic vomitry of the
Loudness Warw. And as f0dder said, both cases can be corrected by the judicious hand of an experienced producer/engineer. On the other hand, a worn needle or over-played vinyl is as bad or worse than any claimed digital harshness.
That said, I remember I once had a cassette of a band called Arsenal, their album "Factory Smog Is a Sign of Progress". I thought it was pretty good, but I happened to hear a recording of the
same album a friend of mine recorded from vinyl. The difference was like comparing bologna to steak, and sold me on vinyl for a number of years.
Great years those were...
