Well, I just did a quick A/.B comparison of vinyl vs. CD. Here's the equipment:
CD "Moondance" by Van Morrison off Van Morrison's greatest Hits.
Vinyl: same cut off of "Moondance" album
Receiver: Carver 6250 headphone jack
Turntable: TD 125 Mark II
Cartridge: Stanton 681EEE
CD Player: Sony CDP-C715
Headphones: AKG k340 (supposedly very neutral)
I played and listened to each source twice. This is what I heard:
With the vinyl, I was aware of slight crackles (I usually took very good care of my albums.......cleaning before each play), and the sound was well, very smooth and well balanced. Van's voice sounded real and possessed depth. His voice seemed attached to his body......very organic sounding. The instruments had no harshness at all. Horns, in particular, sounded very good. I could discern a definite placement of instruments as well as proximity to the microphone. The ambience of the recording studio was also reproduced well. But those damn crackles! They did take away from my enjoyment.
Now the CD. Very detailed, but sterile. Van's voice was a bit thinner and seemed almost detached from his body. I didn't get the sense that this voice was indeed attached to a living, breathing body. There was something digital sounding about it. As for the instruments, the horns were definitely not as smooth, but they sounded more detailed in the higher registers. I also did not get the same sense of distance in the recording studio. The horns sounded closer on the CD than on the vinyl. The ambience of the recording studio was almost non-existent. Ah, but there was zero background noise on the CD.
Results: I may, at times, pull out an album to give it a listen, but I'm sticking with CDs. What convinced me was the fact, as I was writing this, the record ended and I had to get up and flip it over!
Another major advantage of CDs. It's hard to relax with vinyl. Hope this helps in making your decision.
PS: I did not use any of my headphone amps because they're not connected through my system. Oh, and the bass.........I did not hear any discernible difference, but I'm not really a bass kinda guy. Both sounded good to my ears. As I'm editing this, side 2 of the album is playing through my Klipsch Forte's and there are handclaps which startled me because they sound so "real." Maybe I'll give vinyl a second go-round.............all those albums!