Deciding between Al Stewart ’s Year of the Cat on vinyl versus a 24-bit/96kHz FLAC depends on whether you value the warmth and "Tubey Magic" of vintage analog or the clinical transparency of modern high-resolution digital masters. Summary Comparison
If you value low distortion, extended bass, and black backgrounds, buy the FLAC. However, if you want to feel the nostalgia of the 70s, the vinyl is still magical.
The Audiophile’s Guide to Al Stewart’s Year of the Cat: Vinyl vs. 24-bit/96kHz FLAC
1. The Soundstage: Width and Depth The first thing you notice with this high-resolution vinyl rip is the soundstage. The standard CD releases (and most streaming versions) of Year of the Cat suffer from "early digital fatigue"—they can sound somewhat flat and brittle.