From a purely mathematical standpoint, an approximation (digital sampling) cannot be as good as the thing sampled. Digital is an inherently lossy medium. The question is, is that loss humanly perceptible?
The perceptibility of loss depends on many production and reproduction factors and therefore it's not possible to say one medium will be consistently superior in sound quality for an end user.
In my personal experience, I have abandoned vinyl playback for digital files. All my vinyl records were digitized to DSD single rate DSF files. The analog to digital converter I used, a PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter, offered the option of converting analog to PCM at 44.1k, 88.2k, 96k, 176.4k, and 192k. Analog could also be converted to single or double rate DSD. My DAC does not play double rate DSD, therefore PCM rates and DSD1 were compared, with DSD1 being the consistent winner. In every case when the LP was compared (A/B'ed) to its digitized DSD version, the DSD file had more overall clarity, more detail, more image weight, and a more three-dimensional sound stage. The bass impact, tactile sensation, bass articulation, and bass detail of the DSD file were significantly better.
To be fair, my turntable system (Ortofon MC Windfeld cartridge, Graham Phantom II tonearm, Teres Audio Model 255 turntable, Teres Audio Reference II motor-$14,654 total MSRP) was at a serious disadvantage compared to my digital sources (Bryston BDP-2 digital player, dCS Debussy DAC, dCS Puccini U-Clock master clock-$20,500 total MSRP). Undoubtedly, since the turntable was in the same room as my very large loudspeakers, acoustic feedback from the loudspeakers, and the room, had some effect on the turntable's performance. The LP digital transfers were produced in a quiet room while monitoring the recording through headphones. Therefore, there was no acoustic feedback to the turntable during the digital transfer process. If I were fortunate enough to have had the luxury of placing my turntable in an acoustically isolated room away from the loudspeakers, it's possible the turntable would have consistently won in a comparison to my digital front end. It is also possible that a more resolving (and more expensive) analog system could have overcome the acoustic feedback issues in the listening room and provided a better presentation than the digital sources.
Prior to the listening trials between vinyl and DSD files derived from the vinyl, I did several comparisons of the LP, CD and SACD versions of some of my albums. The results were mixed. Sometimes I didn't perceive a difference among the various media versions. Sometimes one or the other version sounded better in some aspects.
Prior to my vinyl digitization project, the best sounding recordings I had, in terms of image realism, clarity, and detail, were the Classic Records 45 rpm single-sided 4-disc 180 gram vinyl versions of Dave Brubeck's "Time Out" and Miles Davis' "Kind Of Blue". These two recordings sounded better than any CD or SACD in my collection, and their DSD versions transcribed from vinyl sounded better still, even better than the commercial SACD versions of these recordings.
It is inconceivable that I would ever want to return to the maintenance and operational inconveniences of vinyl playback.
