So you find the original vinyl sounds better than the recording you made from it?
Have you checked the digital to confirm that no point in the recording reaches beyond -1db?
....record with a decent 24bit ADC... and the be careful with level setting through the chain...
....
I have not found my end result to be consistently differentiable from the original.
(P.S. Videos of people's stereo playing.. ?!?! makes no sense whatsoever - always found the idea ridiculous!)
Yes, I check & tweak levels for -1 to -2 db peaks. Always test record. Retrim & redo if any 0 db peaks. No point in archiving if it isn't as perfect as I can make it.
AD/DA connects to preamp's tape loop. Classe DR6 Tape in/out <--> Mogami RCA <--> Aphex 124A <--> Mogami balanced <--> Avid MBox Pro 3 (up to 24/192) <--> IEEE1394 <--> dedicated older windows workstation w/multiple capture (e.g. DAWs: Pro Tools, Audacity, Reaper, Adobe; NLEs & dedicated A only & A/V capture tools,) editing & playback programs.
Suspect audible difference comes from extra wiring & junctions needed to create loop.