I have downloaded the occasional OOP album from torrent sites. I can always pick the ones ripped from vinyl by the usual extraneous artifacts captured in the process - and I have old ears.
I could hear the artifacts on my LP rips to Compact Cassette in my younger days. New LPs cleaned and played once before the ripping play. MC cartridge and Nakamichi 582 cassette deck.
I am puzzled that vinyl-lovers don't find this factor distracting.
Well, perhaps you're "special". Personally, compression artifacts, evident on so many CD's, "distracts" me a whole lot more.
So what was so "distracting" exactly ... because again ... without provided the actual rip(s) to relate, I've no idea or confirmation to what you refer.
But that said, I also hear "artifacts" with many rips, including many of my own. But certainly not all. Rips that don't work out perfectly, which I have plenty, IMO, don't justify vinyl's true potential. And when it comes to torrent vinyl rips, they're all over the place. PBThal rips are popular. His early work seemed to have no (or little) digital intervention, so you really got a chance to hear what his system was capable of reproducing. His later offerings have obvious signs of digital intervention, and although they may sound quieter, they don't really provide the proper insight toward his systems true sound. One chap, who's rips are also all over the place on the net, with Japanese type name resembling a tire manufacturer, claims his "Vinyl" rips are perfect ... and they certainly are ... that's because they are in fact an exact copy of the original high DR CD's, bit for bit.
Personally, although it's relatively easy to de-click & filter a file post rip, I prefer to share my rips with no post digital intervention, rather them judge based on reality, warts & all.
I've acquaintances who also are not into vinyl. For those 'philes, the turntable remains static which pleases me fine. Let's not confuse my love for vinyl as a slight against digital, I absolutely love digital, so those all-digital listening sessions are very much welcomed, and certainly, the inconvenience of searching, cleaning, playing LPs, for those who prefer the vinyl experience, may eventually drive me to loneliness.
However, for those who first visit, I routinely pull the same stunt ... I start by playing three specific re-masters, a Badco, Deep Purple, and Bowie CD. The Badco and DP songs are "extra" titles on the re-masters, absent from the original album. The beauty of these picks is since they didn't make the album, I presume they were left as-is, since little to no apparent compression was added (except for the DP Glover remix version). Not only are they most-often totally unaware of these cuts, they're also always impressed by the music. The third cut is a down-mix from Ken Scott's Ziggy Stardust SACD MC re-issue, which contains stellar DR, values, way in excess of every version of this album I've heard or own, in any format. Chances are, they never heard this version either, always seems to impress. But then, the stunt. I put on a high DR rip, one with very little to no apparent noise. Not once has anyone guessed it was a vinyl rip. Nada!!!! Instead, they act just as they did with the prior songs. I've pulled this "stunt" often, and its proved 100% consistent. When inform, they always ask to either hear it again, or claim
"you'd never know that was a rip".
Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's a flawed stunt, but considering the consistency, I don't
think you and your "old" ears would have acted any differently.