Quote Originally Posted by TONEPUB View Post
Sorry, I beg to differ. I've got halfway decent analog and digital setups and it always comes down to the mastering. I've heard great and poor examples of each. And while I've always been thumbs down on computer playback, the recent Amarra player that now plays the track directly from memory is not only fantastic, but has really changed my thinking of what computer audio is capable of. And it's not terribly expensive either.

I don't have a "ritual" for listening to music. I just enjoy it and I enjoy it just as much when played from a disc, a computer or a vinyl LP. I like them all. Nothing wrong with being romantic, however it's not the only way to go.

And I love having 7500 CD's on the Sooloos. Not only am I listening to more of my music collection than I used to, my whole family is as well. Nothing dehumanizing about that. The Sooloos has two full backups, so it won't be lost "in the blink of an eye with a software failure."

Even if we did have a catastrophic meltdown, I still own all of my discs, so it would just be some time to rip it all again.
I agree the mastering and care in production a great recording maketh.

Give me a giant mixing desk and quality engineering over Pro Tools any day.
That could be a future problem though if all other mediums were to disappear and all music was streamed. If the reverence and time in the finished product is no longer there or needed the produced music will surely suffer.
Disposable culture surely means lower quality.