[direwolf-pgh]

I'm having a tough time with this debate as well.
At first, I had real warm-fuzzy thoughts of records & tapes..but then reality set in.

That store bought reel-reel was probably recorded for Dolby B or C.
Talk about a dynamic crushing algorithm... yuck. I dont miss those days at all.
If you played tape without Dolby.. the headroom is launched to the limits with hiss.

Records. Sure I love them, but pops & surface noise..it came with the territory.
Not to mention that in the 70's & 80's vinyl records were very low grade.
The discs were so thin..they were like 12" floppies by 1984.

I have no issue with CD's - except the mastering or remastering process.
for my favorite recordings I'll search different transfers for the one that hits me right.

I also believe with the newer media on the horizon (DVD-A/Blu Ray)
there is so much bandwidth space for the engineers to work with - it will only get better.
And again we will find ourselves repurchasing out favorite recordings all over again.