Right On Avguy, I suspect you are closer than some would like to admit. An actual encounter with "The Good Olde Days" would most likely bring us to a place that we remembered differently. "The Persistence of Memory" is usually a long shot from the reality but it can be comforting.
Idealism, Audio and Lost Youth
Do any of you yearn for the magic of systems that you may have owned many years ago -- or still cherish older components when you could afford to replace them with supposedly more sophisticated, newer designs? Is is possible that they actually sounded better, or am I just romanticising my youth? I would swear that my heavily modified Kenwood KD 500 with SME III and Dynavector Ruby into an Audio Research pre amp and Hafler DH 500 and Magneplanar MG-1bs in 1980 sounded better than several mega buck systems I have had recently. I have similarly blissful memories of a Nakamich 250 (!) and bi-amped ADS "Mobile Fidelity System" circa 1975 even over the road noise roar of my cheap first car. Maybe it's all about analogue but I just don't listen to music as much anymore.