i completely get preferring analog media, so if it’s about the sound characteristics (that ‘warmth’), having physical media, etc fair enough. but if the goal of an audiophile is to get the highest quality reproduction of a recording wouldn’t CDs or FLACs be your best bet?
maybe this only really applies for newer music, perhaps digital releases for music recorded analogue are just digitized vinyl or reel to reel recordings but for music produced in DAWs the highest quality version available for that release would surely be either a CD or a digital FLAC release
I’ve been an audiophile for 40 years. I have owned vinyl, cassette, digital discs etc and appreciate all the formats.
My preference is lossless digital.
At the same time, I love vinyl for the ritual (cleaning, storage, large graphic, packaging, etc). The sound is typically not as dynamic as digital since the mastering must roll off the vinyl bass to prevent the needle from jumping.