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 think it’s more about the ritual of it all and the feeling of music as a deliberate experience instead of just something to have on in the background. The audio quality is usually great, to me, but I like the idea of actually owning my favorite albums, even though I also stream tons.