@skypunk, then just about everything you listen too now sucks. Even old analog recordings are stored digitally, to keep them from losing fidelity!
Once the music is in 1's and 0's it is essentially indestructible, a far cry from the old analog days when every step added noise and distortion. It was the big reason D to D recordings sounded so good.
Pro audio is priced much more reasonably as ego is not involved. Equipment from pro manufacturers is a far better value and you spend a lot less for "bling." Benchmark is a great example, dBx another.