the meaning of the word "better"

I agree, I was mainly thinking digital. You are correct about the analog and tube stuff. We in audio can appreciate the older stuff, but the society as a whole probably sees analog and tubes as ancient 'back in the old days' stuff. My overall thought process was, we live in a virtual throw away age, where stuff can do wonderful things, but have a very short 'life', and do not retain any value once their 'day' has passed. This applys to many things outside of audio.

Just as an example, there is an auto ad currently running on TV, Lexus I think, shows the car as it speeds pass many outdated bits of technology. The ads touts the car's state of the art technolgy. One of the items it speeds pass is a turntable. :) I thought of the guys on audiogon when I saw it.
Thanks for the post.
Peace.

better means "improved" - does that clear things up?

can we now move on to "best?"

Your last paragraph gave me a chuckle. I was just flashing back to a medical report that I read last week from a doctor of psychology written in 1934 where he reported about the "ultra modern" techniques they were employing in a study. I remember chuckling as I read it, thinking that anyone in any scientific field should not use phrases like that in a descriptive measure. As time changes, "ultra modern" becomes "outdated" in the blink of an eye.

Cheers,
John

Mitch2, good one, LOL!

Too tough to answer.