I remember it starting about the time CD came along and all the 'old timers' who understood analog pretty well started trying to 'prove' that digital couldn't really work. From the triangle wave vs. sine wave to the 'jitter' arguments, the effect has been a trend away from sound engineering principles.

Try explaining to a vinyl-phyle that their beloved has approximately 12 bit performance and you'll probably have a fight on your hands.

One saving grace is that as technology advances our ears don't, so it's easier and easier to get things 'quiet enough' and 'clear enough', but it REALLY ticks me off to see a modern device not meet it's specs by such a large margin.