another $0.02 (value depreciated of course)
the loudness war kind of moots the whole comparison. all these big outboard studios get that real quality, for sure, but it all gets compressed to utter crap so who cares.
and funny how this became an itb vs otb thread. truth of the matter is for the best results, combine.
and i'm sorry but in a digital world hardware equipment can be sooooooo limiting. we're living in a different age. its no longer about having that one box on that one setting that gives that perfect sound. its about creating sounds, from synthesizing new sounds to 'synthesizing' new outboard signals. if you're for the old school approach then cool, save your chips and buy a bunch of really cool boxes. but if you're looking towards the future you'll have to break out of those boxes (uhhhh the mixed metaphor is breaking down here). all this hubub about what is professional IMHO is bullshit. professionalism is in your approach to the music not what you use to create it.