Well, I understand and agree with everything said so far... I've been a member from two previous incarnations of this forum, many years now. I'm not a designer. I'm mostly here to learn, and help when I can. It's been a great community.
Funny this topic came up, because I've become aware in my own personal life of a shift in attitude. Probly the first time in my life I'm so future- and new-oriented. I'm much more focused on the present, much more focused on making something new in my life, my creative life, my music, my DIY, my house.
I love old gear, I'm mostly interested in old-
style gear -- that's not what I mean. (That's mostly a separate topic, more like analog vs. digital. I'm not slavishly devoted to the past or old gear at all. Tho I still avoid digital and I still avoid gear with chips in it...) With old gear or designs, I upgrade old PSUs, make it better, different, new.
My shift in attitude can be seen in regards to feelings about old music, old cars, old in general -- I've had it, I'm ready to move on and make something totally new! If it means using a new plastic audio toy or digital thingy I'm fine. If it means breaking rules in my traditional genre, that's fine. I'm moving on! New new!
Part of it is my proximity to Silicon Valley, seeing the iPhone change everyone's lives around me. Part of it is having small kids and a run down house -- both need a lot of work and attention on the future. Part of it is being so fed up with politics and the economic crash. I don't want to go back. Part of it is realizing I can change my life, my world, with my own mind and my own hands.
Let others reminisce and look back -- I'm future focused.
About design:
1 There are not that many frontiers left in analog audio.
2 The old stuff has name recognition, storied past, and momentum that new designs can never match in the market place. (It's no wonder all the attention is there.)
3 Furthermore, the larger industry for audio is utilitarian. Good clean sound is all that 99% of the world wants or needs. It's only studio heads, a sub-gruop of musicians, etc, who are into differentiating gear. And then it's an even smaller group of us who are interested in understanding how it works and building our own. We are the tip of the pyramid, or the bottom of the barrel, depending on your point of view.