(Incidentally, though, I do think it's perfectly legit to compare CW hardware + plugs to PT just hardware + plugs.)
Nevertheless I'm still enjoying + learning from this thread. So... I'm about to drift even further out!
About the Euphonics and Fairlight and so on: I'm not convinced. Maybe those are big in Hollywood, GaryB. And granted, Bassdude, the Fairlights are extremely powerful consoles, by the looks of 'em. But Fairlight has been coming and going for years, so whether or not it's a better mousetrap, I wouldn't count on it being around for very long. (Though it'll keep coming back of course!)
Euphonics has really targeted the film industry. Maybe they're hoping that surround music DVDs or SACDs or something really take off. But so far noone (that I've heard of, anyway) is doing music in surround. So we'll see if that changes. But in the meantime Euphonics has a very niche market, and is priced accordingly.
I suspect the trend for big studios will, in future, be in the opposite direction. Toward the whole "vintage", "analogue" etc industry.
Despite the trend toward "vintage" and "analogue" (or whatever else), SSL hasn't lost its foothold yet. Don't forget, it takes 5+ years to pay off a large format console. You don't just switch them in and out because "Mix" magazine says there's a sexier brand out there. And up here in Canada, at least, SSL and Neve stil rule supreme in the biggest studios. In medium-sized studios of course there is no "standard". There are thousands of consoles in use by mid-sized studios. I'll get back to the "missing medium" shortly though...
I do agree 100%, Scary808, on the downscaling trend. Who needs 80 inputs in a mixing console?!? That's ludicrous, even in the biggest studio.
Whatever the trends in consoles, I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll see more and more gear in the "cheap crap" and "expensive boutique" categories for a while to come. The music recording industry, at least, seems to be dviding into two camps: the experts and the plebeians. The experts control the trends and standards and prices so that the pro industry is beyond the reach of DIYers. They also don't like to share useful knowledge with the plebs, and they certainly don't like the plebs buying their holy imperial gear.
Thus this whole "vintage" trend. I really do think it's more about control than it is about quality. You can disagree with me, of course. But we have all been swept up in silly ideas of "warm" and "fat" sounding gear. Why? Why not get caught up in gear that reproduces sound accurately?
I confess to being caught up in this craze too. I like "mud" and "dirt" and "colouring" too.
But maybe, just maybe, if I hadn't been brought up on the sound of inaccurate audio equipment -- maybe I would think "warm" and "fat" and so on are just euphemisms for a bad reproduction.
In spite of everything I hate about "democracy" in general, I look around me and see that every lasting standard in audio is (either by accident or by design) inaccessible to the small / medium business or home user. Even as technology gives us the opportunity to develop cheap high-quality gear, the industry becomes more stratified and the "middle ground" disappears.
Thank goodness there are still a few companies left filling in the middle ground between cheap crap and overly expensive "pro" gear. Thank goodness for the few manufacturers of affordable, high-quality gear. Thank goodness for CreamWare!
And thank goodness for PlanetZ. There aren't many "middle ground" discussion forums, online or anywhere else, I tell ya. Places where even nattering obnoxious DIYers like me can learn something useful each and every time we visit.
Long live the middle ground!
Cheers and thanks, as always, for y'all's comments,
Johann
P.S. Loved the line "most truly professional studios do... infomercial to porn to church work." Classic.
P.P.S. Thanks for the smilies Hubird! Since I promised it, my kingdom is yours if you want it. But you're already King of Smilies!
). also besides film, hollywood (l.a. in general) does quite a bit of the world's big budget recording. they spend money like water.
Sir 
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