Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

I was asked by my stepdad (who is in his seventies) whether I could help him / advise him about transferrring his tapes to MP3.
I asked him whether it was really worth it. All that time and hassle (knowing him he will have hundreds)... why not just listen to them as tapes, on the tape deck that he has, that still works?... if it aint broken and all that ... I think I have a similar attitude to bikes. Old stuff is great!
I guess it means he can listen to that taped stuff on his mp3 player ... but then I don't really 'get' those things anyway ... why would you want to listen to music everywhere you bloody go? Awful.

If I was in Australia with the tapes and had my tape deck I'd listen to the tapes. I always did. But I'm now over here and carting back boxes of tapes just seems daft (and expensive) hence the ripping. I don't use an ipod these days so I only listen to music at work and at home anyway.
It's all about the state of mind the tracks create.. I'm not concerned with the delivery medium. I'd love to have originals but I'm cutting my losses. Shit, it was already recorded off the radio.. and 3hr sets into 90min = dodgy edits.. it's certainly not the best :)