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I was trying to say the same thing, just not as well as you summed it up.
The moment we mod the video/audio we lose the 'original'. For music, it's up to each musician to decide on the sound they want to create or recreate.
For an old fart like me, messing with the original hardware is the fun part. Voiding warranties on systems that were out of my reach back then. Just stuck in the past!
Yogi

I really don't see a lot of distinction between the use of EMUs and orig hardware either. Within the digital domain, an emu can recreate the original logic, cycle to cycle, and recreate any quirks if that's the goal. There are a lot of good examples out there such as the dosbox OPL3 emu; very good but not quite the same as a hardware chip, but there are several Yamaha OPL chips that also sound different . If there is a demand the emu will be improved, but as time goes on, fewer of the users will have any first hand experience with the real hardware.
IMO, 'better' or 'worst' are very subjective terms. More dependent on the user's goals. For example, there are quite a few SID emus ported to uCs, AVrs Arduinos PICs. Now compared to the original 'SID' (keep in mind there are several SID versions that sound different), each hardware/firmware emu lacks some quality. But if you remove the 'SID' label and consider the firmware for it's own synth qualities, they are excellent.
  So for modern gamers that wants to do some retro gaming when they need a break form the Xbox360, Renton's got them covered. For the hacker/dev/chipmusic crowd there is also potential if the system's firmware is open sourced or hacked at some point. I can think of several ideas for a dream list.
Sorry for rattling on, Yogi

Well it's not for me but I can see where some would like it. I prefer flash carts on real systems but space is limited so not everything is hooked up all the time. With a all-in-one system there is more freedom to play favorites without having to dig out cables and such. This could be very appealing to younger types, along side a modern system. My kids (all over 20) have a higher expectation for picture quality and soundtracks, so the Renton enhancements would be a benefit to them.
Yogi

Feeling very old with this thread!!
  Very first 'puter- a kit called the Super Elf II based on the RCA Cosmac 1802. Hex keyboard, 6 Seven segment LED displays (Adr and Data in Hex), a whopping 2K of ram (with the add-on expansion board) and no non-volatile storage. Everything hand assembled with pencil and paper, entered one hex byte at a time, then hit Run and pray!
  One of the first programs on it was a beeper music player that I would enter and leave running till I couldn't stand the song (didn't want to turn it off and have to re-enter the program).
   A year or so later got a Atari 2600; then in '79~'80 got my beloved Atari 800. Used it till about '94 (but still have it in a box) when I had access to a Windows 3.1 PC at work. It wasn't till like '97 that I built my own Win95 box; buying all the parts over a year, one at a time.
looking at my post, the sad thing is: I recall more details about my computers then my ex-wifes !!
Yogi

Lots of good advice here, but thought I'd throw out a little known option, Hi-Fi VHS. the stereo track is an FM signal recorded deep below the video; has very high S/N and very low THD and flutter. The durability of the tape is really the let down, so try to find the best quality cassette.
Look for a deck with audio metering; some decks need a video signal, others don't. For the quality, the price is great.
Yogi

Look'n/sound'n good! Will it support both of LS's GenMDM and the SMSM midi interfaces? Please?!?!
Yogi

Thanks for your input Neil, perhaps in the future you could share a little of your knowledge about the APU. I for one would very much like to see a Midi interface happen, and where as a basic design is possible such as the Chip Maestro, I envision a a far more feature rich controller.
  For my part, a PIC or ARM based system seems doable at a HW level, but a knowledge of the 'tricks' that make the APU sit-up and speak are beyond my kin. The key is the modulation and envelop handling which you are a master of.
  Yogi