Latency is a motherfucker---especially the more you rely on feel and an immediate
tactile connection to your gear. I do believe the more A/D/A conversions you have
going on in the chain the likelihood that they could be problematic for some of us
increases. The cumulative effect of even 2 or 3 of those such conversions can be
a gamekiller. Yes, gamekiller.
I also think for others it doesn't matter. Probably determined on our playing style,
our level of proficiency (as a guy holding a note and waiting for the 30 seconds
of shimmer-verb to fade into oblivion is probably not too concerned about a
few more Milliseconds of latency). Not a slight. Just saying.
And yeah, analog dry thru is huge. For me. I don't want my entire chain experiencing
an added A/D/A conversion even when the f'ing effect is off, dammit!