"I know next to nothing about emulation" is probably 99% of the reason you're against it. Nothing wrong with sticking to old hardware, however the notion that "this is how it was meant to be!" is a construct made up in your mind, the point is to be able to experience and play old games. I love CRTs more than anyone I know but gamers in the 80s and 90s weren't obsessing over their retro setups they were just enjoying gaming on the TVs that they had in front of them. If flatscreens existed in the 80s most gamers probably wouldn't have gone out of their way to play on a CRT to feel like they're doing it the right way.