Luciano wrote:

"Big rings feel good. Those who know, know."

This brings us back to the original question.

One can acheive the same ratio with both larger and smaller chainring/sprocket combinations.
If one goes with a smaller pair, he gets a shorter chain and lighter weight all around.
If one goes with a larger pair, according to luciano, it feels good.
To me, a larger pair would seem to impose less stress and wear and tear on the sprocket, chainring and chain, but I arrive at this intuitively and I can't substantiate it.

On the surface, though, it seems like a trade off between less weight on the small side, and less wear and tear (and perhaps better feel) on the large side.
Any comments about how it feels?
How it feels matters.

Oh, and should I have done all the size matters jokes just to get them out of the way?