Not necessarily. Although it's true that hardware gear offer a sound that's unique to each unit, it doesn't necessarily make it better in the end result. On the other hand, hardware units sound great but they've got limitations that plugins don't have. Plug ins these days are incredibly close to the original hardware sonically, and the additional features they bring to the table like sidechain, mix knobs, filters, and easiness of use make these tools a lot more efficient in practice.