BigEnd,
I reckon flying by feel is the key to good piloting. The more you can fly by other senses, the less you have to look inside (at the ASI, in this case). I refer to senses because you should see, hear and feel your aircraft.
I find a Dave Clark headset creates a barrier between me and the aircraft when flying an open cockpit biplane. This is detrimental to my flying performance.
We used to have to fly a blind, in the sense of no instruments, circuit before going solo in a glider.