>Compact speaker systems like Sonos (that don't need a separate AVR) simply got good enough.
I don't like em. I am not the stereotypical smug audiophile but the sound on most of these new systems, soundbars, headphones, etc... is absolute trash.
Any pair of moderately-decent bookshelf speakers blows them out of the water and you can get them for ~300USD so they're actually cheaper than "high-end" speakers from brands like Bose, Sonos, etc... which sound terrible IMO.
About a year ago I tried the top-of-the-line soundbars from LG, Sonos, and Samsung respectively. They all went back to the store. A time-consuming, but worthwhile reminder of the adage you mention.
I don't like em. I am not the stereotypical smug audiophile but the sound on most of these new systems, soundbars, headphones, etc... is absolute trash.
Any pair of moderately-decent bookshelf speakers blows them out of the water and you can get them for ~300USD so they're actually cheaper than "high-end" speakers from brands like Bose, Sonos, etc... which sound terrible IMO.