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With modern digital electronics and their economies of scale, isn't getting great audio quality trivial nowadays?

I would've assumed anything from consumer brands in the upmarket range (without going all the way to "audiophile") would give you more than enough quality where the limiting factor becomes the room and physical environment rather than the playback equipment?

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The physics of building a speaker have changed very little over the last several decades and companies give consumers what they want. Unfortunately for people that want great audio most consumers these days want smaller sizes and sub $500 price points so that's what the market is currently full of. There are some good options out there but not as many as in the past. Consumers want $100-200 soundbars so that's what there are hundreds of.

Another thing I forgot to mention about consumer preference is in amplifier design. Consumers prefer overall loudness over absolute fidelity, so Class D stereo amps are what's available.

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