I remember I bought a complete 4-5 piece Yamaha home stereo system back then, was over $2500, all the components were separate. You can probably spend $50 on a Bluetooth speaker for your phone that puts out almost as much sound now. I have it in my garage.
IMO, people now don't care what music sounds like so don't have stereo systems. They listen to tinny crap and rap on a crappy $50 Bluetooth speaker and think it sounds good.
High quality expensive stuff are still available. People just buy what suit their tastes and budget.
I'm not talking high quality expensive stuff, I'm talking about having some real speakers that include some bass. It used to be a priority to have a decent stereo, now it's a $1000 phone with all your music and a $50 speaker to hear it on.
As BWII mentioned, regular audio equipment is so much cheaper now than it was 30 or 40 years ago, as adjusted for inflation.
