I think they tended to build to a higher quality level years ago then they do now. The quality of design and construction not to mention they used the best parts available at the time. as the years go on the market is more about replacement then long term ownership. I know modern parts are better but I feel modern everything is built to be replaced sooner then later. there really is very few artisans around anymore.
you wont see 50 year old washers still working 40 years from now but I know of many 50 year old washers still chugging along today. Same thing with electronics really not made to last made to be replaced in a few years. say hello to capitalism and cheep labour. so when's the new IPhone 11 coming out ;-)
That said there is still some great people taking care to make great products. I tend to stay away from the conglomerates that have bought up most of the successful older audio companies and mashed them together for profit reasons. Not that profiting is bad.
I had a friend say that its too hard to make electronics really last more then 20 years reliably. I say bullpucky Voyager 1 and 2 are still transmitting and they have never been serviced in many decades.