I think I mostly agree. I do like cost effective tweaks that work.
I recently bought a $3000 all in one unit that does everything except play the records. Just add speakers. It is...."excellent" sounding!
Also have a small pair of all-in-1 powered speakers. These cost about what your average "high end" power cord would cost. Just add a source. They have output level limits still, being quite small, but other than that in the 12X12 vaulted ceiling lively room they are in...they sound "excellent"! Lots of modern technology and smart engineering went into both of these products.
Walsh 2s were a great score for a 17 year old back then...I had a pair at 21 when they first came out. But the newer models are night and day better these days......40 years of refinement that can be easily heard. I know this because I compared my newer Walshes a/b to my older ones back in 2008 before I traded them in. Those original Walsh 2s were still going strong after 27 years! But the newer ones had the detail and associated sound characteristics one expects from modern "high end" speakers. The original Walsh 2s...not so much.