If you mean that they are much much better now, esp. when you look at value with inflation factored in, I agree with you. If you could get something like a music hall mmf7 in 1980 for the same relative dollars, people would have found it a lot more painful (literally) to start buying thoses early cd players.
IMHO (as always). Technological progress is first to see what can be done at any price and second to do the same thing at the lowest possible price. I suspect that the first phase is close to its end, and there are some signs that the second phase is starting (e.g. Njoe Tjoeb & others).
As always, random thoughts that are worth as much as you paid for them.