Is simpler better?

Simplicity - HAA!

When computers were combined with audio, all simplicity went out the window.

Just put the disk in the drawer, press close, and hit play. - no simpler than that.

The pendulum swings both ways.  Just like corporations decide to "centralize" and then decide to "decentralize".

Fashion comes and goes, only to return again and again.

The trend at this point seems to me to be simpler is better.  Hard to argue against that.  That pendulum will swing back the other way as well.

Many people take great pride in their very complex systems.  All you need to do is look at the system pages to see that.

Regards,

barts

Well said @jjss49 better is indeed better. There are certain functions I prefer to keep separate, streamer and Dac, preamp and amp. So far it's worked for me and the sound quality is fantastic to my ears.

@barts  point(s) well-taken... as a long time educator it has been fun to watch methodological and ideological pendulums swing back and forth.  What is evident, though, is more programs, more tasks, more responsibilities, and more fine-grained lesson planning and administrative oversight certainly is counter-productive...  more more more rarely means better.

And, there are some simple things that have maintained exactly due to their simplicity for centuries.  The most effective martial arts fighting techniques is one example; fancy is for losers, in the ring.  A sword.  The wheel. The pendulum does not swing, for those things.  The pendulum itself is simple.

There is a universality and beauty to simplicity.  Yes, fancy-complex can have it's place, though, too... but it's more complicated and difficult to live with long-term day to day in the home, though admittedly some people just prefer to live that way.  

I have not found that I've enjoyed having more a more complex home audio system brought me more joy than a simple one.  The complex versions have been more burdensome.  

The shorter and cleaner the signal path, the cleaner and clearer the sound. If an integrated amp has the same quality preamp circuitry as separates, eliminating the cable between a preamp and amp will improve the sound. Same with a phono stage. The problem is, this is not usually the case. But sometimes it is. My system sounded better with a separate phono stage, despite the extra cable, because the phono stage was of much higher quality than that in the integrated amp, which is very good.

Same thing with features. Adding more circuitry for features like bass and treble controls and balance adds to the circuit and creates noise. I suspect adding a DAC or streamer creates noice to the amp/preamp circuitry as well.

Having a tonearm cable not directly into the cartridge adds another point of distortion. Separate headshells make changing cartridges convenient, but one cannot possibly argue that another point of signal transfer doesn't add distortion. Everything is a tradeoff.

My integrated amp has a remote for volume and mute only. I made the tradeoff when I was too lazy to get off the chair to adjust the volume. Since I only listen to vinyl, no need to be able to switch sources, which thankfully the amp's remote can't perform. And sure as heck don't turn the amp's power off with a remote.