Stereo

It was recently suggested to me that an expensive stereo was stereotypical (ha ha) of post-secondary students. And yet, I have never seen this for myself. Granted, mine was probably expensive new, but I'm not sure what it's worth now (Yes, for all you would-be house thieves, it's so old that it actually has phono-in with a built-in preamp. Not exactly what's hot on the market.) Maybe I'm a snob, but I've never seen (outside of the DJ-ing crew) a stereo more complicated than a standard 5.1 computer speaker system, with the subwoofer being little more than a old-style mid-range)

Far be it from me to pine for the days of analog stereo equipment, for the days where vinyl was the medium of choice, and cassettes were still called reel-to-reel, but to me the above is a a bit of a sad comment on the state of the modern ear. Not only can one argue that music is becoming increasingly formulaic, but entry-level stereos are increasingly designed for form (as seen by flat speakers with little-to-no sound depth) and for cost. I can see why those two are important in a fashion- and cost-conscious society. But, is not quality also important? What about quantitative aspects such as distortion, frequency reproduction and fidelity? Or qualitative aspects such as sound colour and depth?

What are your thoughts? What do you listen on? Am I just being a snob?