The return of the DIYer

I can’t believe people don’t know that line from Belushi’s great inspirational speech in Animal House.
The pundits have been predicting the death of "high end" for decades but somehow, the top tier (often flavor of the month) keeps getting more expensive.
Classic old pieces command some serious coin too.
So, I agree it makes sense to go back to the roots.
I’ve been doing some reading- need to do some listening-- to the immediate post WE era-- I guess early Altec, Jensen, etc. Some of those old horn systems seem appealing- I want to hear a few (I’m trying to find the right balance between wattage needs given the modest output of my Lamm ML2s and the cost of assembling a horn system that does not run into crazy money).
I’ve never been a great soldering hand- yeah, I built a few Dynakits when I was young but I’ve relied pretty much entirely on commercially available gear.
My main system is probably the best sounding it has ever been-- based on components I put together starting in 2006-7.
I’ve spent enough time around this hobby to not be awed by the dollars spent, but I do enjoy the beauty of well made gear from whatever era. Whether it sounds good to your ears is another matter.
I think even before Harry Pearson died, and the Stereophile morphed again (was it resold- I haven’t really followed its more recent publication history), the notion of touting aspirational gear was losing its appeal. Ditto, the notion that there was only one way to achieve sonic nirvana. (How many of us still have all those Harry’s List records in our collection?)
Many people liked Art Dudley, apart from seeming like a pleasant guy and a good writer, he did like older gear and found bargains (relative) in historic pieces.
I think each of us follow a different path. If you have the skills to build from parts (I’ve hired cabinet makers to build, ahem, cabinets), why not?

I got into this area pre-1970 and it didn’t take me that long to assemble a serious system.
But hobbyist audio comes from equipment that was raw drivers, amp kits and a turntable, a few of which endure, along with early classics, like Saul Marantz/Sid Smith's work. Before that,  equipment was based on live/pro sound, and before that, music for film, if I’m not mistaken.
What we think of as consumer audio, whether budget or "high end," really went into commercial production in the ’50s, probably coinciding with the advent of the LP. I know lots of people probably had phonographs to play 78s but these were more in the nature of furniture than what we think of as hi-fi from what I can discern. As far as I know, there was no hi-fi as a commercial matter, pre-war other than professional gear, no?