Does Separates really sound better than Integrated

I've experienced both routes. First iteration was an Adcom amp and preamp. Then came a Bryston amp and preamp. After that was a Proceed amp and Pass Labs preamp. My last amp/preamp combo was all CJ premier gear. I liked the preamp very, very much, but sold it in favor of a Rogue integrated which I liked better.

In 2013 I picked up a Pass Int-150. That surpasses anything I've ever owned in all areas except flexibility.

And while I have no experience with ultra costly gear, in my price areas, I've learned that you need not give up any sound quality by going to an integrated.

I recently listened, at a non-audiophile friends house, to a new Yamaha AS-1000 integrated she bought from Crutchfield.
If that was all I had to use for the rest of my life I wouldn't feel bad.
Best Integrated I've heard.

Schubert, what was rest of that system?

She has a pair of Boston Acoustic A-25, which sounded good, and a Yamaha CD player, I don't know the model.
The 2 Yammy units together looked elegant.
DNM speaker wire and IC which I gave her.Herbie tenderfeet all around, also from me.

A top-shelf integrated amp can sound:

(a) equally as good as most top-shelf separates; and depending on other factors can also beat them;

(b) certainly better than most fair to middlin' tier separates; and

(c) completely smoke the lower tier separates.