Why the facination with integrated amps?

25 years ago I bought a Linn Majik integrated which I loved like the brother I never had.  I have a Cambridge integrated now.   I’m happy with it but will be looking to upgrade next year to a Moon, Naim, or similar.  

I’ve had such great experiences with integrateds. Maybe if my income were in the six figure range, I’d look down on integrateds, but as it is, the integrated amps I’ve owned or auditioned have been absolutely wonderful.    

Based on what others (pro and non-pro reviewers) have said, the Gryphon Diablo 300’s sound quality cannot be matched by separates at this price-point.  So for me it is sound quality and value.  At my budget I struggle to find seperates that have audiophile grade transparency and imaging and yet also have a good bass foundation, presence and with overall musicality driven by drive, timing, attack, decay and dynamics.  I’ve been finding lots of options that achieve the transparency and imaging but seem to fall short in some or all of the other areas.  Another thing is that I find some audiophile grade components to have not the right amount of bloom to certain tones to suit my tastes.  In other words they sound too lean, cold, and dry and not as musically engaging.

I’m completely open to seperates if I can beat the Diablo’s SQ for the same price.

They reason the value is there is you don’t have to factor in the cost of the chassis.  I saw some mfr (could have been McIntosh) say that a major portion of cost of a component is attributed to the chassis.

That said, I still have yet to audition the Gryphon Diablo so I am at this point relying on what (many) others have said.  It sounds like it will tick off all the boxes I’m looking at.  I will be testing it over the next two weeks sometime to decide for myself.

I've been a separated guy for 40yrs as we evolved, or devolved as some believe, from vinyl to CDs, to streaming content, as we went digital DAC's became a necessity if you wanted warm sound. That meant another outboard piece of equipment and an even longer signal path with USB adapters all of which added to signal degradation and space.
I recently scrapped it all and picked up a Peachtree Nova 300 integrated. I was floored by the sound quality and realized that I had come full circle back to the warm sound of the 70's and my Sansui 1000S and JBL's. 
All in one neat, sweet and powerful unit running off my laptop into its many YSV inputs. It has preamp out so you can take advantage of its outstanding DAC and front end and use any amp you like with great results. Truth us you probably wont want to after hearing it.
This old gearhead is convinced that the future is in integrated amps.
IMHO

I think it is a fantastic price point to start a system.  

Take a look at another group of buyers......Some are starting out in the adventure of discovering good sound but don't have the $$$$ to spend. So, they buy an integrated that will accommodate a variety of input devices without the extra cost of separates.

Take all of the scientific theories like shorter signal paths and the like and explain it to someone who wants the best sound for the money. Perhaps that integrated buyer will add an outboard pre, phono stage, power amp, or something else to improve on what he has as funds allow. Or, maybe he will just ditch the integrated for something different in the future.
Just my take on why so many buy integrated amps initially before going to separates at the start.