We are buying and reviewing gear all wrong

You paying, erik. A lot.

Also, this kind of screams for integrateds and all-in-one solutions

Or evaluate gear without all the tweaks, based on good set up and whatever is necessary to deal w/ room acoustics. 

Find your niche, Start a company doing just that. See how many years it takes to stop bleeding money? A few audio companies used to offer complete systems.           
Integrated amplifiers are becoming more popular. Maybe it is time to have all in ones...          
Actually the way forward would be self powered speakers.. Then all you need is a combined source. Internet connect with streaming, some capacity for storage, display... Basically a dedicated computer for audio. Laptop connected (for keyboard and screen), to a dedicated audio computer box to self powered speakers.         
build it and they will come.           
Too late for me. I have passive speakers, an amp, five preamps, three turntables, way over a dozen CD spinners... piles of LP and CDs...

Active speakers is not a very good idea - amps don't exactly like vibration. Besides, you cannot use other amps. This is not audiophile approach. Integrated is not quite an audiophile approach either, with maybe a few very best qualify, maybe.