True, but times have changed. Audiences' expectations of sound quality are higher now that everyone carries a device (their phone) with perfect sound quality on it. An actor yelling on a stage can be heard, but audiences might not find that acceptable now.
And sometimes those same devices are making their owners deaf. The other day, I passed a father and young daughter walking down the sidewalk. The daughter had earbuds on, which I could hear about 25 feet away. I felt like saying something, but I kept my mouth shut.
Maybe the next, big class action lawsuit should be against phones that are capable of playing at harmful SPL levels.