For a brief period of time, I thought about going for the Axe FX + power amp + 2 speakers combo. Then, I thought, "how am I going to get rid of all the effects and amps?". It would take a long time to clear enough gear to fund the new purchase, so that probably meant that I would have to spend the money on the new setup and hope to recoup it from the sales of the old stuff.
I was also thinking of a stereo setup, so I started playing with 2 amps. I use a smaller tube amp to get the crunch, pairing it with an old Mesa amp set to Fender-ish clean for the stereo image. The effects chain is the typical wah>compressor>OD/drive>chorus>delay>Dimension>reverb. All modulation effects are stereo, with the right side output of the last pedal going to the small crunch amp, left side to the Mesa clean amp.
There was quite a bit of experimenting with the amps' output to get the stereo sound that I like. I must say it was quite strange to hear the way chorus and delay effects sound in stereo at first. It is often suggested that the 2 amps used should be as similar as possible. I just used whatever I have.
When I first got the DC-2, I plugged one end of the stereo output to a Pignose that I had at the time. It was alright, but I did not think I needed stereo so much to get an extra amp for it. This was back in the one guitar/one amp days.
Right now, I have the Fromel Seraph Deluxe after a TC Nova delay. Eventually, it will be the DC-2W.
So, yes, I blame it on the DC-2. That was the pedal that got me started tinkering with the idea of running in stereo. It also likely saved me from putting down much money (and the time to learn using the UI, doing updates, etc.) for Axe FX.
I would like to think of my current old-school setup as a modular approach. If I don't like the sound of a certain effect, I can just replace it with something else. Same thing if something breaks.
New techs are cool, until the next big thing (better processor, better engine architecture, better software, etc.) comes along. It probably makes more sense for the pros, who have the bigger needs (and budget) for it. As a hobby player, I don't know if I could use it to its full potential.
The new stuff seem to go obsolete much quicker. I have been trying to resist to be on the hook for that sort of thing. I prefer to just play and be a user, rather than a tester.
All that is about running in stereo. That said, I often just plug my guitar straight to an amp with no effects. Effects are nice, but so is going straight to the amp.
Still on my iPhone 6S and I am happy with it, but my long-gone Nokia was still a much better phone.