If it was built for audiophiles, it would have allowed for stereo pairing right away (that feature was added later) and be sold in pairs. Do you know any audiophiles who want to listen to a mono speaker? I don't.
I know plenty of audiophiles who want something decent to listen to in their bedrooms, bathrooms, basements, summer homes, patios, and pools. They owned mini systems in the 90's, Bose Wave CD's systems or radios in the 00's, and now are thrilled with Apple's solution.
Sometimes we audiophiles let our hair down. 50 million songs sounds great coming from something smaller than a bottle of Diet Coke and half the price of AirPods Max. I don't know any HomePod owners who are disappointed. Just a bunch of bloggers and YouTubers looking to pick on Apple while leading the legion of the gullible on a path to nowhere.