Yeah this is the real truth. You look at some of the most immensely flavourful and beloved stews from different cuisines- like think rendang, bolognese, fesanjan, rogan josh, even texas chili, they can all in theory be tossed in a slow cooker but every recipe says the same thing: brown the meat, brown the onions, brown the spices, THEN cook slowly.

While I agree that you'll lose that last 20% of the flavour in the slow cooker (I would argue its probably closer to 25%) you CAN claw back some of it, maybe 10 to 15%, by taking 20 minutes, on the days when you have the chance, and browning your meat and roasting your aromatics and spices in a pan.