Stern machines don't hold a candle to the 90s BW when it comes to build quality (cabinet construction, playfield clear quality etc). You have to pay a premium to get the complicated toys/mechanisms that came standard with your purchase with a B/W/, Data East/Sega or Gottlieb with newer Sterns at the premium price point.
But....the code and small advancements (color changing inserts/GI, LCD screen) in tech in the newer Sterns feels like a big upgrade over the 90s B/W. Code is especially important in a home collection to give a game legs and make you want to play it over and over.
I will always love and respect the 90s B/W golden age, but after having owned or played most of them to death over the years, my interest in them has finally passed and I find myself gravitating to newer Sterns.