Not snobbery - chemistry. The two have different fats and the fat decides what each can do.
Compound swaps cocoa butter for vegetable fat, which is exactly why it needs no tempering. For cake covering, drips and warm-kitchen garnish work it's the practical honest choice. Keep using it there, seriously.
Bonbons are where compound stops working. Everything that makes a bonbon feel premium - the sharp snap of the shell, the gloss, melting on the tongue instead of waxing over it, the clean release from the mould - comes from properly crystallised cocoa butter. That means couverture, tempered. For dark: melt to 45-50°C, cool to 27-28, work at 31-32. It demands the thermometer and some patience, but it's a skill that takes an afternoon to get functional at. Not a lifestyle, promise.
The supermarket bar - not couverture, even at a promising 55%. Couverture is defined by high cocoa BUTTER content (fluid enough for thin shells), not cocoa percentage. Eating bars temper poorly and cast thick dull shells. Get proper couverture from bakery suppliers, Van Houten and Callebaut are the accessible professional standards here. For pastry work dark in the 50-65% range is the sweet spot, above that the bitterness starts fighting your fillings.
One strict rule whichever you use: never blend compound and couverture in one bowl. The two fat systems interfere and the result neither sets nor tempers.
