They were never the same without Syd Barrett. More successful maybe, more commercial probably.

Well you're getting into an unknowable alternate history there. They would certainly have developed very differently if a well Syd had remained part of the band, and quite possible David Gilmour would then never have joined in 1968. In which case you lose the distinctive Gilmour guitar sound which is one of the foundation pillars of 'The Pink Floyd Sound'.

Whether we would now be celebrating, or even remembering, the 40th anniversary of whatever (probably totally unlike DSOTM) album a Floyd-with-Syd had made in 1973 ... who knows?