I'm at a digital loss or getting over UI mountain

+1 @ghdprentice

To speak personally, I have decided to stop worry about managing files -- DVD’s, CD’s, etc. It’s not worth the time -- to me. Streaming is reliable, Roon is an amazing organizing tool, and even without Roon, playlists on Apple, etc. are simple to use.

It’s all data -- data on vinyl, data on CD’s, data on streaming services. I would rather discover new music, compare renditions of pieces I know well, or return to old favorites in a playlist -- e.g., called, "My Music" for the CD’s I own but am now streaming -- than spend time shuffling things around in files. Life’s too short, for me.

I agree with others that the music collection concept is fading with the availability of high quality streaming services for a monthly pittance. Look for a good dedicated streamer that has an interface touted by the folks in this forum. Aurender, Innuos and Roon are all high rated for their UI’s. I just implemented Roon on a low cost “renewed” Mac Mini running Ubuntu, easy enough, but I worked as a software engineer for thirty five years. If you don’t like to mess with tech, find the best streamer with a native solution and get a Qobuz account. 

Good points by members here about Roon, which seems to take occasional hits related to sound quality but most find it acceptable especially given the access to informative write-ups about artists, the many music choices available through Roon's administration of TIDAL and Qobuz all from one platform, and Roon Radio, which serves as sort of an AI-type musical source that plays selections based on your previously played preferences.

On the downside, the costs do add up, but maybe compare to other costs we have accepted as the norm in our expanding digital world, for things like our phones, internet, and cable/streaming television.   I purchased Roon Lifetime (originally $500) early on , which ended up being a good move for me, and I also have monthly subscriptions to both TIDAL ($10 or $19 if you use MQA) and Qobuz ($13).  Currently Roon is $15/mo or $12.5/mo if paid annually, or $830 lifetime.  You could contrast those costs against purchasing physical media, which I rarely do any more.

In my opinion, the UI and UX Roon offers are simply unbeatable. But to get the best sound quality from Roon you will most likely need either a solid, fanless roon core with a good streamer (Lumin seems to work well in this configuration) or the top tier Roon Nucleus + used as both the Roon Core and a streamer. Another option is something along the lines of Grimm MU1, which is both the Roon Core and a streamer that comes at s much higher price.
There are ways to make Roon sound good. However, there are streamers that sound best with their proprietary UI. Auralic is Roon ready but my experience is that you get the best sound from its OS/UI and not using it as a Roon end point.

I understand why folks like Roon. I have tried it.

For the last forty years I have been early adopter of hundreds of software products, for personal computing, groups, and global enterprises. The one thing that you can be certain of is that today’s specialty niche software will be gone tomorrow. I can’t off hand think of a single program I used in the 1980’s that is still in use… Lotus 123, Word Perfect, DOS… photo processing, browsers. Niche stuff has much smaller life cycles. Either the functions will be included in other companies devices, or company will get purchased and included in someone’s devices, or the product and company will whither away and disappear.

Its time is probably limited. If you love it, use it. But I’d think hard about buying a lifetime license.