Why are so many people spending so much money to build “perfect” streaming system?

@mikelavigne . Do you like classical music? How many recordings of Wagner’s Ring Cycle do you have? I have 5. Can you get 5 different recordings on ANY streaming platform?

@tk21 
I call bullshit on that - see my comment above.

@walkenfan2013  It can be inexpensive and simple, and open up a huge range of music. For me it is complementary to LPs - streaming is the most amazing resource for discovering new music

Use Roon off an old MacBook. MacBook connects to your existing DAC. If you need a DAC, try an iFi Zen for low-cost start up. Roon is easy to use.

(Or, even simpler, just buy a BlueSound node and connect to your system)

Either way, you should be up  and running in about 15 minutes and for a few hundred dollars - no more. Start there and see where your ears lead you over time

Don’t overthink it!  You could be up and running this afternoon!

All these solutions can be controlled using an iPhone or iPad, from wherever you sit when you listen

The only regret is to have waited to long to do something that was so enjoyable and transformational in my exploration of music (I now use Roon / MacBook / Benchmark DAC, which I love)

I save my LP budget for the music that is the most special to me

Let us know what you decide, and enjoy!

PS - the above not in contradiction to those who deeply enjoy vinyl (as I do) or have complex streaming solutions - I am simply offering an inexpensive and convenient path for an entry into streaming that, for me, was simple and totally enjoyable. You can follow your ears from there.  I’ve wound up with two parallel paths in my system - Vinyl or streaming -> pre -> tube amp for vinyl or SS amp for streaming -> speakers.  I just like that setup, others will have different tastes

The simplest and least expensive streaming setup I can think of is using a WiiM mini streamer (about $70-$80) and connect to your DAC (which you probably already have).   Use the WiiM app for exploring streaming such as Amazon Music. 

@laoman

When I search for "Wagner Ring Cycle" in Roon, I count 29 album hits from the Qobuz service alone. On Qobuz, represented conductors include Daniel Barenboim (Bayreuth 1991), Karl Bohm (1967), Herbert von Karajan, George Solti (Nov 2014 performance on,Decca) Joseph Keilberth (July 1953 performance, 2021 HD mastering), Lorin Mazel, Wilhelm Furtwangler (1953 performance on Warner Classics), George Szell, James Levine (August 1994 on DG), and Zubin Mehta.

Certainly, not all classical music (or individual artists) will get equal coverage on all streaming services. Qobuz seems to be one of the most comprehensive for classical in general (dunno about Wagner in particular). And on Roon, I've seen recurring complaints about how well the search engine works (or does not work)  for finding, displaying, and organizing classical music.  The tech is still evolving, it seems.

To address your basic question of why people are spending so much money to achieve "perfect" streaming, my experience is that they don't need to.

I stream through an Asus gaming laptop hooked up to my PS Audio DAC with USB. I have ripped my CD collection to uncompressed FLAC (over 4000 discs) and I subscribe to Qobuz. I still have all my CDs. I have compared the same title/version of several CDs in my collection with the corresponding title on Qobuz through the same DAC (using a PSA transport). I would defy anyone to tell the difference between the two in a blind test. As far as I can tell, I have already reached "Perfection." I wouldn't expect the Qobuz version to sound better than the same version of a CD played through the same DAC. So far no one has explained to me why a digital WAV file would sound better after being converted to compressed FLAC, put on a server, transmitted over the internet through thousands of miles of wires and thousands of switches to a streamer, and then fed to the DAC. Where in this chain would you expect the digital information to improve compared to spinning a disc on a high quality transport and transmitting the WAV signal to the DAC through a short cable?

I've also compared my ripped FLACs to the corresponding CD (again through the same DAC) and found that the FLAC versions sound identical to the CD.

I am seriously skeptical that spending $8K on a dedicated audio streamer will make Qobuz sound better than the same CD played through my system. If someone has truly compared the two sources and found that the streamed version sounds better than the CD (through the same DAC) I would like to hear from them. I would be particularly interested in results from a blind test that confirmed that an expensive dedicated streamer sounds different than a garden variety PC. I'm thrilled that my humble PC/streamer setup can equal the SQ of playing the actual CD. I consider that a technical miracle.

One more thing. I normally stream the highest resolution version available on Qobuz so I stream a fair amount of 24/192 and 24/96. I consider this another reason to pay the subscription to Qobuz - I have the opportunity to hear upgraded/remastered versions of many of my favorite CDs. As often as not, the remastered version sounds worse than the original CD.