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

@walkenfan2013 -- just to add one comment -- are you unaware of the amount of money that can be spent on turntables and phono preamps for LP playback? You can easily exceed $100K for a turntable if you wish. Same thing for CD players -- you can spend tens of thousands, and that's without going to a separate DAC.

With audio, as with almost any hobby, you can get as carried away as your urges and budget permit. But you can put together an eminently enjoyable streaming system for no more than you'd spend on an equivalent level vinyl or CD setup.

I got out of work early....   listened to a crappy car stereo all day.    First thing I did was fire up my system to decompress a little.   I'm listening to a Playlist that my Aurender compiled of tracks I chose on Qobuz,  Tidal, and some tracks on its internal SSD.   It plays them all from different sources seamlessly.  

Its an amazing machine ,  it takes the "computer" out of computer audio

Album Art,  Track names , and transport keys on the front panel are a huge plus 

I love this thing ......   if there was ever a purchase that I almost didn't make , that turned out to be one of the best ever, this is it

@walkenfan2013 

I agree with many contributors here. The point is not about how much money is spent, or can be spent, but how little that can be spent and how that will open up a world that is so enjoyable. 

Until around 4 years ago, I avoided streaming in my system. Then I bought a new system and chose streaming as my only listening avenue (I still have an Oppo 105; it rarely gets used, but when it does, it is for watching movies). I find no need to play CDs or other physical media as the sound quality from streaming is so good; it becomes addictive and I've made small sound-quality leaps a long the way with my streaming system and am contemplating going all in because I want to get to what I feel my endgame can be. The pleasure that it brings is a blessing. Please don't wait or wonder, just give it a try. For the cost a CD a month, you'll have access to most of the music in the world. No, the music services may not have everything by every conductor or all of an artists work, but with the sheer amount of music available, you'll be able to explore at will. Good luck in your journey.

Streaming can be inexpensive and uncomplicated.  Plug a pair of headphones into your phone and chose the streaming service which best fits your needs. (they all have free trials) Simple right?  Purchase a headphone to RCA Y cable and hook it up to your stereo.  Not really that more complicated.  

The reason people spend so much on their streaming system is because everything matters.  Honestly your phone to your stereo sounds pretty good but if you don't want to  deal with the long cable strung across your room you'll need a device that you can control with your phone and so it begins.  What makes it seem complicated is there are so many inexpensive options.  Getting rid of the cable can be done for under $100 but while sounding good you won't be able to compete with audiophile components, if that's important to you.

Other users here have streaming setups that compete with expensive analog components.  The draw of access to almost any recording ever produced as a high quality source actually makes their streaming system very inexpensive compared to the cost of the hard media they would have to own, store, maintain and catalog so they could find it.

I really wish there was a perfect streaming system but everything has some sort of compromise.  I believe that streaming is worth the investment of not only dollars but the time and research required to determine what matters to me. I have a lot more time invested than dollars and drawers full of equipment I learned from to get me to my current imperfect system.

Complicated and expensive

Really, compared to LP playback? That involves cartridge, arm, table, pre-preamp, preamp, and so on? Alignment, leveling, VTA adjustment, un-warping, record cleaning, stabilizing, avoidance of feedback from mechanical vibration, and $6000 if you want to rid the system of wow due to eccentricity.

But people love it, and that’s great . . . all part of the audio world.

By comparison, streaming is cheap and easy. And as others have said, it opens to you a vast library of music you might not hear any other way.