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

I guess I am just out of touch

Pretty much, yes. 

@laoman First World Problems.  

Merry Christmas. 

Yes, and that is the problem. You do get exerpts and maybe one full Ring, but not 5 or more full Ring versions with different soloists, conductors etc.

For me this one is easy- I have been into hifi and music since the 1970's. between LPs, which I never gave up on, CD and cassettes, I have thousands of titles on hand. I started to table in streaming a little over a year ago and took the full plunge in early 2022, with the purchase of a very good dedicated streamer. I have been able to explore new to me music as never before.  For the true music enthusiast who is always interested in learned of and about new music, it is amazing. millions of titles at my fingertip, at a cost of under $11/month (yearly Qobuz subscription). Roon isn't a factor as I am more than pleased with the app my streamer works with. I'm approaching 500 new titles just this year alone. 

On the other hand, if you are a person that listens to a handful of albums and is not interested in exploring new to you music, it's unnecessary. But for the music lover who is looking to expand what they listen to, it is the ultimate (almost) FM. [free music]

Streaming has come of age, and IMO is also becoming affordable at HiFi quality. I am thrilled to see (and own) a Bluetooth receiver smaller than a box of kitchen matches that supports lossless codecs and sports a SABRE DAC chip whose dynamic range and THD is better than my beloved vintage analog amp…for under $200.

Waxing philosophical for second or so on the occasion of my 70th birthday (born 12/25/52) I’m pretty sure there’s no such thing as “sitting pat on what we know.” Lots of great answers here to this fair question. With so many new artists, remasters and great recordings available to stream, the driver behind more convenient and higher quality delivery is strong. Demand drives innovation and resistance to learning about new stuff is self defeating for people who enjoy HiFi. In the last couple months my enjoyment has flourished by digging around the theory behind the big baffle revival in speakers, the importance of stacking the gain in your audio chain cleverly and, most recently, a wave of low cost wireless streamers with high quality chips!