Question’s a bit of a red herring since it’s not all encompassing of what can provide satisfaction (money vs. learning) in a playback setup. Both of those factors are inextricably linked to time, so they’re also not mutually exclusive, which some other posts did mention.
A better system is a product of how satisfied you are with it. Is it too strange of me to say anyone should be able to get there without large expense OR an engineer’s / marketeer’s knowledge of audio kit?
To me, smart devices that stream into affordable IEM’s are “better” in so many ways. High-end stereo kit and the folks who’ve come and gone along with it have been fun for me, but to be honest, to me the “better” system would be one far more modest than my present setup. Dang. Stupid love of live music paving the way for over-budgeting and learning superfluous technical info… 😅