Why is computer based music mostly "close but..."?

[plissken]

5 hours ago, H-Man said:

I spend about 200 Euros a month on music. I have two setups most people would consider to be high quality setups. My music server contains 40k tracks. I usually subscribe to at least two streaming services. So what are my issues and what am I looking for?

 

I want a system that is easy for the whole family to use, that sounds good, that is easy to maintain and can integrate multiple streaming services and my local music files. Too much to ask for?

 

I have tried DLNA/Openhome solutions including LMS, BubblePnP, Kazoo, Plex. I have tried Roon. They all fall short in one aspect or another. 

 

The streaming services tried are Spotify, Tidal, Deezer and AM.  They also all fall short in one way or another. 

 

The closest I have been is Roon with Tidal. But Tidal has lost my interest and who knows what will happen to them? Without Tidal Roon will only play my local files at present. 

 

In 2018 this is disappointing in my view. The result is that I have decided to spend my music money on LPs and concerts again. My digital music consumption will be cheap and easy to use without concern for quality (so background music) until there is something new. 

 

Right now I am testing Sonos and Chromecast. They actually work apart from a quality perspective. But definitely good enough for background music. This has made me understand why a majority of people are willing to trade away quality requirements for usability aspects. 

 

I will remain an audiophile, just not a computer audiophile.

 

For my Wife her phone, a BT receiver and Amazon Music has been about as good as it can get for ease of use for the non-audiophile. 

 

If the perfect solution was going to exist it would have already manifested after all these years. There are simply too many ways people want to personally consume audio that the way you want and they way I want are two different ways and software devs, well there aren't enough of them to make 400 million custom programs (I'm jesting mostly).  

[plissken]

1 minute ago, H-Man said:

 

But in my opinion this is largely because of a lack of standards that the various vendors agree on. If the vendors agreed on API interface standards a lot of this cold be solved. One could argue that there is no driver for the vendors to agree on standards but I think that this is our own fault as we keep buying their "close but..." products... 

 

I'm a software dev. Trust me it's not a standards based issue. Everyone wants what they want, the way the want, it at the price they want it (usually free for most ? ).

 

I've had weeks where its 20 calls and 20 people wanting something that lines 100% with the way they do business.