Added value of separate server?

John Atkinson's recent Stereophile review of the Ayre QX-5 Twenty Digital Hub  suggests its digital-to-analog processing is superb, and when couple with the KX-5 Twenty preamp so is the resulting sound.

Files from the iMac are backed up daily by Time Machine to an external hard disc, so I assume the music files are among them.  I pay a fee for Cloud space, but I don't know if files are stored there or if I need to direct then there.  I haven't bothered learning about the Cloud, and may be missing a lot.  

A Bluesound Node 2 is inexpensive enough I might try it as a option; the same cannot be said of an Aurender N10.

I suspect my current setup is all I need if I can get the Roon remote app to run on the iPad.

db

I suppose a Bluesound Node 2 could send files to the Ayre QX-5 Twenty via ethernet, but would I need to move files from the iMac to the Node 2 disc?  And would I download files purchased from Acoustic Sounds directly to the Node 2?  Finally, could a Node 2 also send files to the Bryston SP3 in our surround setup, perhaps via ethernet?

db

I think I've decided to skip the server, but move Roon core to an unused Mac Mini that could run near the Ayre QX-5 Twenty, perhaps in the same rack.  File transfer would still be via ethernet.  I plan to take the Mini to the shop tomorrow to have the memory expanded and most of the apps except for Safari stripped out.  Is there a problem with that plan?  Don't know how to move Roon core from the iMac to the Mini, but I expect to find out.

db