Best way to stream FLAC files.

DAC stands for Digital Audio Converter.  It converts all of the ones and zeroes in a digital stream into sound.  Without a DAC all you would hear is a bunch of clacking, but no music.  It doesn’t matter whether the digital stream is an un compressed stream, such as FLAC, or a codec that uses significant compression, such as mp3.  Ultimately, the digits need to be turned into sound by a DAC.
Most computers have DACs built in to their operating systems, which is why they can play music or reproduce speech.  They tend to be low quality and the sound can be significantly improved by letting a separate external DAC.  CD, DVD, and Blu Ray players also have their own DACs

If you don't care much about how your music sounds, literally everything has a built-in dac. If it has analog outputs and plays digital media, it has a dac. The question is whether you need a stand alone dac. I'd say probably. Even something inexpensive like Audioquest Dragonfly will be a big improvement over what's inside your pc.

I got a used Micromega MyDac to hookup my computer ( macbook) to my tube amp. Plug and play, streaming radio, playing itunes, etc

Wow for around $100 it sounds great, not the latest or most fancy but it sounds pretty good.  

Waiting to see what my next upgrade is.

Thank you all for the help! That clarifies the subject greatly for me.

+1 Lucas.....