Computer, CD transport or Network Player?

I prefer not having a computer in the system. For myself, I use a Melco N1A/2 Digital Music Library with USB out going to my DAC. That has been my favourite so far. Disclosure: we're Melco dealers, so you can take that with a grain of salt if you wish. However, over the years, I've found a dedicated device like the Melco to give the best results.

Agree that you can go any route provided, but, with respect to shadorne, I disagree that there is no difference. Even with DACs that handle jitter extremely well, I've still heard the differences between the options mentioned by mewsickbuff. How much of a difference is highly dependent on the quality of the system and the components in these scenarios, but they can be different for sure. My best results have been obtained with a dedicated network server/player. If you're using a network player that doesn't have storage and are accessing a NAS, the quality of the NAS will make a difference as well.

mewsickbuff, optimizing a computer for superior playback involves the reduction or elimination of as much as possible that's not audio related. Uninstalling as much a possible, turning off a wide variety of system services, etc. That's why I don't recommend a computer. You can buy software that does a lot of this for you, but it's a slippery slope optimizing computers, in my opinion. You now have a device that you're really not using for other computer related functions in order to attain the best sound quality. You're buying usb jitter reducing devices, etc. A good dedicated music server/streamer eliminates these issues.