Your system seems to be of a quality that would benefit by adding a quality streamer/server and your built in DAC is of fairly high quality. I consolidated the families music services and we all use Quboz. The only advantage that I see in using Apple is that I can listen to music from my Apple Watch. Apple does have an amazing selection of music. I think that a number of streamers will add the Apple services to their list of vendors, but as of now that hasn’t happened. I welcome someone to correct this statement.
I am also a big fan of Aurender, starting with the N200, but these are fairly expensive even on the used market. That said, the Aurender would provide quality in keeping with your components.
Digital music questions
I'm somewhat new to hi res digital audio and I'm looking for some tips. I have been building my system and have purchased McIntosh c2700, which has a DAC built in, a 462 amp, and B&W 802d4s. Using Apple Music, I have been streaming music through a Macbook Pro via a USB cable to the DAC of the c2700 preamp.
The McIntosh preamp states the streaming quality is 44.1 kHz, which seem to be the low end of high-res streaming. I currently have so many subscriptions, including Sirius XM for the cars and Apple Music for my family, and more recently Nugs for concerts, (not to mention video subscriptions...seems it never ends), so I was hoping not to add another paid subscription.
That being said, am I leaving a lot on the table? Would a dedicated streamer sound a lot better than the Macbook Pro? Are there streamers without DACs, so I can use the McIntosh DAC without purchasing redundant equipment? I understand I cannot use Apple Music to get high res audio to the preamp, as they only provide it through Apple equipment at this time. Can I get a streamer that uses the DAC of the c2700 preamp? Finally, do I then need to add another subscription, such as Tidal or Qobuz, to get high res audio?
Thanks....it's a lot of questions, but I'm sure someone here can help!