Do I need a streamer?

@james59222 

That is a lot of connectors in a small amount of space. 

@sns 

Thanks. Yeah that would be interesting.

@sns 

That would be a fun comparison! Comparing your optimized PC streamer with dedicated streamers at say $1K, $5K, $10K, and $20K…. and see where the crossover is. Have you tried yours against any dedicated streamers? 

It really depends what you are after. Good sound that you enjoy or great sound… the best you can achieve with your budget. So, it gets complicated… what is your budget… <$10K? Then it is going to matter on your components. But once you break a certain level ($ being a proxy for quality)… then the PC / MAC becomes a anchor holding your system back.

In budget systems, MACs and PCs as streamers are reasonable choices. But at some point one has to move up and get a purpose built streamer to replace a computer. It is easy to rationalize the level to be far above where you are… but this can frequently be rationalization. In general, an equivalent valued streamer… say $1,200 will sound better than an equivalently valued PC… given appropriate audio components.

Streamers come with many terabytes of memory down to no memory (usually with empty solid state storage slots). Most have USB ports to connect USB drives and they can access Network Accessible Storage though the network.

The high end audio industry is going through a major transition from owning physical media -> streaming personal files -> using streaming service. The final stage is mature. I have a very good analog system and Qobuz streaming service sounds better on high resolution albums of the same as Red Book CDs on the same resolution.

If you get your streaming up the an appropriate level you will have little use for your ripped files. I keep some on my streamer… just in case of a network outage… but only use one about once a year. This is common… once you achieve equal or better sound quality you abandon storage.

I would recommend getting the best streamer you can afford… Aurender… although there are a number of good brands. Aurender only makes streamers and their flagship is the standard for audio shows it sounds so good.My rule of thumb is that (your carefully chosen) components should all be roughly the same cost (TT, DAC, preamp, amp… etc.). For me, my streamer is about 20% more… well worth the premium… it is a source component, like a turntable. Start out with poor sound and amplification will not make it sound better.

In capable high end systems MACs and PCs cannot compete with dedicated streamers. They are far superior and can sound as good or better than vinyl. Of course you have to carefully choose them and make sure they conform to your values in sound. 
 

So it comes down to your overall system. Taking a look at your DAC… something like an Aurender N200 should significantly exceed the sound quality from your MAC. But it does depend on the rest of your system. The higher the resolution of your preamp, amp and speakers the bigger the difference… and the venue is important as well. I would recommend putting some photos and your components under your UserID as a virtual system and that will allow us to better assess your situation and be helpful.