@dvdgreco When I started off on my recent complete overhaul of my hifi, I was similarly convinced that surely 1s and 0s are sacrosanct, and what is the point in buying better than a budget Cambridge streamer/DAC.
It wasn't until I tried several different USB cables between my new Zenith and Hegel H390 did I fully accept that such a thing as quality exists in the realm of digital signals. Not only that, and this surprised me, USB cables to my ears have definite characteristics, which myself and other reviewers could agree on. For example, the Laboga Emerald USB has a lovely warm and rich tone to it. Why? who knows - maybe not even the cable designer.
In my experience, everything between the router/switch and the DAC's input affects the SQ to some extent. Filters, regenerators, ethernet cables, USB cables, power supplies and, yes, the streamer.
Of course, the impact of each will depend on partnering equipment, and I would expect that some DACs are more sensitive to noise and jitter than others.
Thankfully, most suppliers have a returns policy - though burn-in can be an issue, and eventually you'll just get tired and even a little neurotic by continually performing A-B comparisons and "staring" at the music, rather than just listening to it.
My advice: aim for a warmish sound, then stop and enjoy. High levels of detail, in the short-term, is impressive, but can soon fatigue.