Fairly new to streaming. Where to start?

Artemus_5I am on the same journey. I currently stream with a yamaha wxc-50,  which is not mentioned much here but is a very versatile little device with quality on a par with the node 2i for just $350. I have been evaluated all the upgrade options too and here is the one I'm leaning towards which fits your budget and should be on par with the solutions mentioned in this discussion. Consider a Sonore UltraRendu augmented with a quality power supply. I plan to use an older Mac mini running either Audirvana or Roon to stream my ripped cd collection and access streaming services. It can be controlled from a iphone or a ipad remotely. This can all be done for $2000 or less depending on what you may already have.

@artemus_5I have not been able to a/b them directly and am going on others comments. However this weekend I listened to an Innuous Zen Mk3 playing on a much more expensive system than mine and I thought OK, but it not that much better. It did not knock my socks off and it was streaming Tidal while I listen to Spotify. I have a/b'ed the internal DAC of the Yamaha with a Topping D50s DAC playing externally on the Yamaha and there is not a huge difference there either.Recently I bought some hi res recordings from Channel Classics and Blue Coast. I guess I've begun to appreciate that the quality of the recording is more important than the player. That is not to say I think you can't do better than a Yamaha wxc-50, not at all. Just that it is a pretty good entry point that can take you a good distance. The Musicast software that comes with it is very versatile and once set up, pretty easy to use with almost any source you could want. Here is a thoughtful review of it:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovrS88tddmo

Artemus_5 I have not a/b'ed the Node and Yamaha but am going on the comments of others.Here is a pretty thoughtful review of the unit, in case you have not come across this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovrS88tddmo&t=497sOne of the things I like about the Yamaha is both the hardware and the Musicast software is very flexible with regard to sources and outputs, although I expect BlueOS is also quite good from what I have read.

I can't find any reviews of the new Ultra Rendu but it's predecessor was held in pretty high esteem. The SOTM SMS200ultra is also a contender at a slightly higher price point. To get the most out of each of these options I think a quality external power supply and a commitment to Roon may be necessary.

@whatsthatbuzzI found this book, "File Based Audio" by Hans Beekhuysen answer a lot of the questions you pose.

@artemus_5   I did not compare the two side by side. I have been told told by a knowledgeable dealer that upgrading from the Yamaha to the 2i would not be worthwhile. I am am currently looking at the microrendu or ultrarendu as a cost  effective and modular approach to improving on the Yamaha. As an aside I just started a trial subscription with Qobuz after having been with Spotify for the past year and I am really impressed with the selection and sound quality and even more suprising is the quality of the metadata they offer about the recordings, history, composer, sidemen, producer, etc. It all struck me as very Roon-like without the cost of Roon.