Mac vs streamer.

I originally intended to use a MacBook Pro as my streaming source.  After I had put together my system, I decided to compare my MacBook Pro, along with the iFi reclocker and cable I was using, to the Aurender N100 my dealer had been recommending.  We did a comparison in his shop using a setup identical to my home system.  We listened using the Mac for about 10 minutes and then switched to the N100.  After about 30 seconds, my mouth was hanging open in shock.  Really, it wasn’t even close.  No golden ears required.  The Aurender was staggeringly better.  I bought it that day.  That was back in 2017, and it remains most obvious upgrade I have ever done.  There is one problem however.  A few years later I took my dealer up on his offer to take an N10 home for the weekend.  Yeah, same story, although the difference wasn’t nearly as big as between the MacBook and the N100.  Yeah, I bought it.  And now I’m being offered a N20 for the weekend.  I think my dealer has me figured out.

Not even close even with a "cheap" streamer.
Listen to music from a computer source at your own peril.

+1. My suggestion if you want to try this out for yourself: Buy a used streamer. If you hear no difference, sell it for about what you paid for it. I've had good results from a fairly inexpensive Pro-ject Stream Box.

  Streamers are specialized computers, optimized to improve Sonics compared to a multi purpose computer.  The answer to your question partially depends on the streamer…I’ve auditioned at least one low end streamer that was inferior to my 12 year old Mac that I had previously used as a streamer.
  Many audiophiles are perfectly happy with  computer sound, and a program such as Audirvana can really help as it attempts to disable everything in a computer that adds noise.  Personally, I tend to agree with @fuzztone.  With the exception noted, even a relatively inexpensive streamer such as Bluesound will sound smoother and more tactile, even on a mid Fi system.  Still, I encourage everyone new to streaming to start with a PC, because everyone has one, so the entry cost isn’t a barrier.  You can always move one later

@mahler123
All true. I "started" with general use computer for many years I went from sound card out to card optcal into S.M.S.L to USB to m2tech coax to Multibit. All big improvements.
Then I graduated.
All 5 streamers <$1K sound much better. It could be just a better than Schiit DAC but I’m not getting a PC anywhere near it.

Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate your sharing your experiences around this. Here’s another question that’s come up for me: I need to be able to use a remote of some sort with any streamer. I have my iPhone set up to control my computer but I have a small one and the screen is small and it would not be good for trying to control a streamer. Would I need to buy an iPad to have a big enough screen to use as a remote for someone with not particularly good eyesight? Do any of the streamers have really big screens?

My Pro-ject Stream Box can be controlled via an Internet browser with any PC or Mac (laptop or desktop) on the same network as the streamer. This works as well as any iPhone or Android phone. (or iPad). I think many other streamers such as the Bluesound Node have a similar capability. Bluesound requires the Bluesound app for Windows or Mac to do the same thing.

I find that capability to be really useful as I am often controlling the streamer while doing work.

 Thank you so much for that information. It makes the streamer thing much more viable for me in my situation.

Streamers can offer some improvement and people certainly like them but dropping several thousand for a streamer doesn't appear to get the results for the money. People have done these tests and comparisons at high level evaluations before.

Have a high end tube monoblock system and it is very sensitive to changes even one small tube can produce a far greater result than anticipated.

If you have a mac, any mac, it's Audirvana that makes a big difference. At least I can say from personal experience running it on mac laptops and minis, it's very impressive. 

Have been using version 3.5 but Audirvana is out with a relatively new version called Studio. I like version 3.5 so much, I've yet to try Studio. It's that good. 

R: Thanks!

It depends on the execution. Either approach can deliver exceptional sound quality. If not done well, both will fall short.

The past few years have seen advances in software, addition of intermediate steps, and exceptional components at relatively low price points that "date" some of the posts above.

I like the content available in Deezer the best. Is there a software that is partnered with it? I’m not aware of any.

@m669326 Search for audio optimization tools for the operating system and device you are using.

Deezer offers tips to optimize Deezer. They are limited, but may be helpful if you have not applied them.

If you’re technically inclined, I’d go with a Raspberry Pi loaded with whatever OS that’s specialized for music playback (e.g. Volumio, moOde, piCorePlayer, etc.). You’ll save money and it’s a fun project.

Currently using my Pi w/ Volumio and I can’t tell a difference between that and my Oppo UDP-203 w/ VanityHD board (which reclocks the SPDIF output for lower jitter) all going into a Benchmark DAC3.

I can also stream from the YouTube Music app to the Pi using UPnP on my phone and Volumio has support for Spotify too, I think.

I tried looking for ways to optimize Deezer SQ with a Mac. I found nothing.

Here is very general (and basic) info from Deezer support.

https://support.deezer.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115003875089-Deezer-data-and-Smart-Cache

If you are open to digging deep, search 'optimizing Mac OS for DAW' (Digital Audio Workstation).  Be specific with your OS version.

Here is one search result:

https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/macos-10-15-catalina-optimization-guide-for-recording/

***Much, much easier to run Audirvana, JRiver, etc.***

Here is a partial list of other options:

https://alternativeto.net/software/audirvana-plus/?platform=mac&p=2
 

Thank you, David.