What do I need to start Streaming Music thru my Audio System

@rsa - having been in your position several years ago I have tried several different "streaming solutions"...
1. Apple TV
2. Computer via usb into my DAC
3. Computer into a USB-SPDIF convertor into my DAC
4. Bluesound Node 2

1-3 presented many unique challenges that took me a lot of effort to investigate and implement in order to get better quality music

Any solution that requires the use of USB cables can have a number of issues that require attention
- the main one being the USB cable itself
- the chipset on board the DAC may not be the best
- the chipset on the DAC may use computer supplied power - which can contain distortion due to hard disk use

Also, To solve other issues associated with the USB interface may require the use of the USB-SPDIF convertor to improve sound quality

So after trying #1 through #3I arrived at solution #4 - the Bluesound Node 2
- out of the box, sound quality is exceptional regardless of the digital sampling used
- it streams via your LAN - Ethernet or Wifi - so no USB power or USB cable related problems
- it has interfaces to most of the popular streaming services
- it has a very good and intuitive and easey to use interface for most platforms
- it is able to stream digital files from NAS drives, USB sticks and Bluetooth devices
- it is easy to setup
- technical support is very good - ir required, one phone call normally gets you up and running if you experience problems and they know about issues not really in their "domain" - e.g. I got help with my specific router
- upgrades are easy to install and I have never experienced any problems with them

You can also opt for the Node 2 Vault, which provides the ability to play and RIP CD’s to an internal hard drive.

Treat the Node 2 to some great cables and the sound quality will surprise you even more.

I was so taken with the ease and quality of the Bluesound products that I now also have the PowerNode 2 for my TV and the Bluesound Pulse Mini speaker for music outside.

It took me a long while to arrive at this solution, so I thought I would provide the details so you could skip a few issues related to Computer streaming.

One last piece of info - the Node 2 has an isolated power supply
- i.e. it has a two pin plug.
- this can cause a little hum on some amps e.g. in my case both Naim and Bryston

SOLUTION: a simple ground wire...
- solder one end of a piece of wire to the neutral side of an RCA plug and attach the other end to the ground pin of a mains plug
- insert the mains plug into any outlet
- insert the RCA plug into any unused RCA socket on your amp or the Node 2 itself

This is ONLY required if a hum occurs. 
- e.g. If you have a source component that is grounded with a three pin plug - then this solution may not be  required.
- I now have a grounded Phono stage, so there is no need for the ground wire

If you have any other questions just ask

Hope that helps - Steve

@mapman - that’s the start - sounds easy enough
- it’s the "go from there" part that I am talking about.

A pretty effective USB cable is this one from Ebay
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HiFi-Power-Supply-Audio-Signal-Splitter-Cable-USB-DAC-Decoder-Pure-Handmade...

But if you want better sound from a USB solution, then you can get into...

What’s the best software for my computer
- will it provide an intuitive and flexible interface?
- at what cost?
- will new OS releases support my software or is there an upgrade charge?
- then there is the threat of computer virus infections and/or system crashes
- what if I change to a computer with a different OS?

You’ll read about how much better a USB-SPDIF interface is
- which one is a good one?
- what’s a good SPDIF cable for this option?
- what’s a good power supply for the USB-SPDIF interface?

Then you might want to stream high definition 24/192 sample rates - hopefully your choices of gear support this resolution?

etc... etc...the list goes on

These were all the little "issues" I personally thought about and chased down from the many forum postings here on Agon, just to see how good I could get the sound.

So - does the OP really only want to "stream music" or do they want a great "streaming option" that will grow over time?
- I guess that’s the question only the OP can answer :-)

My Bluesound Node 2 provides vastly superior sound to my computer streaming into my Schiit Bifrost DAC via a USB cable.
- I don’t have to think about USB or SPDIF cables
- I don’t have to think about compatibility with the next OS release
- Ripping CD’s is a simple task
- I have the major streaming services built into the Node 2 interface

So for me it’s all about ease of implementation and use...
- easy to use with an adaptable interface
- crash-proof implementation
- immune to computer OS upgrade issues
- multi "platform" support - Windows/apple/android ++++
- great technical support

If the OP wants to store digital content from Ripped CD's or downloads - I use a NAS drive with mirrored drives 
- if one disk dies you simply replace it with a new disk
- the software on the NAS drive replicates the data on the good disk onto the newly installed disk automatically
- simple and eficient

I’ve had my Node2 in the system for around 4 years and in that time it has not crashed and I only had to call support once - it was NOT a Node 2 issue - they actually debugged my router for me

If you just wanna stream music from the web regardless of quality - then just buy a USB cable and - BE HAPPY :-)

If you want to atream great sounding music for a relatively small outlay (i.e. compared to some people’s rigs) that will grow over time, is easy to use and immune to OS upgrades
- Get a Bluesound Node 2 or Sonos or another similar streaming device that works off of Ethernet or Wifi

Regards - Steve