Cleaner music when laptop is on battery vs plugged in

Hunt around for the Furman prices. :) You can sometimes get a BIG savings.

At the least, the two key features are SMP and LiFT. The noise filtering and surge protection is top notch.
Best,
Erik

Just to add a litte. Usually when there is a ground loop in analog, we hear it as a hum. According to some old measurements from Stereophile, you could have a ground loop via USB which does not cause a hum but instead results in excessive jitter.

Unfortunately, Stereophile decided then to stop measuring with laptops plugged into AC outlets. IMHO, they should have kept testing with AC to encourage manufacturers to fix the problem.

I personally use a mini Linux PC plugged into the wall, with my audio plugged into a Furman. This keeps the PC supply outside the Furman's noise filtering.
Also, in addition to the switch mode noise, there's been evidence of ground loops occuring ONLY when the AC supply is plugged in and a metal cable is used. Modern USB capable dacs should be galvanically isolated, but this may not always be the case. It is worth experimenting with USB isolators or optical connectors.