With money to burn, get all the separated you want. I use a MacBook pro running Tidal-Audirvana into a Recovery reclocker. It works fine and I can simultaneously answer my email while bringing in the bacon... All on a budget
Playback via server vs laptop?
For several years now I’ve been enjoying hi res audio- I have J River on a MacBook Pro going into my DAC. It works works well. What would I gain, if anything, in sound quality, from using a dedicated server such as one of the Aurender units, in stead of my MacBook Pro?