I used an optical cable from a Mac mini to a dac. I honestly can’t tell a difference between streamed and ripped CDs typical music coming off the Mac.
Streaming vs ripped music
So I have a Node 2 going into an RME dac and stream Amazon HD. Yesterday I ripped 5 or 6 of my faves that I stream from the CDs. Put this onto a thumb drive and into the back of the Node. I think this definitely sound better than streaming these same songs. Anyone tried this and what was your findings?