I Mac or Streamer for source? or is there a difference?

My impressions of the sound quality from a Pro-ject Stream Box Ultra S2 vs a PC laptop or an iPhone running off of its battery only through three different DACs: Audioquest Dragonfly Red, Rega DAC, Denafrips Ares II:

The streamer made all three of these DACs sound better. Key improvements were a broader soundstage, more precise placement of instruments/voices, better bass definition, and a better sense of musical flow. Not sure if the difference will be the same from an iMac vs my PC laptop. Also, adding a jitter reducer such as an Audioquest Jitterbug can be worthwhile as well for more of the same benefits as a streamer provides.

Hello RockanRoller, I do not have a solution for your question, but a question myself. May I ask for your expertise and guidance? ow can I connect my music collection on a FLAC USB to my pre-amp listed here? My sound system is an early 80s ‘stack’ system.

None of the components are digital: Bryston 2B solid state amp, Conrad-Johnson PV-11 pre-amp, MIT 330 interconnects, MusicWave phase-equalized speaker cables, California Audio Labs CD Alpha and Delta drive, Dual 1129 turntable. B&W 803 speakers.

I would appreciate your suggestions and guidance on the matter.Thank you.

Mark Saracino

A Mac Mini M1 would serve your streaming purpose very well. 

I recently purchased a Benchmark DAC3 HGC.  I am streaming Qobuz from a Mac Book Pro (2020 version) to the USB input of the DAC.  Since the DAC has volume control, I am able to send the output directly to an older Carver amplifier.  This sounds very good to me even though the amplifier needs some updates.  This particular DAC handles the output from computer streaming very well.  Just my two cents.