Better music player alternative to Mac Air / laptop

Thank you all for the advices. Before proceeding with streaming route, I would like to explore the use of the streamer / file server for playing music out of the HDD / SSD. Based on my research, most of the streamer comes with the USB port for connecting with the HD and support the PCM file up to 24/192 and/or DSD (vary in res.) I only need a streamer / server do two things and do them well, which are (1) deliver the digital signal from HD to the DAC and (2) convenient file retrieval / management. I read the user reviews on several more affordable streamers with good feedback, including ifi Zen streamer ($400), BS Node 2i ($600) and Cambridge CXN v1 ($800). If none of these more affordable gears sound good, I will consider going with (much) more pricey options as you have mentioned. Your opinions in terms of the sound quality, friendliness of the sever, etc.? Do these options stand up to the challenge?

If you're using an external DAC with the Macbook then there's no reason to switch to something else.

If you're using the onboard audio and are considering a Mac mini, you might want to get a late 2014 model. The latest M1 based model doesn't support any sampling rate besides 48 kHz. See this link for more details.

Before proceeding with streaming route, I would like to explore the use of the streamer / file server for playing music out of the HDD / SSD.

You don’t need to spend anything to try out streaming. You can install the free Kodi app on your Mac - link. It has add-ons for popular streaming services like Qobuz and Tidal. It also turns your Mac into a UPnP server and renderer so your music library can be accessed by external streamers (assuming your music collection is on your Mac). You can control music playback via the web client or through an app called Yatse (if you have an Android phone). I’ve also streamed YouTube Music from my Android phone to Kodi using an app called BubbleUPnP. On my iOS devices, I use mconnect.

Yes, as mentioned, I was using the Mac Air with external DAC but wonder if the circuitry inside the Mac / laptop is "dirty" as claimed and switching to cleaner streamer/player will render better SQ. So, are you saying that switching to streamer as the player won’t render better SQ based on your experience? Please confirm.

I was using the old (2013) Mac Air that has the option for higher sampling rates but you need to change it every time. Also you need to switch it to highest rate in order to accommodate all the high-res. PCM files I had. So it means some of the lower sampling-rate audio music will be over-sampled. I heard the Asio plug-in in foobar 2000 could get around the issue but I do not have luck to get it working yet.

While I was done with replying your first msg, your 2nd msg pops up.  I will try that.  Sound exciting although I am not tech savy.

OP,

In general, you get what you pay for. Blue sound and the Cambridge you mention are budget streamers. I forgot if we know your associated equipment.. but you need to move up to a Aurender N150 if you want mid-tier performance. Or something better.