Digital music questions

That being said, am I leaving a lot on the table? 

Yes. See below.

Would a dedicated streamer sound a lot better than the Macbook Pro?

Yes. Most definitely.

Are there streamers without DACs, so I can use the McIntosh DAC without purchasing redundant equipment?

Yes. Plenty.

Can I get a streamer that uses the DAC of the c2700 preamp?

Yes. You will connect the streamer via a digital cable to the built in DAC in your preamp. Such as USB, S/PDIF, or AES / EBU. 

Finally, do I then need to add another subscription, such as Tidal or Qobuz, to get high res audio? 

Not necessarily. Apple Music (red book standard 44.1/16) is pretty good already (CD quality). You can take a free trial for Qobus or Tidal to determine whether they are any better for you and your tastes.

@cmb13 : I sense you are questioning stuff, rather than asking questions. I hope I am wrong.

Next question, dealing with a little sticker shock, is the Aurender N200 at $6300 really THAT much better than, say, a Bluesound?

Then just get a Bluesound. It will most certainly be better than a noisy general purpose computer used for streaming audio like your MacBook

Other than improved sound of using a dedicated, purpose built, audio, streamer, there are other conveniences:

1) Ability to use an app on your phone (or tablet) to control music playback. Way more convenient than dealing with a general purpose computer connected to your DAC via USB cable

2) free up your general purpose laptop (your MacBook Pro). You don’t then have to worry about connecting to the DAC, approximate distance to your audio, and be able to freely do tasks associated with laptops, like for example doing work, browse internet and YouTube, watch porn, and stuff like that normal people do on a computer 

They’re all 1’s and 0’s. As long as the data is getting to your McIntosh DAC intact, then one streamer is no better than another in terms of audio quality.

🤯🤦‍♂️🙄🙄. Of course, digital, it either works or it doesn’t 🙄.

I was wondering when the ASR contingent was showing up to get people straight with “science”

@yage : OK. Fine. Judging but what you previously said, and I quoted above, I sense you did not try anything (such as experimenting). Anyone with any digital system knows that statements such as  “zeroes and ones, it either works or it doesn’t, one streamer is no better than another “ cannot be taken seriously, regardless of what the technical acumen (or the power of their Google Machine) of those who proclaim it with confidence, or forcefully demand “evidence” of the contrary.