do players like Foobar improve sound of internet

"03-09-15: Ptss
Crazy Czarivey. I too want to know how to upgrade internet audio from my Laptop to play thru my "big rig" (well-not that big; but its mine,paid for,and gives me joy :-)"

Why not use a dac?

I would also like to know the usb cable to buy in the $50 - $75 range

anyone?

thanks...

Check into the Wireworld USB cable line. Chroma can be had for $30. Next up line I believe is Starlight 5, ~$50.

Player software makes perhaps the single biggest difference in how music streamed from the internet sounds. Anything and everything both good and bad is possible depending on the software used to stream. It's even a bigger divergence potential than with record players running the gamut in sound quality from the cheapest ceramic cart players to the finest setups possible.

You want to go with software that others with diverse listening experience find to have good quality as well documented in various sites and forums.

Or use a device designed for high quality music streaming from top to bottom already like Bluesound, older Squeezebox, Plex, Sonos or many others that target the home audio or a/v consumer base specifically.

What is the biggest competition to Foobar?