Importance of streamer in audio chain

Yes. Each is important. My streamer is one of the most expensive components in my system. My rule of thumb is that while you must reseach with great care and purchase the very best at the price point:  30% speakers, 20% streamer, 20% DAC, 20% preamp, 20% amp. This gets you in the right ballpark to get the most out of the entire system.

I own two Aurender Streamers… the one in my main system increased the sound quality enormously, finally putting at the level of my great analog end… now I almost exclusively listen to my digital end.

Contrary to popular belief, streamer dac seperates don't always sound that good in execution at various price brackets. There are various technical reasons for this, but, it is the advertising that leads dudes to think separates are the pinnacle of sound. For example, Sony, Marantz, etc used to offer combo units that beat out all kinds of separates in your price bracket.

As you went up the ladder, Technics, Daniel Hertz, Audiogroup Denmark etc may have combo unit solutions that beat out the miracle of separates..

In brief:

the WIIM Pros and BLUESOUND Nodes sound fine performing at their budget strata price point , (emphasis added on a fine but important distinction.)

BUT .,,, if you have a high-end audio system with its inherent far improved resolution capabilities, then you are missing out on a lot sticking with these budget class streamers

NOTE: if you do elect to upgrade your streamer, it is intuitively assumed that in most cases- you will also intuitively also move up too in lockstep to an upgraded DAC from the GESHELLI. Then the cables , et al. It’s the sum of the parts and not JUSTVan isolated piece alone,  that forms the digital audio performance upgrade path down the Yellow Brick Road to Audio OZ.

Buy a streamer with great support.   These are computers.....

I used to have a Sonos Connect that was modified by Modwright I think, they redo the clock and put a nice coax jack, power supply I think... serving up my music library that is all WAV files ripped to a network hard drive.. It sounded great.

I got the upgrade bug and bought a Aurender N150, the entry level but still $3500, now I have my WAV library on a SSD that is mounted in the Aurender. It goes USB to my Schitt Yggdrisal DAC and its no comparison, the Aurender sounds lightyears better for the same music. Then I read guys talking about how they got the more expensive Aurender and it blows away the entry level one...

Long and short is digital aint all the same, a high quality, super well engineered quiet streamer like Aurender will take you system to the next level.

Probably even a Bluesound or one of the other budget streamers is worht while.