Apple TV Streaming Sound Quality vs Streamer?

Apple TV with the Tidal app sounds fantastic IMO.

Tidal is only CD quality after all.

I use the Sony TV optical digital out to a Gungnir Multibit D/A converter into my audio system and get great TV, BluRay, and audio playback from my iMac SSD.

Curious why you say Tidal is only cd quality after all?
Or are you of the opinion, as some are, that the MQA titles do not offer any improvement over 16/44 redbook content?
Just my 2 cents but I can hear a considerable difference on some MQA titles compared to the "regular" 16/44 stream offered on Tidal.
But a lot of that could be the rest of my system, who knows?

ATV Gen 3 doesn't TIDAL APP. Gen has Tidal but without optical out. You would need a good DAC to sound better from ATV.

Imo-A cd in my $200 lg blue ray player sounds much better than the Tidal. This is what sparked my feeling that the source was the weakest link. Is a cd always better than streaming? I ask because I think I would be satisfied if a streamer could offer a similar sound quality. 

MQA is 14.4khz just like CD

The quality deference is in the mastering and not anything else IMO.

Sometimes it sounds better, sometimes worse.