Fairly new to streaming. Where to start?

Here is my recommendation.  I have been streaming since 2014.  My first streamer was a Pioneer N50.  Later in 2017, I moved to a Sony UHP-H1 SACD/Streamer.  Finally in 2018, I moved to the Denon Heos Link V2 so that I can subscribe to Tidal.  As far as sound, they were all very close to each other with the Pioneer being slightly above the other two.  The average prices was around $600 US but the Sony was under $300.  By they way, all of these units sounded better with an external DAC. (REGA)  Anyway, what I discovered through AB comparisons is that my Cambridge Audio CD transport ($500) sounded much better than all three.  I am not implying that you buy a cd player instead.  Streamers offer other benefits that cd players don't have.  However, my recommendation to anybody who is after great "audiophile" sound is not too spend too much money a streamer.  Get something decent that will satisfy your needs. Used streamers are a good option if you don't plan to subscribe to music services.  With that, I will recommend the following three streams based on the fact that I have auditioned them:

1.  Cambridge Audio CXN V2.  This streamer has a great sounding DAC as well with plenty of digital inputs.  Best sounding of the three, with or without external DAC.

2   Bluesound Node 2i. This is my second choice.  It has a good app as well.  Will sound best is connected to a "decent" DAC.

3.  Denon Heos Link V2. This is what I have on my system.  Not bad when connected to my REGA or Musical Fidelity DAC.

I hope this helps.  Good luck
Cheers.

@bicuThis was written in 2013. Is it valid? Digital keeps changing and we learn more every day. . The CEO of Aurender disputes this I believe.

Some have suggested that I spend $200-300 +/- for a player/dac. Do you really think that will sound good or be competitive in my system? Of course not.

The Node 2 was a good way for me to dip my toes into the world of streaming, but the turning point for me was when I spent some time listening to the same song on my two turntables, my CD player, and the Bluesound. 

Obviously there are a number of factors that contribute to the sound quality, the recording itself, phono stages, cables, etc.  Having said that, the Bluesound was the least good sounding source in my system.  And I was using my Auralic Vega as the DAC instead of the Bluesound's DAC.  I never thought the Bluesound sounded bad, but it wasn't as good. 

After upgrading to the TEAC NT-505 I've had thoughts of going all digital.  I enjoy spinning records too much and they do have their "magic", but the playing field has been leveled, if not tipped in favor of digital due to the convenience factor and access to an exponentially larger collection of music than I have at my fingertips through streaming services.  I know you've said you don't plan to use any streaming services, but you should really give them a try.  Sound quality is excellent and it greatly expands your music library.  For the price of a few lattes, you can have an enormous library of music available.

Starting out with something like the Bluesound might not be in line with the quality of the rest of your system, but it will give you a chance to find out if streaming is for you or not.  I bought mine as a demo unit and flipped it for about what I paid for it when I upgraded.  The Lumin D2 or the TEAC NT-505 would be in line with the rest of your system and both are around your budget.  If you're convinced that streaming is something you'll use and enjoy, then I'd just skip the lower end stuff and start there.

My old audio digital bits have not changed for over a decade.

"..Unless programmed to manipulate the digital data.." here is one from 2016 - https://archimago.blogspot.com/2016/08/musings-do-audiophile-computer-based.html mentioning Aurender as one of the solutions.

Since we are talking streaming pedigree, I've been streaming since 2004 with Apple's Airport Express(M9470LL/A), bit perfect even then if used with optical out, before all other solutions came around.

Personally I use RPI3 with venerable RopieeXL. Have I compared it with USB directly out of my laptops, iPads, YES. RPI has a DigiOne coax SPDIF, so I do both USB and Coax and even optical with Audio Chromcast into my DAC, which is Chord Hugo TT2 and on either input, optical/coax/USB of any combination, PC, iPad, RPI, all of them sound just as good, actually better then good, but that I do not attribute to transports or source but to TT2. Source can be FLAC/ALAC/DSD or lossless streams.

Artemus_5 I have not a/b'ed the Node and Yamaha but am going on the comments of others.Here is a pretty thoughtful review of the unit, in case you have not come across this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovrS88tddmo&t=497sOne of the things I like about the Yamaha is both the hardware and the Musicast software is very flexible with regard to sources and outputs, although I expect BlueOS is also quite good from what I have read.

I can't find any reviews of the new Ultra Rendu but it's predecessor was held in pretty high esteem. The SOTM SMS200ultra is also a contender at a slightly higher price point. To get the most out of each of these options I think a quality external power supply and a commitment to Roon may be necessary.