1. Speakers, flatter the response and wide dispersion the better
2.Room
3.integrate 1 and 2 with proper treatment and PEQ.
4. Amp, preamp, source or better yet get active speakers
5. Dac for digital. Cables are irrelevant as long as they work. USB is fine as long as your DAC is of competent build.
You say you're going from computer to DAC if you can hear noise caused by grounding issues or if the computer interferes with playback it might be worth getting an inexpensive streamer.
2.Room
3.integrate 1 and 2 with proper treatment and PEQ.
4. Amp, preamp, source or better yet get active speakers
5. Dac for digital. Cables are irrelevant as long as they work. USB is fine as long as your DAC is of competent build.
You say you're going from computer to DAC if you can hear noise caused by grounding issues or if the computer interferes with playback it might be worth getting an inexpensive streamer.