How are most audiophiles going from streamers to DACS

Hmmm…. So many variations of advice. 
My streamer is a MacBook Pro that supports usb and optical. 
I tried many usb cables and while they all had a differing sound / noise signature all had a glare that induced listener fatigue. I tried the ifi device that allowed one to connect an external power supply to the usb connection. Improvement but still not great. And moving from switched power supply to linear also provided improvement. 
I moved to optical and the glare was removed. I could relax more and listen. And then moving to glass optical cable was a significant improvement over plastic/cheap optical cable. 
Optical support is going away unfortunately.

I'm going...

Innios Zenith -> USB to Matrix X SPDIF 2 (with separate LPS) -> i2S to Gustard X26 Pro DAC

Figured for digital i2S would be a good wat to go.

I'm happy with it.

Wow, a tremendous amount of pontificating, bad advice, and stuff that doesn’t apply, If you are going to give "advice" you could at least see what the equipment is capable of.

gotta agree w herman

folks who spout without carefully reading the question aren’t really helping

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@sudnh

you should perhaps try a usb reclocker if you are streaming from a mac book - here is one well respected choice of usb cleaner/reclocker among several on the market

https://wyred4sound.com/products/digital-converters/recovery

I've done comparisons between optical and coax connections from my Node 2i, and in my system the coax easily sounds better. Coax sounds more natural, and has less digital glare. 

I agree with Herman.  If you have a Node 2i, then you are limited to coax or optical.  No USB.

I have always had better results with coax in most applications over optical.  My Node is no exception.  Per the review of the Node 2i by Audio Science Review, the SINAD is better with coax than optical, but that could have been an issue with the sample reviewed.

I have a Node 2i connected to a Denafrips Terminator via coax.  Much better results than the internal Node DAC.  In addition, I found that feeding the Node with an UpTone etherRegen added clarity and more soundstage depth.  Sadly though, it still does not compare with the sound quality of my Oppo 105.  I think there is limitations to the Node as a streaming device.