Do Streamer only devices really impact sound quality?

New custom streamer goes in, great attention to noise and latency issues. Revelatory is only word I can apply to what I'm hearing, much greater sense of ease, I simply relax into music, its like the music has slowed down and come into its own natural flow, far more like the top tier vinyl setups I've heard. There has been substantial reduction in noise floor as well, but the newfound sense of ease is the revelatory thing.

@sns  Very well said as to the incredible improvements that can be achieved by upgrading to better components in the streaming chain. 

Keep an open mind and audition some models. I don’t notice any difference with them and am content to play directly off the streaming stations. Put the money into speakers.

I made the following budget minded changes to the front end after initial  setup.  I have BS Node 2i and Topping D90 with AKM chip. Took some time research and learn.  Discussions such as this are very helpful.

1.  Better power cords for Node and D90.   $200

2. Hardwired ethernet cable to streamer. $40

3. Dedicated power circuit for audio system. $500

4.  Upgraded power supply to Node.  $130

5. COAX  from streamer to DAC. $40

6. DX Engineering EMI/RF filters on ethernet. $50

7. New cable modem router combination.  It included a LPS and eliminated  an older router and wall warts.  FREE

8. Herbies firm fat dots.  $80

Cumulatively,  these changes made nice changes.  Depth of soundstage,  transients, sense of space, details revealed in bass, etc.

Then I  added a Add-Powr Symphony IO.  This improved the sound even more.

Sure, each step could have cost more and would probably improve the sound even more.  If you upgrade the above steps, the cost goes from 100s to 1000s.

I agree, don't have to spend a fortune on streaming equipment to hear differences. I've been streaming for many years, started with most basic, laptop to dac with Foobar, been incremental improvements all along the way.

On the grand scale of what things affect the sound most, streamers certainly can if done wrong but not so much when done right and that need not cost much these days.   It can be done right these days using most any platform including home computers but there is more that can go wrong there for those less computer literate.