Ethernet connection for best sound quality

Somewhere in this thread some wellmeaning ignoramus said "you don’t need a dedicated streamer (vs a PC) for top notch performance".

This is laughably false, and even the least trained ear will immediately recognize the sonic difference between the highest-end PC and a lowish to mid-tier dedicated streamer like Eversolo or Limetree. Go up to Aurender, Lumin, Auralic and the sonic bump is again absolutely, undeniably evident.

Bluesound Node or Pii stuff is all cute. Once one goes next level up, one realizes how overhyped these things are. 

And - linear power supply. Get a dedicated LPS from a good brand like MCRU. You'll hear it instantly. 

"you don’t need a dedicated streamer (vs a PC) for top notch performance".

I’m going to get technical here, but there are many cases where a PC’s USB or HDMI output is very high in noise due to a ground loop which they are prone to due to the switching power supply not really designed to play nice with others. In those cases there can be audible hum/noise or significant jitter. Multiple sources including Stereophile and Audio Science Review have shown this. I’ve also experienced audible hum when using a PC source and USB.

There are multiple known cases where a laptop source measured significantly better when unplugged from the wall.

So.... personally I would not use a PC or laptop as a source to avoid these issues altogether. I use a Raspberry Pi with a high current iFi wall power adapter.

You can get around this issue a little by using a USB isolator (sucks not all DACs are completely isolated) or an optical S/PDIF output but you still have the issue of the amounts of power supply noise making it into the AC.

So generally, I agree that a PC is never going to be my first choice as a streamer, but you could maybe make it OK?

+jerrybj   My 1 1/2 year streaming journey followed a similar path. Each change made an improvement.  Started out streaming from my phone/ipad to my Wifi DAC using Tidal hi-res. Then Macbook Pro on wifi using Audirvana with usb to DAC, then used ethernet cable to mesh router instead of wifi, then added optical isolation filter (FMC-optical cable-FMC) from router to Macbook,  added Bricasti M5 network streamer controlled by Macbook over the network, then added roon and a sonic transporter i5 as roon core and dropped the Macbook now controlled by an ipad or iphone remotely.  Biggest improvements were adding M5 streamer over the network, optical isolation and quality usb cable. Roon with the sonic transporter made it much easier to use with some minimal SQ improvement vs. the Macbook.   Ethernet cables made very little if any improvement. Very happy with the end result and a fun journey.  Network Streamer did matter for me!

@tksteingraber 

Certainly similarities in our upgrades.

I originally bought the MacBook Pro because it had digital out via Toslink. At the time I used iTunes, eventually upgrading to Audirvana.

I'm firmly of the view that many small additions have the ability to create a greater whole. 

Concerning the ifi LAN silencer.

The Chain; DSL- to modem- to router- to streamer- to DAC.

In the chain it should be placed? I figure befroe the streamer, I cannot see any sense in cleaning the bits that arrive to my computer.

Working backwards,

before the streamer?

before the router?

before the modem?