dac and streamer or seperates

Bits is bits.  That is the blessing of digital.  If you don't trust a computer to accurately transfer bits from one place to another, then you should be very, very worried about your bank account, because your money is nothing more than memory bits.

All the streaming  you need can be provided by a laptop PC, a USB cable and a USB DAC.  Done...  But guys like you have money to burn, so please spend it on foolishness.  

Watch Paul’s video on the topic:

https://youtu.be/ARVpOhkyalQ?feature=shared

Good post malbers. I really did not expect Paul to feel this way. Glad to have affirmation for my recent decision. 😀

@russbutton

Theoretically, you are correct. In the real world you are completely wrong. PCs sound terrible in comparison to dedicated streamers… and the better the streamer… the better the sound quality. Like night and day… not at all subtle. 

OP, I’m pretty open minded when it comes to this hobby. I had solid state for 25 years and have recently gone tube amp and preamp. I’ve owned 3 dacs and demoed another and let me say with 100% certainty, BITS ARE NOT JUST BITS. Any simple test and you will quickly see this is not the case. Shop wisely.