Does the streamer effect sound quality

@2psyop …you nailed it!  I do not consider myself an audiophile as I simply don’t hear many of the things others here do. But I do hear profound differences between good and bad recordings, regardless of media type. For example, I enjoy music streamed on Spotify and can detect little if any difference via Qobuz. A poor recording sounds equally poor on each.
 

So, with that said:  I recently added a Teddy Pardo linear power supply to my Node and have it connected to a Denefrips Pontus 2-12th DAC that brings great musical enjoyment.  Not sure what the OP is seeking exactly but “different” sound isn’t always “better” sound. Be honest with yourself as investment-bias is a strong aphrodisiac. 

I also have a Bluesound Node for streaming digital out to a PS Audio Directstream DAC.  I  was going to upgrade the streamer (was looking at Innuos and Aurender) but neither has support for the two services that I use,  Amazon music and Idagio.  So instead,  I upgraded the power supply to a TeddyPardo LPS.  The difference was significant! Some feel that it's ridiculous to spend as much on the upgrade as the unit itself costs,  but I'm very happy with the results.  My point is,  if the streamer doesn't support the services you use,  then it won't work for you! BTW,  the sq from the moded Bluesound is slightly better compared to the same recording on a cd played on my  NuPrime CDT-10 using the I2s output; in other words,  pretty darn good!

I am being redundant, but I just can’t disagree more strongly that the CA is a lateral move from the current node.  I had several hours over a week of listening to do a direct comparison.  The CXN is a clear upgrade.  Is it bested by streamers that cost 3- times as much?  Yes, but not by a large margin.  For me it’s the sweet spot for price, performance, and features.  Never had the chance to compare it to a 10K+ streamer 

Short answer is yes!

How can a Streamer make any difference if the digital stream is fed directly to a DAC?  1's and 0's from Streamer A vs Streamer B can't sound different, right?  Not so fast there, Bubba. 

Only have experience with one Streamer connected to a quality DAC.  However, the Streamer offered sound "enhancement" features.  Claimed to 1) fix corrupted digital bits and 2) improve overall sound quality.  The reality is that disabling all "enhancements" produces better sound quality.  The more you mess with a signal, digital or analog, the more likely to corrupt the signal.  

Excellent point already made that quality of the source material will make a large difference.  Have no reliable insight into whether providers like Tidal, Spotify, Amazon, etc. process source files in any way.  I have done side by side comparison of a streamed track vs same from a CD.  There is a difference.  If the 1's and 0's are the same from either source, there should be no difference in sound quality.  Have to conclude something is different somewhere.