Digital newbie

@oddiofyl Hegel 190 integrated/BW 706 S3 bookshelves.  Apple TV 4K/Macbook air M1.  Nordost throughout.  

@cjlundberg digital upstream devices for audio are computers. For some reason audiophilia can sometimes make it seem more complicated; it need not be. As with any computer, the software for a system and its ease of use x compatibility with your streaming services of choice should be the main consideration. 😉

I recall hearing of MacBooks with M processor-based issues in audio playback, so if you plan on using your laptop instead of a dedicated device (be it cheap or expen$ive), might be worth looking into.

I've been using a Sony HAPZ1ES server for several years now, and I just got into streaming myself in the last few months. I wanted to start out easy and economical to see how much I liked it first. After reading many reviews, I went with Cambridge Audio's excellent CXN V2 because many reviewers liked both the sound and the ease of use afforded by Cambridge's Stream Magic app. I have been very happy with it so far, enough so that I haven't felt the need to move to the newer CXN100 that just came out. I stream from Qobuz and have found their selection excellent. They also have one of the largest Hi Res offerings as well. 

It is interesting that most of the responses, which in general are quite helpful, restrict themselves to streaming.  Technically digital also means silver disc play.  I took the OP to mean that he or she listens to analog only, but the language has evolved to the point where most people think that digital refers only to what comes from a streaming service