Do I Really Need a Dedicated Streamer?

A streamer is not just convenience it's a purpose built device for streaming music. Unlike your Ipad that is all it does which should make it a lot quieter at the very least. BTW you really should ditch Spotify it doesn't sound very good in comparison to Qobuz or Tidal.

@dunkin what’s the rest of your system and what chord dac is it?

With the poor sound quality of Spotify, it probably doesn't matter what equipment you use...

@jastralfu 

ameliorate!  Thanks. I learned a new word today 😊