I've been using a laptop to Denefrips Hermes DDC via USB to a Bryston BDA3 via AES input for many years. I know the laptop is 'noisy' (and I took a lot of comments for using it as opposed to a NAS and streamer) but it served me well.
The laptop is old, slow, and out of memory, and it's not worth upgrading. Rather than just buying a new one, I started looking at streamers again. The term steamer is somewhat misleading as they are really a computer optimized for music playback. One of my requirements, however was that it had to have onboard storage - don't want a NAS.
I picked up an Eversolo T8, not expecting a major sound improvement, but as a precursor to eventually replacing the DAC and solving my storage and control needs.
The things I noticed:
-improved clarity
-more bass weight
-more fuller sound
These weren't night/day improvements, but an overall refinement and showed me how good the Bryston DAC was when you provide it with a really good source signal. I tried various connections between the Eversolo and the Bryston and found the USB and the AES were so close I couldn't tell the difference. I settled on the USB connection as I can still use the Denefrips DDC for my DVD player and TV (Movies sound marvelous). I think I can get a few more years out of the Bryston! The phone APP for the Eversolo works great but I'll never use many of the features.