Flaws in this chain?

kahlenz I think you hit the nail on the head from everything I have read about jitter on engineering and pro audio sites it's another blown out of proportion worry any jitter produced is outside the audible range and if you are using a well built dac no need to concern yourself with it. 

Yes, jitter was the #1 issue which is why I'm glad they have figured it out in well designed modern dacs that have been made in the last 20 years or so.  Actually longer than that but I believe dacs have improved in the last number of years but that's just a belief if I had to pick a well designed dac from the 80's from a newer one in a blind test I doubt I could. I have listened to files that have jitter in them which can be found at various sites like hydrogen audio, AES etc.. and I have never heard jitter in my system.  So if I don't hear it, I don't worry about it. 

Sound on sound has a good article "Digital problems, Practical solutions". In the section on jitter the bottom line is it just isn't a  practical problem anymore and this article is 10 years old. If you are slaving multiple A-D converters then use an embedded external clock. 

That's good to feed a low jitter stream but modern DAC's don't use the embedded clocking information from the incoming stream they use removal systems to isolate it from the reconstruction clock in the converter. If you can hear jitter and it bothers you then use whatever you need or want to me I don't hear it so I don't worry about it. 

I am no expert by a LONG shot which is why I try to read as much as possible from those who are. I could be wrong and would be the first to admit it but the way I understand it is the digital stream , the 1’s and 0’s, are sent to the DAC that converts to analog, as long as those 1’s and 0’s get there the DAC reconstructs them using it’s clock since the embedded clock information and any jitter that was sent in the stream has been isolated out. If the 1's and 0's don't get there you have a bigger problem than jitter and it's pretty easy to hear if the information does not arrive. 

I use a $20 blue jeans belden coax cable and my SQ is good enough for me. Obviously you know more about this than I do. All I know is what I have read. 

Yes I have tried better cables. Let me rephrase that , Yes , I have tried more expensive cables not really better cables at least to me. Not sure why I would want to try a Sonos, I am sure it's a fine streamer but I am happy with my Micromega. 

So, Macbook Tidal  > wireless> ATV> DAC> preamp sounds kind of lousy and itunes the same chain sounds better?  My guess is it's tidal but I never used tidal so have no direct knowledge. Can tidal be installed on the ATV ?  I use an integrated amp/dac/streamer so I might not be the best for ideas but it looks like a lot of nodes involved. To me even ripped CD on my  NAS wireless to my integrated  doesn't quite have the SQ as CDP digital to the integrated but it's close, blind I might not be able to tell. So far I have only listened to internet radio over my integrated which isn't bad for casual been waiting on Qobuz to try hi - res streaming. 

Ok , thanks for the information. 

Cables no, sources yes but nothing drastic depends on the source, whether it's a newer CDP or an older one and what DAC is used  or a file off my NAS or transport to a stand alone DAC . Not sure where you are going with this, like I have said using different sources, amps, pre amp, integrated amps some with DAC's some without. Cheap cables, expensive cables I have never heard anything I would attribute to jitter in the last 20 some years. Now an old I believe technics or sony  CDP with  a 14 bit DAC  I had in the early 1980's did make a piano sound a little like a harpsichord which I would agree was probably caused by some jitter. From the information I have found  from my reasearch which I always do on these types of claims on pro audio sites jitter in well designed modern DAC's is not a problem and hasn't been in 20 years.  I'll reiterate, I don't hear it so I don't worry about it.