Sound Quality of red book CDs vs.streaming

Question:  Does a reclocker have to “break in” like everything else?

The iFi does need about 200 hours break-in. 
My LPS sounded fantastic out of the box and improved after leaving it powered up for a couple of weeks.

The quality of the transport has a definite bearing on  the ultimate  sound produced when we’re comparing.

Definitely. I have used an ARC, NAD, Onkyo, and PS Audio. Each had a different presentation and sonic signature. A major factor contributing to their sound quality is how well jitter is controlled before data is output to the DAC.
The PSA PWT is a memory player and has an advantage over a standard CDP digital output since it re-reads the disc to correct errors and then loads it into memory. So it is playing back a low jitter data stream from a buffer rather than playback from a disc.

I added the iFi iPurifier to see if I could do even better with my digital chain. With the LPS, SQ is noticeably improved.
I must add that the digital cable is an important part of the chain.

For my ears,  Roon / Tidal via my Oppo 203 is same or better than my red book cd's. I have not touched a red book cd in over a year after getting this set up going unless its something really rare. The ability to quickly explore artists and new music, read about the albums and artists,   along with what I perceive to be same or better quality is a good solution for me. Even better digital equipment in the future will only yield even more favorable results to my ears.   

At this point my Cyrus CD transport is clearly outperforming streaming, but I guess it may take a while for the reclocker to settle in.