Spotify and DACs

[eworkflow]

I use Spotify with my work area "hybrid-retro" system: Dynaco A35, B&K ST-140 (recapped to sound more neutral), Masdrop CTH+SDAC (96/24) as a preamp (not with Electro-Harmonix which I don't like), B&W ASW-10CM (to fill bottom 2 octaves), and MacBook Pro (i5-based which, regretfully, sounds worse than my older iMac) with active USB hub. Definitely not the highest-resolution system but definitely quite "musical" one which managed to force me into quite a lengthy process of optimizing cables for it. 

 

I was aware that some people complain about difficulties using Spotify above 48Khz but, from the start, I set my MacBook to feed 96kHz/24bit and observed no "bit skipping" so I left at it. Only yesterday, I changed it to 88.2kHz and experienced a quite dramatic difference: Spotify's sibilance exhibited different but much less obstructive effect and natural venue acoustics (such as present in large-studio recordings like "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" on The New Appalachians album) was clearly enhanced to an unexpected level. The overall result was more of vocalist's presence (especially female) with more textural microdynamics, and better tonal integrity (calming tone of some challenging tracks like Like Someone In Love from John Coltrane - Lush Life album) causing a more "analog sound". Transients seem more convincing as well. BTW setting anything below 88.2kHz was creating inferior results. I just can't comprehend why such a small change (96 to 88.2) could even make any noticeable difference. I'd like to add, I don't smoke anything. LOL.

 

I suspect that this result is highly system-related and maybe not replicable by others, nevertheless, I am curious if anybody experienced anything similar, even if it involves another streaming service.