If you cannot hear a difference between the internet radio unit and the laptop then for you there is no difference. There is no right or wrong here. This is in a way a very selfish hobby. I build my system for me and nobody else. Well, except maybe my wife, but for the most part her input relates not so much about how it sounds, but the visual impact it will have on the living room. Since I am now working with a shared space in the house I have to play nice in the sandbox to keep peace. But outside of that I choose equipment to please nobody but myself. Ans everybody else should do the same. That's why we all end up with different systems. If there was one "right" way, we would all own the same gear. So if there is no real difference between the two units how do you choose. I would move onto logistical issues, such as which is which is easier to use in terms of operation, does one take up less space and things of that nature. The internet radio unit may be somewhat easier to use in that you can just drop it in one place and leave it there, but the laptop I would think could get you access to a wider variety of sources. For example can you get to YouTube Videos via the Internet Radio and if so how easy is it to navigate then vs using the laptop. On the other hand in my house the laptop is in and out of the house on a regular basis, so using it with the stereo would involve constant hooking and unhooking of cables, a definite headache. Everything has its own set of pluses and minuse and you just have to pick the unit gives you the best combination of them for your situation.
As for the Pecan Pi streamer, It is a great little unit for the price. When Leo was first getting Orchid Audio off the ground he brought some of his gear oer to my house and did a presentation to our local audiophile club. HE did not have a streamer product at the time but mated one of his Apple Pi DAC boards to a Raspberry Pi computers forming a unit which is similar to the Pecan Pi streamer he is now selling That combination was very nice sounding indeed. And from all the reviews I have read, his pecan series is better sounding than the original Apple series, to I am sure the Pecan Pi streamer is a great performer.
The advantage of the Pecan Pi type streamer is that it is a fully functioning stand alone unit.You operate it via a tablet or a smartphone and it will function on its own without the need for an external computer. If you have music files stored on your computer it can read them, but it doesn't need the computer to operate other than that. And if you want you can connect storage devices directly to the Pecan Pi via its USB ports.
