I have the Ayon CD5S, the Bel Canto DAC3.5VB MkII and the EMM Labs XDS1.
In terms of resolution and dynamics, I rank the XDS1 > Bel Canto > Ayon
In terms of ease of playing all my CDs including the not so well mastered ones, I rank Ayon > Bel Canto > XDS1.
But once I switched to an Audio Research Reference 5SE to give the SS DACs a bit of tube lushness, it's back to XDS1 > Bel Canto > Ayon. IMHO, the Ayon didn't work well being put through a tube preamp at all.
The Ayon however is a bargain considering it provides a fantastic tube preamp, a world class DAC and a great transport. I am using it to front a new system I am building for when I move to a smaller apartment near work.