I've had mine for 2 weeks (playing constantly to break in) and it is truely unbelievable. I use the DLIII via its USB input with a dedicated Windows XP PC running iTunes and using Apple Lossless compression. I previously had a CardDeluxe sound card ($400) and the difference is night and day. The DLIII is very musical. Instruments have a life-like quality, and the dynamic range is much greater. Percussion is amazing. I hear things now in recording I never heard before -- including Yo-Yo Ma breathing. Everything I play now is pure joy. This is the first outboard DAC I've used, so I can't compare with any others. But for me, now that I have this USB DAC, a PC/iTunes-based music server has zero limitations compared to a high-end CD transport, or any CD tranport + DAC. I would never go back to playing CD's directly again since the sound from the PC is now better.