Best USB port on a late 2012 Mac mini

Except that my Mac Mini is a late 2016 the setup is the same as gryphongraph’s. But I use Ethernet to deliver the Roon stream to an ultraRendu with LPS 1.2 and Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC. Could I get the same sound quality by going direct from the USB port of the Mini to the Ayre DAC, perhaps with a UBC isolator although I think Ayre USB DACs are thought to deal effectively with jitter? Mini USB direct to Ayre DAC would be neat if it works.

I think my Mac Mini is actually a late 2012, with SSD and external HD. I moved the USB cable to the Ayre DAC from the ultraRendu to the Mini. Roon immediately displayed the DAC as the output device. The setup is balanced analog from the Ayre DAC through a Parasound JC 2 preamp to a pair of JC 1 monoblocks that drive KEF LS50s augmented by a pair of KEF KC62 subs. Audio quality with this setup is excellent.

The list is given below

• Thunderbolt port (up to 10 Gbps)
• FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
• Four USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps)
• HDMI port.
• SDXC card slot.
• Gigabit Ethernet port.
• Audio in/out.
• IR receiver.