Ayre QB-9 USB DAC

One of my friends bought this DAC two months ago after he did a shoot-out with his PS Audio DAC. The PS Audio lost flat-out. Just recently he auditioned the Weiss Minerva DAC and did an A/B comparison with the Ayre. Now he is contemplating of getting rid of the Ayre. Moral of the story- don't compare a DAC you like with another superior unit. The Ayre is good on its own.

Ryder, which PS audio dac was it?

Ryder, I thought you were talking about the PWD. I'm interested in knowing how the "next gen" DACs compare with each other.

Kschiu, the Digital Link III is a fairly new DAC. My friend mentioned he also did a shoot-out between the Ayre and Perfect Wave DAC with all the different filters tested with the presence of two critical listeners. The Ayre was said to have won by a huge margin in resolution, separation, bass and soundstaging. According to them the differences were not subtle. Hope that helps.