I liked the Ayre QB9. I had it in my system for a short trial but couldn't bring myself to pay that much for only USB. I found it outperformed the Wavelink HS/Bel Canto DAC3.5VB combo I had. Not in terms of details but when hooked with USB, the pace of the music was just better.
I still preferred my CD2 + Bel Canto DAC3.5VB combo. There's something intrinsically right about the pace and energy of having a physical disc transport vs a computer.
Since then I have upgraded the DAC3.5VB to a MkII and I dare say it should be much closer. I also have switched to a Weiss INT202 which seemed better again than the Wavelink although it does not support Integer mode.
