The one box solution:
I have been a pretty hardcore analog devotee, but loved the convenience of digital. Cut to the chase: If you have a Mac server with firewire, buy yourself a Metric Halo LIO-8. There is a learning curve associated with pro gear, but in this case it is worth it. IMHO playback at 44K is easily competitive with an Ayre QB-9, and you can do so much more. It has 8 channels of analog and digital IO, runs at 24/192 and will let you record whatever you want completely transparently (at least to my aging ears). Use Pure Vinyl with it to archive and play records better than direct feed from my (RHEA) phono pre. Sell your current (QB-9) DAC and use it to play back all your digital files. Grab some batteries and do some location recording (haven't done that, but am thinking about it). It is not cheap, but a totally amazing box that is a very good value and unlikely to be outclassed for quite some time. Just don't expect a fancy box to put on display.
I have been a pretty hardcore analog devotee, but loved the convenience of digital. Cut to the chase: If you have a Mac server with firewire, buy yourself a Metric Halo LIO-8. There is a learning curve associated with pro gear, but in this case it is worth it. IMHO playback at 44K is easily competitive with an Ayre QB-9, and you can do so much more. It has 8 channels of analog and digital IO, runs at 24/192 and will let you record whatever you want completely transparently (at least to my aging ears). Use Pure Vinyl with it to archive and play records better than direct feed from my (RHEA) phono pre. Sell your current (QB-9) DAC and use it to play back all your digital files. Grab some batteries and do some location recording (haven't done that, but am thinking about it). It is not cheap, but a totally amazing box that is a very good value and unlikely to be outclassed for quite some time. Just don't expect a fancy box to put on display.