Hello Doggie, the way it was explained to me, the QB9 DAC was derived from the C5's DAC, the USB input was added to make the QB more universal ( sell more unit's ). The DX was made even more universal with it's video capability. This came in person from Ayre's X Steve S. now with AudioQuest.
For what ever it's worth, I brought both the C5 and DX5 home for a lengthy audition, the DX had a bit more drive but the C5 had musicality and a sense of pace in a precise way that the DX could not match.
I feel all the above are beyond reproach in there price category.
Tim