Mac: AIR or USB?

[IGuardianI]

I'm expecting my Devialet D-Premier anytime now from Paris, where it was upgraded to a D250. This comes with a lot of new options for me to try out.

Reading all about it from you all across this forum makes me a little confused what road I should walk on. For starters, what I see as the best music experience: controlling playback of music with iPad/iPhone, great library with cover art, ease of use, simple configuration. All this with the best sound quality without sacrificing any of the options mentioned before.

Air/iTunes on a Mac Mini gave me this experience on the D-Premier, then I heard some rumors about better options regarding sound quality. (Note, I'd like to stay with my configuration(see signature) and don't want to add any boxes, devices or external streamers.)

As I was exploring this forum, reading about Audirvana working with Air got me excited. This because in the past I heard a clear advantage comparing it to iTunes. At that time it lacked the option of having a library and an iPad app to control playback. Now with the new update to 2.0 (2.03 now), the library option is available and in time an iPad app as well. Even the option to use Dirac room correction software as a plug-in (please correct me if I'm wrong!), seems like a wonderful option I will really make use of in the future.

Then I read something about Audirvana not automatically adjusting sample and bitrates while using it in combination with Air instead of iTunes which will work without issues. Does anybody know if this is happening in standalone-, or/and in iTunes integration mode?

I really hope this isn't true, as this would be a wonderful option to run things! When this problem indeed exist, will it also exist with other programs like Amarra, Jriver in combination with Air?
If the answer on that question is also yes, I suspect I have to look further for a better option...

So there we have USB, as I haven't had any experience with this input before, and the mentioned problem indeed exist, can this input be the solution to my problems and how?

The reason why I'm asking about this before the arrival of my Devialet, is because I want to do soms tests with ethernet- and usb cables when I pick it up. Therefore I want to have the right setup available to make the right choice! (Normally I'd test most things myself.. but as I can't, your input will be much appreciated!!!)