@akg_ca (1) Since everything in this crazy hobby is built to a level commensurate with its price-point, I have never yet seen ANY $2K DAC match -- much less "crush" -- a $10K-$12K DAC....full stop. And I’ve attended numerous audio fest paloozas with their A-B bake-offs and comparison shootouts.
I agree, plus price has nothing to do with anything. To me there is no correlation between price and performance. Look at cables, some cost more that people have paid for their components and I have yet to hear a cable outperform a component I have owned.
Any manufacturer and place a retail price on something that does not make it sound good. Most higher priced components also have very nice chassis designs. The chassis might cost more that the sum of the parts inside. Most components don't have expensive parts like custom wound transformers, dueland or V-caps, caddock or Vishay resistors, etc. so it is all in the design then? Not too much in design that has not already been done IMO.
Crushing something tells me nothing unless I can understand specifically where the one component was better, then I feel educated on the differences one hears.
Happy Listening