Better to buy a high end network player with a DAC?

A good network player does alot.  And some really good players on the higher end include a dac.  Seems to get a really good player, you need to have it come with a dac.  And these dacs seem really amazing, but you lose independence that a separate dac allows.

Why do they force an internal dac on you, and is it all that bad?  Advantages with an internal dac?