DAC experiences?

Very well observed.

It is why it is preposterous to speak about the best dac  in general...

The best dac for which System/room/ears synergy  is the right question, and the best dac for the S.Q. /price ratio  is the second  right question...

I don’t have experience with the other two, but I preferred several cheaper “Chi-Fi” DACs to the Chord Qutest. These days I put my money into speakers and speaker drivers where it really counts. I chuckle when I see a guy investing $4K+ into a DAC when his speakers are equipped with $100/each drivers. It’s akin to putting 93 octane fuel into a minivan with all season tires. 

Each time i read about a dac and the reviewer speak about "more details" i know now that this means especially for dac under 1000 bucks unnatural artificial timbre  experience ...

After 4 dac in trash bin  i got the message...

Most people had no idea what is a natural timbre experience...

The marketers either, but everybody know what is "more details" ...

A very biased person main arbiter of an audio site, sold to one American  Brand, call that once  "micro-plankton"  and he love it...

I prefer natural timbre ...

 Acoustics rules not the gear piece ...

It is seems Christophe Mariac was the only one able to create a DAC in his basement of minimalistic design and maximal S.Q. with natural timbre ...

Most people dont have systems value able to afford multi thousands  US dollars dac...(my system value is 1000 bucks)

It is comical or tragical.... Only  pricier dac attract publicity as upgrade ...

Mariac  has stop selling his DAC on ebay ...

By the way what matter in a dac is "timbre" natural experience not more "details"; if you had natural timbre it is inevitable that you will have the necessary details,but the reverse is not true at all. All dac i tried seems to have more details and more clarity than the SPS but it is an illusion which dissipate when you do test listening in an optimized system/room or with top headphone ( a rare thing because most headphone has more "details" but no natural timbre either they sound "inside the head" compared to my AKG K340 which sound speaker-like) 

If Hidizs pro80  (which is good as a DAP) or  the Douk Q11  chinese dac is not very good for "timbre" natural perception... I doubt Topping or SMSL  low cost dac will do better...

(Most reviewers had no idea what is timbre natural experience or are liars if i judge them from the review of the Douk Q11 after which i purchase it because my SPS dac was broken. I tried linear power supply, better cable, Buffer and filters, nothing transform this timbre dac experience in my headphone or speakers in natural timbre not digital timbre )

I love the Douk pre-amp tube and equalizer  T8 , price ratio quality is over the roof here ...

Reading this :

I’ve heard the Cord, and demoed the Holo May both sounded analytical and thin to me.

I am afraid to invest near 1000 bucks in not so good dac...

For his price i will die probably with the Starting point system  NOS battery dac TDA 1543 which i could not really criticize in my low cost speakers and top of the world headphone AKG K340 ...

I am 74 ...

yes this is it. For the price it is very good...( i paid it 20 canadian bucks on a bid many years ago, 8 years i think )

If my budget will make me able to upgrade it i will be afraid to do so without listening the contenders...

I will be  more assured  to beat it with something over 1000 bucks...

The problem of low cost dac is the "timbre" , they all sound unnatural, at least all those i tried  ...

 With my low cost system  which is very satisfying i dont look for any upgrade after my optimization ...But the optimization takes me a long time...

I listen music and participate a lot in Audiogon music threads ...

" minimal acoustical satisfaction threshold " is here.  It is enough for me to feel no frustration at all ... With  headphones or speakers ...

@mahgister is this the French DAC you’re talking about? 

http://audio.starting-point-systems.com/

I cannot match a 1000 bucks system with a dac  in the same price range...

All four low cost dac i tried are not good ( unnatural timbre )...

The only one at low cost i kept was the French battery  SPS dac TDA 1543 who give a natural timbre... The other dac save one small Hidizs  dap i use walking are in a trash bin , the last one cost me near 200 bucks

( Douk gave me an excellent tube equalizer but their Q11 dac is not in the same league as the French Dac : i dont give a damn about the illusion of clarity and details if timbre is not natural ) ..

i am happy with the one i kept luckily ...

 Many people had no idea about "natural timbre" perception ... it is why many low cost dac are sold and bought ...

If i had 1000 bucks i am sure i will had one who is good... Better than the french dac ? i dont know tought  what price i must pay to  beat it ...

Anyway you cannot judge high end dac in low cost system... I could with my headphone which are really high end even in today  market ...