I’ve tried 10 different DACs in my system. Once I got above about $200 US they all sounded good. Once I got up near 2K they sounded better. 2K was the top of my budget. Ended up choosing the Holo Audio Cyan 2. It was not the most expensive at 1300 but sounded the best to me in my system. Do DACs that cost thousands more sound better, possibly but I couldn’t afford them so I don’t worry about it. I’m not going to demo something that I can’t afford. Need to avoid FOMO with this hobby. Your experience may differ.
DAC 'Scam' Vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sg1nYLmLCw
The TL:DW is that any well made Dac should not be more than $200 and anything above that doesn't sound any better since they all use similar cheap chips to do the D/A conversion. Anything above $200 for a DAC is basically snake oil and theres no improvement in sonics.
Appreciate your insights.