@arafiq I totally agree with your point above. We can make some assumptions based on the type of DAC being FPGA or ESS/Wolfson/Texas Instruments or FGPA or whatever. And sometimes there might be a hint of truth in there. But just as often we'll be completely off base. Any design also has analog output stage, digital filter, clocking, jitter reduction, and a bunch of other factors which contribute to the sound. Maybe the most important one is the power supply which is a huge deal in tuning an audio device. So two devices can both use the same ESS chip for example, and sound worlds different.
@zlone I am one of the seemingly rare people out there using the SoulNote D2 DAC. In fact I use two of them in their dual mono mode, so one handles each channel. The SoulNote DACs are amazing. I've had all sorts of other DACs including some really nice ones that I loved. None of them hit the spot quite like the D2 though. I started with a single one and later added another as an experiment. It makes a difference, in my system at least. I have also owned the original Merason DAC1 (not mk2 though), enjoyed it and found it to be a great value for the price. I still like the SoulNote quiet a bit more. Even when used as a single unit instead of monoblocks.
At this level I'm sure it is system synergy as much as anything else. If I swapped speakers or even cables I could probably find a way to make the Merason more enjoyable than the SoulNote. Maybe.