Hello audiodwebe! Differences between levels of quality are easy to hear. I have several Chinese made DACS with good reviews. The differences among them are subtle. I was able to get a discontinued Sony DAC for half price and it was immediately more relaxing with only a very slight loss of detail. With the Chinese DACS, it was clear that the rear wall of a voncert hall was made of bricks - that's detail! The Sony (I'd like to give you the designation, but I am out of the home due to a flood.) sound was more relaxed, immediately more pleasant and I couldn't telll what the back wall was made of. Who cares?! Beautiful music is what I want to hear and I've got it. I have two versions of the Dragonfly and a German made Dac as wellm and a Furutec DAC in the upstairs studio, a very pleasant sound as well.
Cables are another matter. The match between the cable and the DAC is important. Some folks swear by a certain cable, but your results may differ. My experience is that the Zafino USB cable (from Canada) beats everything else (even the Wireworld Silver Starlight 7, which is very good) in my cable connection. It is not pricey, it is just a quality product. Happy listening.