How easily can you distinguish between different DACs?

Yea, some high priced DACs sound like garbage so a day and night difference.    Others I have heard sound just fine.  Just spend days comparing bottom tier chip DACs and the differences are as slight as different filters.   I have yet to hear one "markedly better" but I'll keep searching.  If I had $10K to spend, it would be on speakers. If given another $10K, It would still be on speakers.  They matter and the very best of them suck compared to a $100 DAC.  I am NOT saying a $4k DAC may not sound better even on $1K speakers, but money spent on the speakers ( or the room) will make a bigger difference. 

It really ruffles feathers, but there is a point where there is nothing circuit wise to improve on after a mid-tier level. Mass market entry tier DACs are as good or better than most studio equipment the music was mastered on.  Exclusive, aesthetics, price driven placebo, ego...   If that is of value, then the market fulfills it.  

"Significant" "Outstanding"  "Profound"

Maybe folks should look these terms up in the dictionary.  Differences YES. Important enough to spend money on? Personal but probably.

This I challenge: Even current chip based entry level the differences are barely discernable. About the same level or less than different filters. If one left the room and "reset" their ears for an hour, could you come back in and identify which was which with certainty?  I doubt it. 

Step up to the next tier. Same challenge.  If you can't absolutely every time with different music and different levels, then I propose the difference is not "profound". Valued, preferable, sure.   From my first Wolfson to the current entry, yes as the circa 2000 DAC had clear faults in sibilance and edginess. Those problems are surpassed even in $100 entry units. From there, we are splitting hairs. 

Too many You-Tube shills shoveling out superlatives that are parroted again and again because no one would watch if they said: " Yup, pretty nice. The end"

Transported to the venue?  First that has to be recorded which as far as I know has not been even closely achieved.  Magic electronics can't supply information that was not there to start with no matter how expensive your system is.  We can try to make it enjoyable.  Listen all day and not get fatigued.  Get excited by a big crescendo. Feel chill with some nice smooth Jazz.  Yea, we can do that. 

Joan Baez sounds pretty nice right now through the Qutest. Might like the "green" filter but I was warned they take a long time to burn in. Her voice can get ugly if there is a problem. 

Been listening to a Qutest compared to my other generic entry DACs for a week now.  In very focused listening for a difference, yes, there is a tiny bit of detail in the Chord.    Detail over maybe not quite as smooth vocal sibilance or trumpet glare? $1600 worth?  There by remains the questions. 

Real test on how significant: If I walked out of the room and a DAC was swapped, or not, when I came back in could I tell which was which?  No.  Even when I am just sitting my chair listening for the sake of enjoying music and not digging for differences, I don't hear a difference. Those differences are ONLY on a very few of my CD's and only in fairly quick repeating of a short segment of music.  Older DTD, some newer ones.  That extra information is flat not there on say, Rubber Soul. Probably 90% of my music was recorded pre 1980. Quite a bit earlier.  If you were streaming DSD or some newly high end mastered high bitrate, there may be more of a difference.  Some folks seem to like very bright speakers, not me, so maybe there lies more differences.  So it depends. 

Funny some recordings.  I have a Stern/Ma recording and the cello moves around with the note.  But if you just sit back to enjoy the music, it sounds fine.  Message is, after I pick the end game, I am not going listening for flaws or differences, just listen to the music. 

@ invalid, 

I offer you should rethink your chip vs discrete preamp blanket bias. It was very true back in the days of TLO72's.  By the time of the NE5558 ( POOGE, biased into class A) it got a lot fuzzier. With modern OPA series chips, it comes down to execution.  Just picking OP-Amp vs. discrete is no guarantee the discrete was well executed either. Some can be of course. So "it depends".  An inherent advantage of discrete is higher current so the possibility of cable impedance matching at the load end may have some possibilities.  Paralleling op-amps can do the same thing.