How easily can you distinguish between different DACs?

@mapman I used the analogy to make a point. Obviously it's silly to think that a DAC is the same thing as a car. The analogy was never meant to be taken literally :)

Secondly, I don't think anyone here is advising to make a decision purely on the basis of price or brand name alone. The point is that for higher end gear to shine, the rest of your chain has to be good enough to let the gear show what it's capable of, and there must be synergy amongst the components.

BTW, I agree with you about plasma TV. My old Panasonic plasma (over 15 years old now) can still hold its own against newer LED TVs. The black background (resulting in better contrast) provided by my plasma tv is still superior.

@arafiq 

With hifi systems I agree a system is only as good as its least performing component, whatever that is and whatever it’s cost may be. 

@mapman +1. High prices guarantee nothing except perhaps a very high level of salesmanship.  I wish things were that simple, then we can all just save up for a dcs or MSB and everyone else can just go home. But that's simply not the case. That's the great thing about DACs, you don't need to spend a lot for audible transparency these days. And measurements can tell the story with these mathematical machines and keep high end sharks in check.

It's a great time to be a frugal audiophile, getting nice components on the cheap, which wasn't possible just a few short years ago. My one indulgence is a posh turntable because hey, it looks awesome. I know what good analogue sounds like and if you put aside your prejudices, a cheap DAC can take you there.

Agreed Drew.  The one in my Samsung phone is surprisingly good!

I can hear heads exploding.

Direct wired into the preamp playing Spotify it sounds great. As good or better than any of 5 different lower end dacs up to 600$ that I’ve tried. Including SMSL and Toppings and the onboard dacs of a Technics DVD-A and an Onkyo 7030.

They do sound different though. For instance the Onkyo is warm and a little dull, and I have a cheapo Fosi Audio DAC-05 that’s open and brighter. The Wiim Mini is indeed bad but through the DAC-05 it sounds good.

I am curious about the sound of higher end ones up to maybe $1500. Can’t see spending more than that as I am unconvinced that any digital will sound as good as my vinyl. But Spotify is a wonderful thing for discovery and I tend to listen to new music and then get bored of it all and move on. My old records don’t interest me much anymore. Spotify fills that need.

Yes DACs sound different. I think the resolution of the speakers is important. My Maggie LRS are very transparent and present.

If preamps sound different, why would DACs not sound different? Arguably, there are more factors influencing the sound of a DAC than a preamp.