Just wondering...

What is the source????   The Lamms won't do anything that they are not fed.  What's the preamp the BAT with the 6H30 tube?  Look at the speakers, can they reproduce what the Lamm amps can deliver?  Just plopping in a high priced component does not necessarily make a system sound better.  What is the reviewer trying to say with his article?  I don't get what he expected to hear.  If I had a pair of PC speakers with the Lamm amps, what would I expect to hear a life like performance?  Come on!  What's a big boy amp?  Are there big boy speakers?  Musically with a flea-watt amp - WHAT???

The Lamms didn't bring out every tiny nuance—a surprise, as I expect amps costing this much to do everything perfectly—but boy, are they musical! In that way, they deviate from the stereotype of a big-boy amp: You expect such things to sound impressive and precise, but if you want musicality, aren't you supposed to turn to some flea-watt amp, maybe made in some Japanese boutique?

Nice thread ;)

Often the price difference is marketing. Like anything else, if you compare expensive dacs, some may sound like their price, others will not. A $32K dac may sound worse than a well designed $1k dac (Lite Dac 60 with a few mods) but it is housed in solid steel with fancy artistic designs and laser engraved logos/buttons. The only difference being that they used a $20 TXCO with low phase jitter than a standard Chinese one at $0.50 to make it sound well grounded. So if you take away that the metal housing, the exotic wood, and the logo, one is left with the internals of a $500 dac.

Another $32k dac has some amazing engineering but priced higher because a select people are willing to pay for it although everything over $5k is pure profit. You may even come across a dealer that has a demo unit or trying to get rid of stock that is at 75% off. These deals are not typically advertised.

Also learn about manufacturing costs - especially with medium to small companies. A do it yourself home builder has higher costs and a medium company can sell you a dac for $4000 that costs $500 to manufacture. Don’t be afraid to negotiate and offer to pay what value you place on the item.

I find that companies that market and advertise less gives you more for your money.

After playing with a number of DACS over the years..... not one has come close to The Berkeley Ref DAC.  I'm pushing it with the Aurender n100h into the Berkeley Alpha USB to the Berkeley Ref DAC and the results have been the best I have yet heard.  K

how long will a $32k DAC be top notch in sound quality?  Assuming it really is sig'ly better than say a $4k DAC, in a few years $4k or less will buy better SQ

- this even happens in the slower moving worlds of speakers and pre-amps - Look at the history of Maggie designs & ARC

Not better just different.

A good 1K DAC can be world class.

You are right wth your example of speakers - after going far up in price eventually it is more about cosmetics and prestige.

My speakers have have a beautiful burl magnolia veneer hand built in the UK. The beautiful wood work does not add anything to the sound but adds significantly to the cost!!! ATC make an equivalent pro black 150’s that would be one third the cost.