I would say other electronics in any given system will affect the sound as much or more than the DAC. And additionally the "synergy " between the components and the room itself. Even though I don’t like the word "synergy" as it tends to not specify the problem much. I have a Schiit DAC and a Benchmark DAC and I think other components actually have more impact on the "neutrality " of sound in my high fidelity system. IMHO
Neutral Dac?
I’m curious to see people’s opinions on what they believe is the most uncolored dac? Every dac I’ve tried seems to be a flavor that deviates from neutrality in some way (smooths things over, too bright, too soft on transients, lacks bass etc...). Is there a dac that people believe gets all the fundamentals correct with leaving very little sonic footprint? What is the cost threshold needed to achieve it? I’m surprised at my own findings recently but really curious if anyone else has been searching for a fundamentally uncolored dac and what they’ve found.
I realize the most obvious answer is "the dac with impeccable measurements" but I have also found some of them to sound unnatural (dry/bright).