I once had a Bel Canto Dac1...it was well under $1K used, and it was most definitely not thin-sounding - in fact it was a joy to listen to, and one of the best value pieces I've owned.
I would presume that at the $1K pricepoint, there will be compromises made...if you want high detail, you'll give up a bit of body...if you want a liquid midrange, you'll give up a bit of detail, etc. It's all about system matching - you just don't wanna go too far in one direction.
Going up in price will yield units that will work with a wider variety of equipment (and obviously sound better for the most part, as long as you buy a well-respected unit), but I am of the belief that anybody's system should be able to accomodate a $1K DAC quite nicely. It's just a matter of which $1K DAC.
I would presume that at the $1K pricepoint, there will be compromises made...if you want high detail, you'll give up a bit of body...if you want a liquid midrange, you'll give up a bit of detail, etc. It's all about system matching - you just don't wanna go too far in one direction.
Going up in price will yield units that will work with a wider variety of equipment (and obviously sound better for the most part, as long as you buy a well-respected unit), but I am of the belief that anybody's system should be able to accomodate a $1K DAC quite nicely. It's just a matter of which $1K DAC.