So much of life is suggestion and predisposition, and this, is mostly that. The video tells you the truth. But beauty matters, build quality matters, parts quality every step of the way matters. So I don't agree that in a "good" system there's not going to be audible differences between a few hundred dollar ADC/DAC and a several thousand dollar unit.
His comments about snake oil are true. Confirmation bias? True. There is no doubt other than your own, but it really doesn't matter. To the degree that multi-thousand dollar units vary in sound is either (and mostly) by design, or it's a bad design, but folks love the sound. Personally I don't believe that altering the D/A output is the way to go. I'd rather figure out what's really lacking in the rest of my signal path.
I do believe that above a few thousand dollars, you're getting into more art than engineering -- and yes -- it's mostly in the looks. Spending $20 or $30k on a unit is not buying better sound. You may like one top-flight Cabernet Sauvignon over another, but it's not better-than/worse-than -- it's just your taste.
This hobby/love is loaded with BS -- but then again, so are countless others.
The DAC Scam - Almost everyone believes the hype
Over many decades I have owned my share of multi-thousand dollar dacs.My current is my Audio Alchemy DDP-1 + PS 5, which I have owned for ~ 4 years. I have made many changes to my system, including cables and it has shined a light on every one, so I tend to agree with the YTV . Your thoughts?