@audiotroy Thanks for pointing out what so many people seem not know. A dac is a design. And only the designer can decide how the final product sounds.
What’s so funny is that most High End components are designed by ear. The measurements count, but the ear is the final word. Ask any audio designer.
And yet, so many people seem not to trust their hearing (or anyone else’s, seeing some of the comments on these forums).
@aberyclark I do agree with the video on one aspect, you don’t need to spend $40,000 on a good sounding DAC.
I would agree one does not need to, but if you want the last word, something that reproduces an orchestra fully - and correctly - it’ll take a damn good dac to do that (unless you’re playing vinyl!). And having one of the ’big ones’ (DCS) dac, i think that a $40,000 converter could show a LOT of people things they believe reproduced music cannot do. Some things cost a lot, and audio is not a cheap hobby if one wants it to sound like ’the real thing.’