The law of diminshing returns?

A Ferrari or Porsche that costs 3x more than a base Corvette may not measure a whole lot better on paper but is a very different and more rewarding driving experience to a good driver who knows what they’re doing, which I think is an apt analogy here.  The gist of the article is that you pay big $$$ for pricier DACs for relatively small improvements in measurements, but IMO it understates that although the incremental measurement improvements may be small on paper the sonic improvements can be transformative and not small at all.  This article leans just a little into the ASR camp to me, and frankly this writer’s reviews are not ones that I rely on if I want to know what something sounds like or if I’d want to pursue it.  In short, I think he’s better at measuring equipment than assessing and communicating what it sounds like after having read his reviews for years, but that’s me.

@bimmerlover     I agree "The Law Of Diminishing Returns" has been excessively debated but since its subjective it will never be resolved. Placing a formula($xX) is simplistic and ignorant when regarding an art form of recorded music. That is why I don't believe in this manufactured theory.

The law of diminishing returns is most certainly a real thing in high-end audio, but at what point does it begin, and at what point does it end?  Ask 10 different audiophiles, and you’re subject to get 10 different answers.  It’s all so extremely subjective.  But, it doesn’t really matter.  Most people purchase based solely on their budget, with almost total disregard for the law of diminishing returns LOL!!!  Happy listening.         

DACs, turntables (not including carts & phono stages), and cables are perhaps the best subjects for diminishing returns. The "extravagance tier" models employ absurd over-engineering plus gimmicks to justify their cost. These models will certainly sound different to more modest alternatives - some cite "diminishing returns" while implying that sonic differences decrease towards zero as price rises; that’s absolutely not the case. This stuff really sounds different. But does it actually produce better sound as you move up? Or just different sound, that only some will like better? The rate of audiophile disagreements, on forums like this one, heavily implies the latter.

At the end of the day, the mastering still dominates - over DACs and turntables - how pleasing we find the resulting sound quality. That’s the #1 source of diminishing returns here. 

DACs are funny because they started out as a pure engineering challenge (and a very tough one at that), so most DAC chips at their core, even going back decades, are quite well engineered, accurate solutions. It’s up to hifi companies to think up wild Rube-Goldberg-esque solutions to bolt on top of and around that. With turntables it’s all about selling the "gimmick" and then showing off how much you’ve over-engineered for that. Then as audiophiles we endlessly try to rationalize why we like some models over others - whether our reasoning has and basis in reality or not, it gives us something to do :)