@audiotroy - 100% agree that a DACs sound is almost entirely derived from it's analog stage, however, the philosophy of the digital-to-analog conversion does play an important part and the execution of the philosophy is very important.
As far as LowFi | MidFi | HiFi - I feel I land somewhere between Mid and Hi depending on the component. That being said, I have stumbled into a system that now has good synergy and I really like listening to it after years of buying this and that or the next big thing only to be disappointed in the end.
I think someone else commented on this and synergy is the key. You can use older components or LowFi components and end up with pleasing sound that you enjoying listening to as long its it has good synergy. I wish I would have learned this long ago.