Buy a $40,000 used DAC for $4,000 or a new one for the same amount?

I see all of your posts are asking the same thing.  Just because a product retailed for $40K does not mean anything.  I have read where people say something is built like a tank.  All this means nothing until you understand design and what makes something sound good.  A heavy chassis does not mean built like a tank.

It comes down to the design and parts used.

the high resolution files simply uncovers more subtle nuances, warmth, depth of field and air around instruments and musicians.

This statement is simply not true at all.  Most high rez files do not have warmth compared to properly designed NOS DAC designs.  They may have more detail but in my experience give up the musical sound quality that NOS has.  But having a DHT DAC, I don't give up anything.

Happy Listening.

I would  rather have a 10 year old 40K DAC for 4K than a brand new 4K DAC.  It would be a leap of faith but my guess is the 40K unit even at 10 years old will still be better.  I recently compared in my home a 35K DAC setup with a 5K DAC setup and it's not even close, sorry to say but you are really missing a lot with the lower cost setup.  I didn't want it to be true but it's just magic with really nice gear like that. Guys can kid themselves all they want that there isn't a big difference but there is to my ear.  Maybe some people jump in a porsche and think it's not better than a toyota so those kind of products aren't made for those types.  

I’d take a T+A DAC8 DSD over the old DAC no question.  The majority of that $40k you paid for back then was R&D that’s been surpassed.

To be real, I bought a 3 year old $10,000 DAC for $5600 and I’m pretty sure nothing can touch it below and many $$$$$ above that.  The right model counts. 

$4000 for even a modern stereo DAC is way too much to pay.
You can get excellent professional equipment at that price point and below.But then some of you probably believe that professionals and those who make the equipment they use don't know what they're doing, never mind they're the ones making the recordings you listen to on your playback system.