DAC diminishing returns

I have only listened to a variety of DACs below $1k. I couldn’t tell the difference.  That is why I asked the question, are there diminishing returns.  I want to buy a better DAC, but as you go up in cost is improvement worth it, or are they only marginally better, or not better at all.  After this very thoughtful discussion, I thank everyone.

I am coming down on the side of R-2-R.  

OP,

Most of us have started out a bit wary of “big buck” audiophile stuff. Most of us then had a world changing purchase. For me, my first audiophile component was a tape deck. I had purchased this highly reviewed “amazing” Onkyo (midfi) deck. ok, yawn, it was fine. Then I had some trouble with it. I went to a high end store and saw a 7 year old first generation 35 pound Nakamichi tape deck. I took it home to try. OMG… I Remember having chills go up and down my back.. goose bumps on my arms. I had absolutely no idea that something like that was remotely possible. It put the performance of the Onkyoin the category of transistor radio. But playing around in the shallow end addind a couple hundred bucks will not do it. This where dealers can help… take an audiophile unit home.

That was the beginning of one of the most rewarding pursuits of my life. You spend some ungodly amount of money on a 30 - 45 pound incredibly well constructed piece of audiophile equipment and the performance is phenomenal and you don’t look to upgrade it for a decade or two. BTW, I don’t think one of my components weighs less than 35 pounds… isolation from vibration, noise… quality components and lots of engineering.

Dsfreeh,

I wondered the same when looking for a DAC for my system, and in my research, I had decided to go with an FPGA or R2R Dac instead of a DAC chip based model.....would a $1,000ish DAC like the Denafrips Aries II R2R at $820 be sufficient, or should I move up the ladder to the likes of the Chord Qutest FPGA $2,000ish, Denafrips Pontus II R2R at $1,750, or HoloAudio Spring 3 Level 2 at $2,400 be worth it.

In MY system, the Denafrips Pontus II R2R DAC sounded best....though I can also say that the Chord Qutest and HoloAudio Spring 3 are both phenominal DACs......just not in my system.

My recent acquisition is pretty nice, but I bought it with the knowledge that in 10 months or so I will be taking a DAC or two home that is $7 k or so to try head to head.   If the difference is pronounced I am going to take advantage of their trade up policy.   

@oddiofyl 

That can be a really effective strategy. Getting to really know a piece of equipment for an extended length of time, so you really know the sound… then comparing with something better allows for a “deep” and thorough comparison. 
 

Good plan. Good reason to work with a dealer.