Arni - I agree, the design and parts quality makes the DAC, as well as the chips. However I have found that cost is not neccessarily the best metric. I have found numerous strange and questionable designs, particularly in the digital areas of extremely expensive DAC's from smaller companies, which I will not name here. It's really hard to know who to trust to do a decent design. Ralph Dodson, who had a long career designing digital electronics for military/aerospace applications, has experience with digital design.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer/modder
Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer/modder