I think there will always be variations in sound quality, just like there are in preamps and amps.
Now, is it mature? Over the past 10 years many DACs have stepped up. The tell for me is Redbook playback. It is suddenly MUCH better than before, and now Hi-Rez recordings don't hold the large improvement in sound quality they used to. One example of just before this cut-off is the ARC DAC 8. It really is mediocre with Redbook, but great with 96/24.
The Mytek Brooklyn is always better than the DAC 8 in all formats, and has a much smaller step (if any) from 44/16 to 96/24 or DSD.
Now, is it mature? Over the past 10 years many DACs have stepped up. The tell for me is Redbook playback. It is suddenly MUCH better than before, and now Hi-Rez recordings don't hold the large improvement in sound quality they used to. One example of just before this cut-off is the ARC DAC 8. It really is mediocre with Redbook, but great with 96/24.
The Mytek Brooklyn is always better than the DAC 8 in all formats, and has a much smaller step (if any) from 44/16 to 96/24 or DSD.