What makes a DAC so expensive?

I am not a fan of shutting down others voices. DJones is technically correct. The measurements are what they are. The difficulty in refuting his absolutes is that “transparency and measurements” does not always sound so great or the same. I have 2 transports with similar measurements- one I use daily the other is in a box. Why in a box? Because it doesn’t sound as good as the other. The one I use does have much better components. Does it sound better due to some yet to be discovered attribute? Don’t know, nor do I spend an inordinate amount of time contemplating. I have plenty of technical background but I also have travelled the world extensively and realize that some things buck current science. I also do not believe that big money is the only path to phenomenal anything. Big dollar components can be trumped by better application and synergy of lesser priced components. What’s wrong with audio being a mixture of science and art and magic? Last point, all of us have varying financial means, and similarly varying definitions of audio nirvana. It isn’t a zero sum game where ones win is another’s loss.

i very much like your post and wise comments....

Thanks....

I will add my own comments about "what buck science" :

Too much tools use dependency, not enough disciplined perception.....Something that, almost 2 centuries ago, Goethe called "delicate empiricism".....

If it results in distortion then it is measurable. If it is above a certain level it will be audible. If it is audible then it's a lousy DAC sell it to an audiophile and move on. DACs that are well engineered DO NOT have sound signatures they are considered audibly transparent
I hate to break it to you, but no audio equipment is 100% transparent.

If it results in distortion then it is measurable. If it is above a certain level it will be audible. If it is audible then it’s a lousy DAC sell it to an audiophile and move on. DACs that are well engineered DO NOT have sound signatures they are considered audibly transparent
I hate to break it to you, but no audio equipment is 100% transparent.

:)

I am an audiophile and i said all that a few post ago without insulting all these people who lives by the book of measures or any book........

Noone ever claimed any DAC was 100% transparent. I said audibly transparent. I never claimed transparent is what everyone wanted I was trying to answer specific questions about audible distortion and power supply noise.

"Synergy" is actually a potential problem when establishing high end systems.

It is a good example of my dictum; The greatest impediment to advancing an audiophile system is the audiophile.

I encourage people to roll this around in their mind a bit before responding with a knee-jerk reaction.