Interesting post. Very interesting responses and observations.
My contribution:
1. All dac do not sound the same.
2. The analog output section (basically a pre-amp) and the thought and effort put into the power supply matters greatly.
Also, something that i did not see listed in the responses is; as for comparisons of any piece of equipment vs any other, if the volume of the system isn't exactly matched while doing the comparisons, one will make the determination that the differences they hear are based on whether one piece is better than the other, when actually if the gains weren't matched first, the determination is false.
It is not simply plug, play and listen then plug the new piece in and listen again. most equipment has different gains, and to be honest in the A/B comparison, gain/volume matching is a must.
I do that anytime I compare equipment for potential purchase.
Another important part is that one must listen to the equipment to be compared in the same system, swapping only that piece, adjust the volume to match and listen.
I've listened to and compared many DACS and I can tell you each and every one I've listened to sounds different in the same system with volume matched. Some subtle differences, some major. Depends on the analog section (how well thought out and constructed it was) and how robust the power supply is.
Would I take a previous top of the line high end DAC today? maybe. But my current Aurender music server/ripper/streamer only has USB output. So, my current DAC had to have a USB input.
Older DACS don't have USB.
enjoy
