Next best exponential DAC quality level?

Op, do you want a real answer, or a made up one?

Does that sound silly? This whole thread is silly.

DAC chips are so good today, that you can make a DAC for a few hundred dollars that is better than human hearing will ever be. Add another few hundred dollars and you can isolate that from any noise source. Add in a low volume premium and for under $1,000 you can have something perfect.

Now if you want something that is not perfect, that will cost you big bugs, because then you are paying for art, not reproduction.

Are we supposed to take people seriously that compare highly distorting tube outputs to no distortion solid state? Seems silly. Changing a setting on a DAC for the output filter and a multi-thousand $$ DAC will create more difference between it and itself than it will with similar filter setting between it and a much cheaper DAC.

You are asking a group of people for an opinion who have never compared without looking at whats playing, without ensuring the volume is exactly the same, or learning what the filters do and why they may impart a sound, hence DO sound different, and who think NOS is the be-all, when it is just a noise mess, but sure it does sound different.

Good luck on your quest, but these are not the droids you are looking for ... I mean the answer to the question you seek.

I rarely taunt other members but you set the tone of this thread by coming out with both guns blazing. Every other post was you denigrating members' contributions. I love the attitude that nobody here is capable of comparing equipment in an audition. The many manufacturers and designers that frequent this forum have too much class to join this thread and tell you what's what. I don't expect these experts to contribute their valuable knowledge to a thread with such mean-spirited overtones. 

Apologies to the OP.

I think you have your answer @martinman. Several posters have spent now pages trying to discredit me. Not discredit what I wrote other than hand waving about $10K DACs and $99 DACs, but discredit me because I have the audacity to say, and explain in basic, honest, and accurate terms why you are not finding much if any difference between your DACs, which are all inexpensive, but based on modern, near state of the art chips, competently designed. I even pointed out where you may run into system issues with these lower cost DACS (that expensive DACs may or may not fix) and what you may or may not experience with expensive DACs.

In another thread, "Single Ended DAC vs Dual Differential XLR DAC", there are many defending the "sound" of what may be the worst audio DAC ever made including attacking the website that did a proper test and showed how poor this product is. One of those people doing that is attacking me here as well.

But @martinman , not only are they attacking me. They are now attacking you. According to them, you are delusional. How does that make you feel?

Martin is delusional. How could you possibly think the $99 DAC could be anything other than a $99 DAC unless the Chinese are selling $10,000 DACs for $99 now to put everyone else out of business.

Yeah +100 lowrider 57, Cindy and Martin have come on the Ferrari forum telling everyone that their Honda City can do 0-60 mph in under 3 secs so why should they pay $1m for a Ferrari?

The TESLA 3 with Dual Motor's, which is about $55,000 does a 0-60 in about 3.1 seconds, which is better than almost every Ferrari ever made except the most recent 488 at > $250,000 and some previous ultra expensive models.

@lordmelton : I see you deleted your post that @cindyment is quoting. Unfortunate, because it was clear you didn’t realize that I was the OP.

1.5 pages of useful stuff, 1.5 pages of alley way pushing and shoving.

This is BS. I think we all need to go outside (myself included).

You all should be congratulating me like @ghasley did -- ffs.

Heck, I’m jealous of the guy...he and the OP have apparently found musical bliss for $100! I would give $100 if I could find musical bliss for $100 LOL.

The unofficial end of thread was 1.5 pages ago...    

The TESLA 3 with Dual Motor’s, which is about $55,000 does a 0-60 in about 3.1 seconds, which is better than almost every Ferrari ever made except the most recent 488 at > $250,000 and some previous ultra expensive models.

Yeah, but all it will ever be is a Tesla. 🤔

Tell ya what. I’ll race ya. You in a Tesla and me in my Silverado. We’ll start on the east coast and finish on the west coast.