Differences between models of expensive vs inexpensive DACs

Just picked up LAB 12's DAC 1 Reference  and it's really nice.   In a direct A/B with the RME it replaced the difference is not subtle .

Thanks for the responses. It seems like there may be convergence among many designs as they reach the performance limits of the DAC chips they're based on. There may be some outliers going for a specific modification to the sound in the output stage. I'm getting the impression that I'm not hearing differences between dacs because it is a subtle thing compared to things like how a different amp might sound on any given set of speakers. I've definitely heard that effect. Or the same speakers in a different room. I've had situations where I couldn't believe my ears, thought the speakers were broken or something they sounded so different  from one room to the next. 

Years ago in the 1900s I had a Sony ES CD player that I thought had a  flat, lifeless sound to it. Easy on the ears but boring. So I spent $800 for a Theta Cobalt DAC. That was a lot of money for me at the time. The Theta had plenty of oomph to the sound so I was happy with it's added zest. By  the early 2000s I compared the Theta to a cheap CD/DVD player's analog output and to my ears the Cheap DVD player bested it. Since the early 2000s either cheap DACs have gotten better than my ears, or they've gotten better than the rest of my equipment, or both. 

Thanks for the responses. It seems like there may be convergence among many designs as they reach the performance limits of the DAC chips they're based on.
 

No, there’s much more to a DAC’s ultimate sound than the DAC chip — the power supply and analog output stage just to name two major factors. 
 

Since the early 2000s either cheap DACs have gotten better than my ears, or they've gotten better than the rest of my equipment, or both. 

Yup, in general they have gotten much better, and there are meaningful differences if your system (and ears) is up to it as others have mentioned.

@soix I agree there’s more to a DAC than just the DAC chip but won’t the chip ultimately be the limiting factor assuming everything else is executed to perfection? I’m of the understanding that the companies who manufacture high end DACs are not capable of making their own chips. Or perhaps there’s a synergy between the characteristics of the chip and characteristics of the rest of the unit that counteract each other's deficiencies, the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts.

in my travels through several dozens of dacs since 2020, i would say there is definitely more variation in s.q. among lower priced dacs, as each are making cost-driven tradeoffs in the various elements that affect sonic performance and trading them off against features, ultimate retail selling price etc etc

more expensive dacs (good ones $6-7-8-9 grand and up) tend to converge in sound quality i m e - one exception to this is are some well renowned pricey dacs with vacuum tube output stages and rectification... those can sound notably tubey, an overt design choice...

usual caveats and contextual points apply, your system needs to be revealing enough, you need to have a good clean digital in-feed, etc etc...

and yes, as others have said, all aspects of the dac affect the sound, not just the actual d/a conversion mechanism/chip/ladder what have you... search my old posts on the subject, won’t repeat here