How much does a DAC do the more expensive it is?

I have an Oppo 105 and 103. Never particularly liked either as CD player or transport.

Completely agree.

In fact I don't believe any Blu-ray player should ever be used to play CDs.

So what do those much more expensive DACS do for sound?

I like the analogy that a DAC is like a cart. DACs shape the sound. They can smooth out edgy highs, preserve the all important mid-range and tighten up bass. but...EVERYTHING matters.

2 months ago I thought my $600 Bluesound Node (current model) was pretty darn good, and I was also a digital cable naysayer. 

Out of necessity, I upgraded and tweaked my digital front end (details in my virtual system). I still have the Node but I will replace it at some point now that I know what I know:)

You get what you pay for but if you are patient and do your research, a killer digital front end can be had for under $5K. But if money is no object...go nuts.

There are exceptions to the rule many R2R dacs have a very natural character,

tube dacs have their own complementing character .

Each company has their own way and different design .

the more expensive dacs many times have more high quality filtering for lower noise , as well as better clocks  they did deeper in imaging, sound staging and low 

level details , I have heard many dacs visiting  many homes within our audio 

get togethers.  Imo $7k under a very high quality dac , my personal favorite 

theT&A 200 dac. It beats many dacs at 2x the cost , that being said 

The Gustard  R2R 26;is my current favorite under $2k dac , saying that ,the Audio  magic M1 fuse Highly recommended to complement it to be at its best forunder $2k total. 

It is a fallacy that the more money gets you the better product. It may be true in some instances but it is total bs in many others. Only your ears will tell you. Not the money spent.

thanks for all your replies. Money and price were simply the easiest metric for me to use, having been immersed in analog and vinyl up until recently and dependent simply on the 105 before something hinted I should try a Gungnir. 

It’s going to be difficult to part with my 105. That unit is golden. Still, if a better transport can be had, then I can move the 105 to its duty as a blu-ray player in the theater system (i.e., the family room with the Onkyo).

@macg19 Unfortunately, money IS an object. Blah.