When Will the DAC Singularity Be Reached?

Whenever I hear amplifier companies touting GaN technology, I think "Fine Carinthian Leather". Purifi and Hypex don't seem to have a problem making amplifiers with almost unbelievable performance with regular transistors. I think many other companies have to use GaN because they don't have the technology to make a good amp without it. GaN is probably easier to market.

It seems I was grossly misunderstood by @othercrazycanuck in a very audiophile way.  Likely I did not express it well.

Revealing or not, I don't advocate listening through earphones to recordings that are engineered to sound like real musical events through loudspeakers.  It creates a surreal experience, not a naturally sounding one.

What I meant, though, is that audiophiles and critics whose experience with musical instruments is almost exclusively through loudspeakers, rather than with unamplified real instruments, are relatively more easily satisfied with cheap components.

Great DACs will always cost more,

I have had a fair amount of experience recently with a couple of budget DACs (Schiit Gungnir and Yggdrasil), versus some $5K and several $10K, and a couple of $20K DACs. No comparison. Will likely remain that way for at least a couple decades.

To be clear, no one is arguing that the more you spend, the better the Dac, (or any other equipment) is.

Really? There are zillions of reviews and when they compare the item to something less expensive it sounds better but not as good as something higher priced. It's the nature of the business in audio and every other industry.

I propose their is a lot of changes on the Horizon, 'AI' is going to infiltrate every area of Industry.

As the Software that supports it, becomes more affordable, the trend will most likely be smaller producers will be buying into it.

With the Former information at hand resulting from AI already having been used for certain applications,

There is certainly going to be a New Reign of Interest for the Audio Devices and the Circuit Designs.

there is really no point arguing

folks, if you think they all sound the same, cheap ones and expensive ones, then that is great, carry on...

others among us have done the work, made the effort, actually bought them, compared them at length, in our own systems, we have our own understanding of how much $ buys how much performance, and we have decided with our wallets -- most serious audiophiles who have invested in their systems have had a lifetime of experience, of buying expensive items -- cars, homes, second homes, art, stocks, not to mention speakers, amplifiers, preamps, turntables ... we have come to trust our judgement, and we usually don’t waste our money on valueless items when we are attentive about those purchases

so it’s all good... $7/gallon box wines, nissan versas, harbor freight tools, all have their buyers... we can all just carry on, enjoy the music, with our own beliefs

anyone here is welcome to pm me, tell me in detail about their systems, their room, their choice of music and so on, i will suggest dacs worth trying (i have tried some 50 dacs -- without exaggeration -- from $200 to $18,000 since early 2020...) - you are welcome to look at my system page, cheers