Would you rent a $14,000 DAC for $75 per day?

No. Some people either don't know or don't care to follow the proper sequence for turning on a system (starting with the source) or turning it off (starting with the amp). Additionally, some people neglect to turn off the system before swapping out cable connections. There are many unsuspecting / ignorant individuals out there—you never know. Hi-fi audio gear is delicate, and it's best not to take any chances. 

No. And it might have been $14K to the initial purchaser, but rental value would be calculated on used fair market value since a used article is what is rented. And then there is the issue whether any DAC is worth $14K given the considerably lower price points of other well-rated DACs.

I think people are missing the point.  Rent at $75/day for 2 days to see how it sounds with your system before buying it makes great sense and is a reasonable price.  Shipping is a problem as I pointed out earlier. 

No, people won't pay $75/day for a long term rental for daily use, but I don't think that is the proposed business model.  

Jerry

5 day minimum.

Another thought, if it comes back broken, who's at fault? Who's liable, the shipper? The customer?

The forum is full of incidents of Lost, stolen, damaged gear, and that's with a single shipping. But, your circus, your monkeys. Weigh out the pros and cons. Develop a business model and liability contract. Are you going to be a tax paying business entity? 

Camera rentals are usually done by pros who need a specific piece of gear for a short-term project. Lots of professional equipment is rented this way.

A DAC at $14K (ridiculous, IMO) is rented to someone who wants to hear a particular piece of gear in their personal system who can then decide whether the juice is worth the squeeze. If the purpose is to then buy the DAC or not at new or used price, cost for the experiment $350+ shipping. That business model might work for some things in some places, but I doubt the extremely rarefied market of very high end gear would be one of them. Maybe if you were a dealer of that $14K DAC and you offered the rental service in a large metropolitan area to potential customers to draw interest, you might get a couple of takers, but the clientele would be a small and rarefied group. I doubt there are a lot of fence-sitters thinking of spending that much on a DAC who would be drawn by a short-term rental option, enough to make setting up the business worthwhile, even with the potential for generating a stock of used units that could be sold at a discount.