Is there any such thing as a bad sounding DAC these days?

@ghdprentice hit the nail on the head when he said “Then there is a question of does the sound characteristics match your tastes.”

Like him a Benchmark DAC sends me running for the door.  A friend of mine who has been in the hobby/industry for decades really likes it.

So there’s the rub, it depends on what you want to hear.  Aggressive?  Smooth?  Hyper detailed?  Syrupy (is that a word)?  The answer to your question depends on what you’re chasing.

To my ears yes there bad sounding DAC’s.

Yes many lower cost dacs are flat not that warm sounding to start with.under $1k

“Is there any such thing as a bad sounding DAC these days?”

Yes. 
 

Evary one that I own as they never stay around  for long. 

…but do any that really matter these days not sound “good”?…

Depends, DACs nowadays is MUCH better sonically than before and can be very satisfying.  However, to get a DAC up to the sonic level of my analog rig, I had to spend more.  

I think the question is there such a thing as a good sounding DAC?