Bitstream Dac's

My recollection from back when the first bitstream players came out was that the consensus among the critics was (1) Bitstream players were cheaper to make and didn't need to match DAC chips like the so called "ladder" DACs (don't ask me if it's true, I'm just remembering), so in cheaper players where it was too expensive to match the multi-bit DAC chips the bitstream players could have an advantage in that regard, (2) bitstream players generally had a smoother high end, subjectively, than multi-bit DACS but (3) were not as good in the bass as the multi-bit DACs. As time has gone on there have been some outstanding bitstream players and DACs, as well as multi-bit ones, and when you get into the more costly, better engineered designs the differences probably blur. Anyone with a technical bent able to comment?