i think these posts provide a useful perspective on dac choice, especially at a high level of cost and performance
what does one want? do we want a dose of vacuum tube magic coming from the dac stage? are we prepared to, and do we welcome tube rolling, dealing with tubes and their attendant benefits and difficulties? or do we want as much straight wire with gain ’neutrality’ from our dac -- or do we want something more reminiscent of high level analog sound -- slightly softer, silkier, more ambient, little more diffuse? of course this leads us into the key aspect of personal taste, system and room synergy...
what about features? do we want dsp to tailor the customize the sound? do we want or need dsp room/bass management from our dac? do we have a great linestage already or do we want to delete that stage? do we have extra analog sources we still want to readily switch in to hear? do we want more boxes and cables, or do we value simplicity (applies very much to running roon, with core, cleansers and so on... lotsa boxes and power supplies, filters) in box count and setup?
additionally, what user interface, what streaming service, what streaming source... all are critical considerations (are we apple ios folks or android...tidal or quboz or...pc streamer or dedicated or integrated... and so on) ... less can be more, or more can be more... each brings its own good and bad... convenience and ease, or ultimate in sound for that last 1-2%, but lots of work, trouble, complexity to achieve it...