How much does a DAC do the more expensive it is?

Holo May - The King Is Crowned

Re: Holo May DAC reviews. All of the Youtube reviews are uniformly enthusiastic.

.Whether this is a question of contagion, or a genuine indication of quality may be debatable; but these are all reviewers I have found reliable for other components in the past so I am inclined to look upon this DAC favorably and have ordered one to replace my Terminator (original one from years ago,)

Same old question gets the same old reply.  Price means nothing  design and parts mean everything.  Most people here have never had a reference component in their system.  Reviews mean nothing.  The old Marantz CD-94 still competes in sound quality to most any DAC mentioned in this forum.

Happy Listening.

A little input from the poor side of town. I have been a sound junkie since I bought my first reel to reel in Vietnam in 1966. Everthing was analog then and 30hz was 30hz so your upgrades were based on looks and build quality - or maybe cutesy tricks like speed control so you could play along with more adept musicians. I have been through all the changes since then like Dolby or DBX or 4 channel or reverb etc until bandwidth restrictions brought about digital music and people pay $20,000 to try to imitate the sound you could get from a $300 tape deck or $200 turntable with a $100 cartridge. This is a rich man site where people think buzz words and price tags rule. Most people can’t find a place to hear these brands, much less afford them and are ridiculed for not selling the farm to get a “better” something in their system. Thinking rich people have better ears is like the emperor’s new clothes. Buy steak, not sizzle and you can enjoy the music for the music rather than sit with a frown on your face because you THINK you could do better. 

@ghdprentice  I have a different option on some of the major brands you mention.  Parts quality are mostly nothing special IMO and in general I'm not too impressed with the use of circuit boards.  Most have good looks and sound better that mid- fi gear but the cost IMO does not justify the extra cost.  Upgrading some products has in my experience brought those products closer to reference levels that have surpased the sound quality oh the major brands top of the line products.  We consistently do this type of work weekly for a lot less. Money than the higher cost brand name products.  Not to say they are bad but they are not manufactured with the best parts to achieve better sound quality.  Happy listening 

@brisketman1 ++ 1

"This is a rich man site where people think buzz words and price tags rule. Most people can’t find a place to hear these brands, much less afford them and are ridiculed for not selling the farm to get a “better” something in their system. Thinking rich people have better ears is like the emperor’s new clothes. Buy steak, not sizzle and you can enjoy the music for the music rather than sit with a frown on your face because you THINK you could do better. "