DAC experiences?

I cannot match a 1000 bucks system with a dac  in the same price range...

All four low cost dac i tried are not good ( unnatural timbre )...

The only one at low cost i kept was the French battery  SPS dac TDA 1543 who give a natural timbre... The other dac save one small Hidizs  dap i use walking are in a trash bin , the last one cost me near 200 bucks

( Douk gave me an excellent tube equalizer but their Q11 dac is not in the same league as the French Dac : i dont give a damn about the illusion of clarity and details if timbre is not natural ) ..

i am happy with the one i kept luckily ...

 Many people had no idea about "natural timbre" perception ... it is why many low cost dac are sold and bought ...

If i had 1000 bucks i am sure i will had one who is good... Better than the french dac ? i dont know tought  what price i must pay to  beat it ...

Anyway you cannot judge high end dac in low cost system... I could with my headphone which are really high end even in today  market ...

Ask a hundred different audiophiles to recommend a DAC, you get a hundred different recommendations, then you’re right back to square one, LOL!!!  Happy listening.           

Unless you do a level-matched blind test opinions about DAC's are like the story of the four blind  men and the elephant. 

I think you’ll rarely find people upgrading directly from the Qutest to the Dave, as they are on distinctly different levels. However, audiophiles and reviewers often compare the TT2 + M Scaler combo against the Dave, and that’s where things get more interesting. Reviewers generally find that the combo delivers greater instrument separation and deeper soundstage, while the Dave on its own remains more transparent—even though it has fewer “taps” in its digital filters than the TT2 + M Scaler.  Then, when you combine Dave with Mscalar, the details and the depth are further enhanced.

@mahgister is this the French DAC you're talking about? 

http://audio.starting-point-systems.com/