With all "legendary" products you will get the extremists out, trying to prove to everyone that they have something far far far superior.
The DAC1 received near universal acclaim from pros and it got glowing reviews from many.
1) It measures beyond repute
2) Modestly priced (perhaps one of the first affordable "pro" quality DACs)
3) Golden Ears like Doug Sax liked it (Sheffield Labs)
4) Their asynchronous clock virtually eliminates the bug bear of all digital systems => jitter (and measurements prove it)
All the above makes it a target to try and shoot at.
Perhaps those who spent more are upset that something so modestly priced can be reputed to perform so well. Although some are no doubt genuine concerns from people who did not read the manual and ended up overdriving the inputs of their consumer preamp (would obviously sound terrible) with the much higher pro level audio outputs of the DAC1. Others may have such a room or such an eclectic setup that they need a very specific sounding DAC in order to compensate for peculiarities elsewhere in their room/setup.
Anyway, for whatever reason, it is nearly always like this with a product that becomes an iconic. Like with used Nikon lenses and used Toyota's, it is interesting to note how the DAC1 holds its price better than many other components. Meanwhile many of today's poster childs will be tomorrow's basement bargains. That should tell you something.
The DAC1 received near universal acclaim from pros and it got glowing reviews from many.
1) It measures beyond repute
2) Modestly priced (perhaps one of the first affordable "pro" quality DACs)
3) Golden Ears like Doug Sax liked it (Sheffield Labs)
4) Their asynchronous clock virtually eliminates the bug bear of all digital systems => jitter (and measurements prove it)
All the above makes it a target to try and shoot at.
Perhaps those who spent more are upset that something so modestly priced can be reputed to perform so well. Although some are no doubt genuine concerns from people who did not read the manual and ended up overdriving the inputs of their consumer preamp (would obviously sound terrible) with the much higher pro level audio outputs of the DAC1. Others may have such a room or such an eclectic setup that they need a very specific sounding DAC in order to compensate for peculiarities elsewhere in their room/setup.
Anyway, for whatever reason, it is nearly always like this with a product that becomes an iconic. Like with used Nikon lenses and used Toyota's, it is interesting to note how the DAC1 holds its price better than many other components. Meanwhile many of today's poster childs will be tomorrow's basement bargains. That should tell you something.