But you do not have to spend more than $2k on a streamer to get state of the art performance - i.e., vanishingly low noise levels.
ASR would be proud. Anyone else here buy this?!?
Well I can buy into the statement, and I think @mdalton makes some very good points. Maybe $2k isn't the right number, but if you have a good understanding on how circuits, especially digital in this case, and power supplies are designed (the fact that some streamers can benefit from a power supply upgrade is a good reference) you may be able to better understand how some "budget" products can perform as well as or even out perform products at a much higher price point. I for one would never buy a streamer that cost more than say $3k (I am looking now to replace my Auralic Aries G1 and Volumio Rivo + looks like a nice option). I might have to do some extra research, but I am confident I would be able to get what I want under that price point and have it meet my expectations.
How the product is deigned will speak more to how it will perform than its price tag will. Unfortunately many audiophiles get sucked into selecting a product based on the latter rather than the former. Granted there are certainly sub-$2k streamers that aren't worth their salt, but there are some out there that are. One just has to be educated enough to know how to find them.