Is Budget Audiophile an oxymoron?

After 46 years in this hobby I can say 'yes' to the question.

You have what I call 'Entry Level High End', where a product family utilizes 90 percent of the technology of the ultra expensive item, but at a more acceptable price point.  Remember the 'Diminishing Law of Returns' on equipment.

Then there is (my favorite) the seller on Audiogon, (sometimes a well heeled Doctor) who is chasing Nirvana with a large checkbook.  They love to flip gently used equipment for the latest and greatest.  I bagged a wonderful Michell Gyro Table 30 years ago with SME V arm, which was 'hot rodded' up to an Orb, all only 6 months old, for the tidy sum of $3K....still in my system today!

Something else to factor into the equation is your room acoustics and your current state of hearing...You may not be able to eek out the last bit of Nirvana from that special piece of equipment....

No, of course not! 

as a matter of fact, budget DACs have gotten to a point where they are indistinguishable or BETTER than a lot of  high end DACs. The wow factor with a lot of high end DACs is how their output stage alters the original sound. Sounds impressive, but is really mucking up the output.

Think of it like women - 

A woman that is already naturally beautiful does not need a ton of make up. 

In fact, adding too much make up makes her less pretty, not more. 

Even her flaws become beautiful. 

Now, 

Take the HiBy FC1 for example.

With a modern device like an android smartphone and custom built software, USB connectivity is effectively perfect. Try it with you system today and prepare to be blown away for real. The sound is SO transparent, clear, effortless, Gives speakers an almost "out of room" effect when dialed in properly on the hiby music app,.

No. Budget audiophiles are how most of us begin. It is a matter of objectives, learning and effort as well as investment. Carefully chosen components, setup and room treatments can achieve amazing sonic levels. Put in a thousand hours of effort and what you can achieve with a few thousand dollars is amazing. Of course not nearly the same as one can achieve with a thousand hours and many tens of thousands or a hundred thousand dollars. But that is what is addictive about the pursuit... there is no end to learning, becoming a better listener, making your system sound better... and closer to the real thing.  

In general response to the question, No, if you build your own and have the where with all, time, and patience to perfect it.

My speakers cost ~$1,500 to build using quality parts from Craigs List and eBay and with an Oppo-95 and Yamaha RX-Z9 purchased new in 2003 (~$6K total), I would put it against systems at 10+ times the cost.

https://youtu.be/HXfZSbnD4pM

My answer is no, based on how I define "audiophile." An audiophile is just someone who appreciates sound quality and enjoys putting some effort in to pursuing it. It’s not about how much excellent sound quality they can afford.