Is Budget Audiophile an oxymoron?

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.

The room is half the sound.