Skerdi, I think that Thasp's comments are well-reasoned. Alan has pointed out here several times that DACs are now a mature technology; while slight differences in measured specs still exist, even very inexpensive DAC chips available to manufacturers in quantity for as little as $1 each(check the Texas Instruments, Cirrus Logic, etc. sites)exceed the requirements of human ears and the program material to be reproduced. What might have been a useful concern about DACs 10 or so years ago is now an outdated and meaningless concept. There're a lot of great things that make a real difference that can be bought with that kind of money.
