DD, it's advisable to view with a ton of salt stories floating around the internet such as the one you've described . You've said that you "imagine" that the DAC in your 1500 wouldn't do as well, but looking at reality the Asahi-Kasei 4382 used in the 1500 and 2500 has, as is typical of modern DACs, performance which is audibly flawless(again, if not affected by imagination).

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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.