RE:
The conventional wisdom is they sound better (no big surprises here). The question is how much better and at what price difference, and how fast is price performance improving.
I was slightly disheartened to read the Stereophile review of the new $3500 Marantz NA11-S1 network streamer / DAC, and the reviewer commenting he was hard pressed to hear ANY difference between it and the $43,000 MSB stack. While this observation should delight the general audiophile population, it inevitably has the small population of uber expensive DAC owners (of which I am one) second guessing the wisdom of their investment.
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Realizing full well the age of the OP, we nonetheless should be reminded of a few things:
1) A "Sterophile" reviewer (any writers) comments are poor indications of a products performance capabilities. Does the "reviewer" really have the experience and more importantly the expertise to describe the 'under-review' component from the remainder of the signal chain ? A big, fat, NO is often the answer.
2) Comparing a $3,500. Marantz vs. DcS stack -or any DcS /or MSB DAC is most welcome of course, but to think it can/does compare, even remotely, to what the industry/audiophiles at large consider to be the finest is rather absurd. If that were so, nobody in the right mind would bother to consider more expensive gear. Why would they (if great SQ was the only objective) ?
3) The 'investment' in hi-fi is often not one of a monetary nature; its worth/value/investment should, more reasonably, be measured by that near inexplicable connection to music that only the finest equipment imparts.
Also worthy of mention is the notion of 'Percentage-(of performance)-Compared-To XYZ' is a useless metric. The best-of-the-best must be (and often are) so much superior to lesser gear that a reasonable comparison cannot be made; lesser products simply doesn't compare -even remotely. It's not even in the same league -or universe in fact.
Put another way, a $2-$3K DAC/CDP (whatever component) if asked to rate its performance vs. the 'BEST' (in percentage of) may even reach 1-5% (one-to-five-percent) compared to the finest would be rare. Naturally, that's not even a comparison. And honestly, once in this exhalted league, lesser hi-fi simply doesn't even deserve a single percentage -it does not compare whatsoever.
Finally, in no way do I subsribe to " if not one-zillion dollars it's crap" mentailiity, there are great sounding components/systems in the sensible/reasonable-dollar-amount category that easily blow-away a poorly constreucted/assmbled hi-fi. I hear it all the time. BUT, in
the hands of a genuine 'pro', the 'best-of-the-best' occupy a unique -and earned- place in the hi-fi universe.
pj