MODERN AUDIO EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE BUILT WITH THE SAME SENSIBILITIES AS TOP-NOTCH VINTAGE GEAR; MAYBE WE ARE NOT LISTENING TO MACHINES WHEN WE LISTEN TO AUDIO EQUIPMENT; ALL CAPACITORS AND POWER TRANSFORMERS SOUND THE SAME IF THE TOLERANCES ARE CLOSE; INTEGRATED ICS SOUND THE SAME AS DISCRETE CHIPS; MY $99 DAC OUTPERFORMS YOUR 30K DAC BECAUSE OF HIGHER SINAD AND LOWER THD