That might depend on how you define a good DAC.
E.g. if you're talking about sound quality, many here (myself included

) will argue that most well designed DACs (flat FR, SINAD above 16bit/~95dB range, etc...) are audibly transparent when used correctly. Today this performance bar is reasonably easy to achieve in a DAC, so such devices need not be expensive at all (e.g. look at Topping D10 or MOTU M2 or even the Apple USB-C dongle as a very budget device).
Unfortunately, with loudspeakers/headphones technical competence is not so easy to achieve, and so there are relatively fewer cheap but well performing transducers, and such transducers usually imply much more technical compromises.
If you're instead talking about things like ergonomics, SW/HW features, driver/firmware stability, DSP capability, customer support quality, HW reliability, esthetics etc... then it is a different story and indeed there may very well be cases where it is fully reasonable to spend a lot on a DAC vs transducers.
To paint a bit of a caricature, as a consumer I myself would much rather spend 900 units of money on good loudspeakers and a 100 on an OK DAC, rather than 500 each on mediocre DAC and mediocre speakers.
Anyway good luck with your search!