I think there's valid points on both sides of this argument. Yes, dCS's claims are objectionable: this is a competent design but nothing really special, and you can equal or better its performance for a fraction of the price.
But this is being sold in an entirely different market, and frankly its entire existence as a product is merely a reflection of the levels of wealth inequality that exist in our society. This is a
luxury product, and what they're selling isn't a DAC, it's the entire notion of luxury that they use to surround it. We're used to dismissing such wild claims as marketing fluff, but in this case the marketing is an essential and critical part of the product itself, along with having the dealer fawn over you and commend the sophistication of your taste that led you to purchase such an outrageously expensive product. You buy this to have the warm glow that comes from believing you're enjoying a supreme experience beyond the reach of the unwashed masses. You aren't going to get that with a DAC from Benchmark, especially not when they point out that while DAC3 is better than its predecessor, you won't be able to tell the difference as they're all below the threshold of audibility.
If there's a problem here, it lies in the luxury marketplace itself, and the social conditions that lead to its expansion. I think
@Inner Space's concern for dCS's future is unfounded. The luxury market is doing very well for itself, which is why we see a steady growth in the number of increasingly obscenely-priced products aimed at people who want to convert the numbers in their bank account into an aura of distinction.
Hm. Interesting. I agree with a lot of the sentiment of this and disagree with it at exactly the same time.
The thing is, I have recently bought products that, while cheaper than the DCS items mentioned here by some way, fall into this "luxury" bracket. Yet I don't believe for one moment that i have bought a supreme experience beyond the reach of say, a Topping D90 owner. In fact, my expensive amp when level matched at my normal listening level, sounds the same as my previous amp. It's only on the very rare occasions that I turn it up that I get any advantage.
Similarly, I know that my SACD player (bought because my wife wanted a disc player, in fact) is inferior in standard measurement than the DAC I would have bought instead - and that there is, again, no real sonic difference. I "know" of a couple of very specific moments on a couple of discs where it seemingly and at a distance gives more detail than the player I had before, but worth it? Not really for the sound.
I've never believed in audio magic, and as for the dealer fawning over me, I was as good as shown the door by some of the staff because I refused to also buy the expected high end cables and accessories! The owner, somewhat more hard headed, gave me a very good discount to keep the sale...
I get some satisfaction from the more substantial construction, some more expensive parts, the feel and the remote control quality, and the fact of a substantial and well made drive mechanism. So maybe these are "luxury", rather than better design and engineering? And I can afford them not because I'm rich, but rather because I have saved over many years - and I don't drink smoke or anything like that, we have a very modest apartment, neither of us can drive so don't have the cost of running a motor vehicle, and so on and so on.
No fancy rich background, either. As you come from Manchester, I hope you'll appreciate some of my past - I lived and volunteered/worked in Hulme for 20 years before it was redeveloped. The community I lived in back then was broken up and moved on.
There is, and I'm sure you can see it here, a wide range of approaches and reasons for buying hifi hardware. Some of those who disapprove of buying more expensive items turn out to have spent just as much on multiple systems, DACs, headphones, etc.
As for social changes, wealth is maybe flaunted more these days, but some of the TV and audio stuff back in the 1950s could cost as much as a house did then and still sold well. There's always been a class and economic divide and there have always been obscenely priced items for those with money. I won't go further because there is after all a ban on politics here for good reason.
