I disagree, show me a DAC with the performance of my Aqua La Voce S3 under £2k...(ive tried 30 or so)..they don't exist. But I've never tried a DAC more expensive, so I'd definitely love to hear what it brings. A 10K DAC owner will probably feel the same as me.
Read what I said....You can get the same measured performance for under £2k.
Not sure how you can disagree when I have literally just linked to the EXACT DAC that would do that?
For ease of comparison i ive highlighted the only comparative specs that Aqua publish:
Soekris 2541 @ Circa £1k:
THD @ -1 dB <0.004%
THD @ -60 dB <0.02%
Resistor Precision 28 bit, 0.01% - 0.05% Resistors
Clock Jitter RMS 0.3 pS typical
S/N 20 Khz Bandwith >126 dB unweighted
Frequency Range +0.1 -1.0 dB 20hz - 20Khz
USB Input Type B, Isolated, Full/High Speed
USB Input Mode Audio Class 2.0
SPDIF / AES / Toslink Inputs Up to 24 bit / 192 Khz
USB Input PCM Up to 24 Bit / 384 Ksps
Aqua La Voce S3 @ £3.4k (from the data sheet)
Frequency Response 20Hz to 22kHz +0.5dB/-0.5dB
THD + N <0.1% 1KHz -20dB
On the only 2 comparative specs Aqua have published, the results are as above.
I will continue to search for more specs but when you find the Datasheet is totally bereft of anything meaningful, it usually means that the numbers aren't great. Not casting aspersions over the performance or the sound, just showing that for £1k you can get a real R-2R DAC that will probably measure quite favourably against the Aqua.
Again, i am not talking about how much you enjoy it's particular sound etc.