Subject: "Looking to buy a new standalone DAC in $2000-3000 range - Fungobungi SUPREMO 2 or Squangis Empyreal?"
…14 pages of heated debate…
TF2EngineerReal:
both of these use the exact same 65¢ DAC chip on board. iirc it's actually the same chip that the Apple USB → 3.5mm dongle uses.
(USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
some advice for any novice hi-fi enjoyers out there…
the thing about DACs is that they're all perfectly fine and have been since I was born, really it's the amp you should be worried about. your phone/motherboard/whatever's DAC is perfectly cromulent, almost certainly; good DAC chips are so cheap that making crap ones just isn't worth it.
however, if the amplifier your DAC is plumbed into is crummy, you might consider picking up a DAC/Amp to bypass it. you probably don't need to though. Unless you have very sensitive (or high impedance) headphones/speakers, you aren't going to be able to tell the difference between a cheap motherboard amp and a $2,000 dedicated stereo receiver.
