I haven't made a DAC yet, so I can't say for sure... about them. I have never heard one that was as good as I have heard vinyl be.
But one of the biggest problems in all audio gear is complex impedance. It just isn't very good abroad. It's complicated too, even measuring doesn't necessarily indicate much. Corrections are mostly subjectively measured due to no qualified problem being present for the average EE to address. What's amusing is the "fix" for many people to get the sounds they're seeking is to not use any power conditioners at all. It makes the highs more prominent and IMO unlistenably sharp, one noted, but it resembles live sound a bit more in some sense than an overly pleasant softer sound that many get. The difference I think is in people's hearing, how sensitive it is to high frequencies. For many they just don't hear "harsh" so when the music is missing something it's really noticeable for them, but for others like myself it's not a big deal because we are still getting more from the music as our ears pick up on more. Neither are right or wrong. The sad part is all the people who crave that hardened top end call it dynamics, which simply isn't what is occurring, so that causes endless confusion. You don't however have to have one or the other, but the only stereo I can point you to that gives both is my own so that's little to no help for most
.
I also believe speakers are problematic in that most over dampen to try and minimize problems in power delivery. Without the huge amount of mechanical dampening they have a smear or a flat spot in the music. It's very similar to what (especially SS) amplifiers for guitars sound like without PFC. You don't really know it's there with guitars until it's fixed, but with stereo's it can be very obvious. Personally I firmly believe in super stiff cabinets that are heavy as hell. But if you highly dampen basic wood cabinets they sound good, comparable to over-dampened things like maybe Magico. Ultimately once you stop over dampening them however the simple wood box begins to move way too much; they can still sound good but it's not ideal.
The big question is what are your goals. A lot of people want bad engineering. They desire a very fake sense of the original music. People want their gear pumped full of specific RF frequencies that heighten spatial cues so it sounds like a stage they can walk around more than it sounds like real instruments. I don't think it's wrong, it's just comical of the audacity so many companies have to claim they reduced RF or enoise or something, when they really increased it.
As far as people' making gear, there is a level of amusement that is problematic between language. People claim they like low distortion but don't have any low distortion gear. So it's a question of edistortion or aberrations. That's electronic distortion (edistortion). Music can sound distorted in the sense that you hear aberrations from what it should sound like, and hence the claim " I like low distortion " which really translates to " I like things to not sound abnormal". The language barrier is fascinating. I feel almost like writing a book on it so manufacturers can make what people want without having to learn it all from scratch. And actually I would one day like to run a clinic at a few audio shows where I change things in the circuits, people describe them, then I run them over with the reality train by telling them what really occurred. It would be fun, enlightening, and maybe gain me a few mega-haters
.