Well I have some great news for you!
In 2024, you don’t need to spend mega bucks to get a good DAC or amp. You might not need one at all!
One of the better performing and measuring DACs out there right now is the $9 Apple USB-C dongle: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r...
I’m not suggesting you need to rush out and buy it, but it’s a good reminder that modern tech is so good that even a $9 Apple part measures so well that nobody could hear the difference between it and a more expensive DAC.
As for amps: The amp story has been exaggerated a lot. A $70-$100 amp could give you more power and better performance than you could ever need (barring exotic headphones that need specialty amps). That’s if you even need one at all.
Don’t drink the kool-aid or take advice from people who learned about Hi-Fi from 1990s or 2000s tech.
> I guess what I hate about gear, is what others love, that there's no one right, no one truth, and that subjective experience has to be taken into account..
Sadly, subjective and placebo are two sides of the same coin in the audiophile world. People will swear up and down that their $1000 amp or DAC or cables are superior to their $100 version, but the claims disintegrate under blind testing conditions.