So I made the mistake of coming across a review of the Bartok on this forum called “Audiosciencereview” that is pretty much dedicated to “measuring” audio equipment and then being critical (usually the case) of said equipment due to it measuring poorly vs something a lot cheaper. The review of the Bartok was, well, let’s just say, completely focused on the idea that you can get the same audible performance from a DAC at 1/100’s the price… or even less.
It seems with DAC’s they take a different angle than with speakers or example… they admit that some DAC’s measure better than others, but stand by the “science” that beyond a certain threshold , digital processing is a mature science and all you need (and can hear with your human ear) can be handled by a $75 USB dongle DAC…
Here is just one of their threads where I tried to weigh in with some reason but found myself quickly surrounded by the local villagers with their pitch forks and torches…