It basically comes down to your overall expectations of the brand. Is a Mercedes Benz an overpriced car just because it costs 3 times more than the Toyota Camry? I mean, both cars are roughly the same size, and the Camry isn't all that bad to drive. It certainly isn't 33% of what the Benz feels like to drive. It's a similar case here. The AK will no doubt be good, but whether it's worth paying for is something that only you can determine. And we can't call people who have actually bought AK players to be sheep either.
AK is about the overall experience not just SQ. In terms of SQ, I don't think that the AK players are anything to laugh at. They're strong performing devices, but a large portion of their R&D is also dedicated to things that make a player more intuitive, look better or interface better. Ask anyone who owns an AK if he has a bad experience with the UI. The numbers are probably much fewer than those in the Fiio or iBasso camp. Even now I've seen several quibbles about Windows driver support and FW upgrades here. What iBasso prioritizes above all else is performance to price ratio, followed by device aesthetics and UI etc. AK values different things in their design pecking order so isn't purely aimed at just audiophiles, but also audio enthusiasts, who value different things. I consider myself to be an enthusiast, and that means that there are certain things I will not do or buy in the name of audiophilia, like 200 dollar cables, or lug around desktop amp/dacs as portable rigs or invest in headphones over 2000 dollars. And likewise, there are certain things I expect as a given in my DAPs. For example, I also own an IHIFI 770 player from Xuelin. And while the device is extremely competent sound-wise, it's a crapper when it comes to UI. One of the worst I've seen in a player. It sounds about 90% as good as a DX90 for far less than half the price. It should be an audiophile's best friend. But I wouldn't get another one because I hate using it. I love listening to it. But I hate dealing with it.
So everyone's mileage will vary and different priorities will be assigned to devices. If you are the sort of person who earns 80k or more per year, plunking down 2400 dollars on a AK240 for all the other reasons alongside SQ makes sense. But if you're like me, and feel that at this moment in time you can't justify that kind of money on a DAP and are willing to put up with the small issues with UI or ergonomics, then the DX80 makes a whole lot of sense.
Where I am, I can get the AK jr for 330 so definitely worth considering. But at 500? Yeah, I'd take the DX80 or the X5ii any day. I would get the DX80 over the X5ii because I love my DX90 and am an iBasso fan. Xuelin is also making huge strides in their DAPs. But aren't much good for anything other than their value ratio but not enough to make me pick one up again any time soon.
If I made even 60k per year, then I'd be able to consider players like the AK240 or at least the more mainstream stuff like the AK120ii. But that's neither here or now.
