IMO It's not even about bits or flat FR or THD+N, distortion or objective measurements that make a certain DAC more preferable than the other. Heck higher level DACs actually measure worse than the ones that came with smartphones because the higher/more expensive DACs usually have a custom in-house digital filtering (WTA filter for Chord, Comburrito for Schiit for example) that makes them sound different than say a default (most accurate) digital filter from a smartphone, etc. Those digital filters are kind of synonymous with Dolby Digital sound DSP, but it's built-in to the DAC implementation rather than using a software decoder/processor outside of the DAC. I bet the realtek chip inside my laptop measures far better and sounds truer to the source than my Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC, but I just prefer the sound signature of the Multibit as it emphasizes certain frequencies to make the sound more "live", e.g. voices are more forward (might sound shouty in some headphones), drums have more thump (slight bass boost) and many more noticeable differences.
Like you say, It's a hobby as you stated. If you can demo the Modi Multibit and like its sound (you don't need to listen critically IMO as it sounds noticeably different from the get go) then you'll prefer it even if you know it's not accurate sounding.
