And.... here we go with the less-than-helpful replies.
You're positing something for which there are really no answers. There’s a conundrum discussing subjective opinions about the arts. The idiosyncratic nature of creative endeavors and our personal reactions to them help define us, including the respective passions people feel both pro and con for something, but when you start graphing scientific jargon onto these respective aesthetics, then you fall prey to the same faulty research that predicted audiences wouldn’t embrace Mr. Spock and that “Starman” would make more money than “E.T.”
If someone looks at a Magritte painting and doesn’t care for it, why would anyone waste energy trying to convince them otherwise? The same applies to the epicurean world. One person could eat a bowl of colcannon and think it’s the best dish ever. Another could sample that very same concoction and proclaim “what’s so special about mashed potatoes with kale mixed in, huh?” Neither person is right or wrong, nor is there any point in them debating about their interpretations as it’s not going to change anything. An entire audience can howl with laughter at “A Night at the Opera” while one person might sit there in stony silence, unamused. The majority of opinions deem the film a Marx Brothers masterpiece, yet that won’t change the estimation of someone that didn’t like it. That subjective, respective opinion is also their right to have.
What actor portrayed the greatest Hamlet? The answer… the one you saw and enjoyed the most.
Some people hear distinct differences between vinyl and digital, favoring one over the other. There are listeners who can articulately delineate what they hear differently while listening to the same tracks on Astell & Kern, FiiO, Hifiman, iBasso, Lotoo, Shanling and Hidizs. There are others that feel some of these brands sound identical. How will throwing technical data at them change their respective attitudes? Scientific evidence and personal preference are two different things.
If you find something satisfying, then that should suffice, lest you get into the shambling response of the Emperor to Mozart: “It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Cut a few and it will be perfect.”
If you hear no difference between music played on a phone versus a certain DAP, then you don’t require owning that DAP or any other standalone player if you’re fully satisfied and complacent. If not, then keep seeking alternatives. I can’t imagine what could be said to change a purely subjective opinion, no matter what the mechanical statistics assert.
