Well, if you buy something like Asus Essence One mkII for example (for 400 bucks) you'll find that it sounds (and looks/feels) like it costs far, far more than the Element, which is to be expected since it was built by a company that has infinitely more resources and know-how. There are some huge bang for the buck DAC/amps out there made by serious audio brands that people on this forum pay very little attention to because they're not over-hyped and automatically recommended in pretty much any post on related to DAC/amps. O2 stuff is what M50's used to be a few years back. How many people on this forum know about the NAD D1050? Or Denon DA-300USB? Or Asus Essence STU? Or Teac UD-H01 or UD-301? Those are all products in the 300-400 dollar range, and all superior to O2 dac+amp or Element in terms of sound and build quality. In fact, I always said the sound of O2 products reminds me of laptop outputs minus the hiss and with more volume available. Just flat, thin, compressed....I guess when going from very bad sound to that makes you feel like it sounds clear and clean at first, but you quickly realize it's not exactly musical and fun to listen to.
The issue is, the whole circlejerk around O2 has caused a lot of people to believe that THIS is how neutral gear SHOULD sound, that this is as good as any hi-fi gear can ever sound, and if anything more expensive sounds different, it's because it colors the sound and is less accurate than the O2. Some people really do believe that, usually without ever trying better (not more expensive) gear. Well, it's just not true, and that's just not a natural, realistic sound.
