Quadfather
Headphoneus Supremus
Not true at all, they definitely have the results to prove it.
One clear technological advantage is energy efficiency in the S-Master implementation. 250mW per channel from a 1820mAh battery providing 20+ hours of hi-resolution playback or 11 hours of DSD playback and not even warming up a tiny bit. PAW Gold has a 6000mAh battery and they can't get more than 11 hours with standard files, or 3800mAh in the AK380 but only 50mW for a 32ohm load and less than 10hours of playback (maybe 5 on DSD) and it becomes a tiny heater (I owned a AK380 but already sold it). If Sony keeps improving with the huge technical jump from the ZX2 S-Master to the WM1 S-Master in another 2-3 years time (16 folds jump in output power in balance and 4 folds in SE), they could get insane power as well as super energy efficiency in a very tiny and cool portable package and thus enabling them to make very sleek players but also powerful and battery efficient players, whereas the Class A implementation of the other DAPs would be hitting heat and size problems. Sony's tech had a slow start but their future for improvement is brighter, and this is the real competitive advantage and the real value of them doing their own R&D, especially when the sonics are now reaching the point where the objective measurements are getting so close that it's the subjective preference influencing the decisions more.
I LOVE my Lotoo Paw Gold Diana, and I love my Sony NW-WM1A. Neither DAP is going anywhere. My kids will inherit them someday!