I would love to know the answer to this for all the same reasons. Is there some actual special sauce or is the world of 'audiophile DACs' just the new 'Monster Cable' FUD?
ESS "sabre32" DAC ICs are widely regarded as excellent and even integrated into high end audio products, yet they can be bought in small quantities for 12$ each: http://www.shawelectronics.com/es9018k2m.html