What is overpriced.

I kind of feel that we're hitting a point where its becoming confusing how a product should be priced in if only because onboard audio is miles ahead of where it was a few short years ago. Remember the days where a cassette tape had a better noise floor? When you heard that distinct bzzt when you moved your mouse? When onboard=muddy?

Now that the freebie DAC is among the perfectly usable and equally inoffensive across its performance range its throwing a wrench into the works as to how budget DACs should be priced. And when $300-500 DACs of only a few years ago barely raise the bar I can see a lot more people crying fowl.

Has the value equation really changed or are diminishing returns simply setting in right from the start where a few years ago cheap gear was generally heavily compromised?