DACs of that price range need not sound good. But if you can get a CD player for that price, it will definitely be better. If you want a DAC to sound better than the 20k cd player, you will have to invest in a DAC costing around 50k. Why bother? CD player is the way to go.....as yet.
Not everybody likes the DAC sound. And also I once opened a DAC by Cambridge audio priced 22k. I was really wondering........what the hell is there in it for that price. I don't know why they are charging so much for a DAC. My friend purchased a DAC by Nuforce for a lakh. Ooops!!!
Not necessarily true that a similarly priced CDP will outperform a dedicated DAC.
It all depends on what is being fed as content and format capabilities.
Dedicated DACs have options to connect to multiple sources viz USB, Coax, Opt, etc.
Also they can work with different sampling/bitrates (CDPs usually don't have these).
Some DACs have choice of filters that can be turned on/off as per user's listening preference.
A user having a large CD collection that is going to stay should invest in a CDP.
Many of us have moved on from physical media and have needs such as connecting PC, TV, ChromeCast, etc
A dedicated DAC is useful and there are many that don't break the bank.
BTW, a CDP has a DAC built-in, so what does "Not everybody likes the DAC sound" mean?
Cheers,
Raghu