speaking of, the usb AudioSector DAC also comes in diy kit form for cheap. so do scott nixon dacs. imo having owned both, these are better than stuff from ebay (asia) in that they are well designed without issues/problems. no suprise here with these designers.
fwiw i've own the valab, had distortion issues and had to send it back. also owned a few mhdt lab dacs and had to send them back...same problems with clipping, distortion, etc...
not saying it's necessarily a crap shoot, but you do have to get lucky. the usa stuff is just proven and reliable, and you get domestic support. i believe the kits i mentioned can be had for under $200. of course the ebay stuff is cheap so it won't cost much either way to experiment and have some fun.