Does this project sound like $1K phone stages or more around $500 ones?
Interesting question. $1k stages sound different even when we compare between themselves. DIY things are almost always better regarding the sound as far as you know exactly what you want and what way you should go to achieve the result. Just follow good schematic and build principles
could led to unsatisfactory results. There is one more thing: the DIY devices are simplified in every way for clear reason - they should be good for repeating with limited skills. The simplicity
can potentially improve sound, but
definitely lacks stability of the results facing changing environmental conditions (power supply, EMI, heating...) and time matters (like aging). Many DIY things are constructed around center-datasheet values to allow wide range of parts to be used without tuning (problems with adequate measuring the result if there is a tuning possibilities). It means usually that you will either live with device as is or get into expensive and possible infinite loop of "parts-rolling".