I have been looking into this more also and have the same question. In particular, I have the North Star m192 mkII DAC, which is supposed to be "better" technically (e.g., better chips, better power supply). But it does not have a discrete output stage (I think I'm saying that right) unlike the mk1. I guess my question is, why would they use ICs for the output stage on the "better" version? As used above "better" is according to north star.
Kevin (and anyone else), in addition to my question above, is there a specific area of improvement with a discrete design?
Kevin, meet peanutbutter, peanutbutter meet Kevin Gilmore.