We seem to be saying exactly the same thing. I'm not saying that a skilled person can't work wonders with a limited set of tools. The equivalent kept cropping up on the airbrush forums I used to frequent. You would see some amazing work by artists using the cheaper air guns and sometimes, it could be hard to see a difference when they upgraded. Yet, a complete rookie would turn up having kitted themselves out to the nines before they had even learned to draw, so you can imagine the initial results. My advice, as always, was, find a tool that you can trust and feel comfortable with - and remember that inexpensive does not always mean 'cheap' if you go with a basic but well made tool. If you start out fighting a cheap instrument you may not progress as quickly and in some cases, may even mistakenly come to the conclusion that the airbrush is not for you. But then, there are always those who manage to make something of beauty by squeezing the best they can out of limited equipment.
And it will be analogous to the DAW. I think that so much depends on the person, and their level of talent and expertise, such that individual requirements may vary.