Fantastic New Budget DAC: The Marantz HD DAC1

I saw on a Facebook post that it had the cirrus 4398 dac chip. Isn't that what Marantz uses in all their receivers and sacd/cd players?

It's beautiful but if it does no better than my SA8003 and SR6004 I'll have to hold out a while longer.

 

Yeah, my little PM6005 integrated has one on board also.

 

I think I've noticed that Marantz's European site(s) have been calling it firstly as a headphone amp instead of as a DAC. So I think of it as a headphone amp first, then as a dac.

Yes, I would have expected it to offer analog RCA's too, because in this well below 1000 grand ($/€/£) class there are several "players" and more are obviously coming.

I've been having fun with Project's Headbox DS (no DSD, though) while at the computer mostly, but with turntable, too. And that's below €400 toy.

 

I expected something under $300.00 for it to be called a budget DAC.....A good budget DAC would be something like the ODAC/E-DAC at around $150.00, which is supposedly difficult to distinguish from the Benchmark DAC1.
The Marantz has a lot of valuable features, though, unlike many of the better sounding sub $200. DAC's, so may be a good buy if its sound is a step or two up..

 

Definitely a DAC first, then a headphone amp. I have it in the system, and I think I have a pretty good idea.

I am glad it does not have RCA inputs. Isolating analog from digital at this price point would be a very difficult task.

 

Anything around $300 will be hub powered or powered via wal wart. And will most likely be portable. That is not "budget", that is a different market.

I tend to disregard internet chatter about really cheap DACs a that are "supposedly" giant killers.

 

Why hung up on the chip? It is all about implementation.

 

Because I don't know any better? When I see the same manufacturer using the same chip in different products I can only assume they'll sound the same. Now on my SA8003 I know the analog output is supposed to be superior so they reccomend turning off the digital output and going analog, plus the 8003 doesn't output DSD as bitstream. I also bought the 8003 when I had a Yamaha RX-V663. But my Oppo BDP83 does do I output SACD as bitstream that way and my SR6004 decodes it as DSD. How would that be different that outputting it to the new DAC and then analog into the 6004?

Not being argumentative, just really would like to understand.

 

No problem. All interesting questions. Certainly reasonable.

At one point I realized the spec sheet can tell you only so much.

 

I might agree, but for everyone who thinks this is too expensive the IFi Nano at under $200 is ready for them. Today, under $1k might be considered budget. A nice upgrade to any disc spinner if it has coax digital in.

 

As nice as the Nano, is it is quite a bit inferior to the Marantz. The Micro iDSD, at $500, is a LOT closer. Maybe equal..too early to tell

 

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But it should be for $600 less I would think. The point was that they both play all the formats...at their respective price-points. Everyone can join the part at their level of affordability.

 

Sorry, but I would much rather seek the opinions of people who think objectively and have actually compared the ODAC, rather than those who make snobbish generalizations.
I haven't seen where the ODAC gets called a giant killer much, by the way, because, with the influx of new DAC's over the past few years, the Benchmark DAC-1 is probably not worth what it costs, new or used....The ODAC is just a very solid value at $150.00 for the sound quality it provides, but the price is as low as it is because it's built with only bare minimum specs...It's very small but I would imagine most people are not using it as a portable since there is no amp at $150....My intial point was not to defend the ODAC against more expensive DAC's but to say that it is a true budget DAC....Maybe the Marantz will be considered a budget item, but probably not for its DAC alone....I hope it performs as well as it looks.

 

There is nothing snobby about my reply.

We simple disagree about what constitutes the market for budget DACs.

I consider anything from roughly $500- $1000 to be a budget DAC.

DACS marketed for portability, with generally only a USB input, that are hub powered, are a different market IMO..

Like with everything else, there are cross over products that blur the lines.

P.S. I find it funny to be called a snob when I am happily using 2 DACs well under a grand, one being the iFi Micro, in a system costing many multiples more.

 

I'll be tuning into the reviews. It's going to have to blow the Emotiva and my Denon out of the water though for me to pick it up though. One of my biggest complaints about the Denon is that I can't pass through analog to the amp when I play SACD. Switching inputs to go straight through to the amp isn't a big deal, it's just a pain point I'm looking to remove. I'm going to do a side by side between my Denon and the Emotiva Stealth and I'm hoping the Emotiva at least equals it.

 

Heh, making a sweeping generalization in this case is a bit of snobbery...
Don't mind me though, I'm enjoying the thread and look forward to reviews.

 

The only thing I find annoying is how sometimes products get that giant killer buzz, but mostly from folks who have never heard said product...then it just spirals. I get a kick out comments like "I HEARD it was REALLY." Then 25 other posters say they heard it was really good...from the original guy who heard it was really good...lol. But no one has heard it.

 

Yet another DAC with no HDMI input??

 

Yeh, and no touch screen or voice recognition either!

 

I don't care about those things. But HDMI input would allow for SACD decoding, which I definitely would like.

 

What is wrong with the DAC in your SACD player?

 

Never said that there was anything wrong with the DAC in my SACD player.

But your question could also be asked about the DAC in a CD player. Which calls into question the presence of the optical and coax inputs on the HD-DAC1.

If I'm going to buy an external DAC I would like it to handle all of my physical-media digital sources.

 

I have never, and have no use for using an external DAC with a CD player. I do have a musical fidelity transport with no onboard DAC I sometimes use with AES/EBU.

I think your thought process here is limited..many non optical disc sources have coax and optical outputs...

Case in point..a Sonos, a Squeezebox, a Mac Mini, an Olive, etc.. I can name dozens streamers with Spdif outputs.

I used an SBT with optical and coax out into a DAC for years.

 

Works great going into my Emotiva
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009KAU0WO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I certainly do, as do many others.