Arcam rDAC with Marantz cd6004

[stickboy85]

Hi guys and gals,

I'm finally dipping my toes into the world of external DACS and I've narrowed it down to the arcam rDAC. My question is, will I notice an improvement in sound quality if I use the rDAC together with the Marantz as a cd transport? Is the DAC in the arcam better than the Marantz? The rest of my setup consists of a Marantz pm6004 and KEF Q300.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Machinemessiah]

I have a similar set up to you but use an i pod dock in lieu of a cd player. I have previously had a rdac and it should work well in your set up. However, I would give the dac a good audition before you buy as the cost may out way the benefits. The PS Audio dac I have is considered to be 'warm' by digital standards and certainly helps balance the sound of the Kef speakers. I'm not familiar with your cd player but if you can, listen to other dacs before taking the plunge. The Rega dac may well be to your liking as well.

 

[gurjitsidhu]

No

Spend your money elsewhere. I have a Yamaha CDs300 with rega dac and the difference is small. You have a better CD player than me so your dac will be better. Myve spend 300 towards your next speakers upgrade?

 

[Machinemessiah]

A speaker upgrade would IMO not be your best way forward. The KEFs are a very good speaker but having a PM6004 myself, good as the amp is, I would suggest that it is on the limit with those speakers. It sounds like you want to improve your front end so rather than add a dac, upgrade the cd player instead. There is a Cyrus cd transport avaialable for under £600 that would go well with a cheaper dac like the Arcam. That should yield a jump in SQ.