Marantz DV7001 as a transport?

[admin_exported]

Dear anyone who might know

Do any of you know how good the Marantz DV7001 would be as a transport for CDs? I currently have it feeding an Audiolab 8000AV and my wife and I really like what we hear. However, we were wondering whether buying a DAC would improve the CD sound quality? If so, what DACs would people recommend we audition? My maximum budget would be about £400 - £500.

 

[the record spot]

As the DV7001 is a universal player (and a pretty decent one at that) you just need to bear in mind you wil likely lose the SACD / DVD-Audio compatibility if you bypass the processing via an offboard DAC. I wouldn't skimp - I think the player is good enough to take the likes of the Stello SA100 DAC which is typically about £600. You might land it on a deal.

The Musical Fidelity V-DAC at £180 is another option, but whether that would be an improvement in terms of a step up is another issue. Likewise the DacMagic and all the other circa £200 models.

EDIT: Looking at the spec, the DV7001 internal DAC 'does' 24bit/192khz audio, so another thing to bear in mind. Trick is, get some music you know well and listen to some alternatives. Tricky with DACs I think, but maybe worth checking out some reviews and comparing to what you're after. I know matthewpiano rates the V-DAC very highly for instance.