marantz Mcr610 as DAC

[germe]

Hi guys. I'm really interested in changing my external DAC. Here below my current configuration:

- ROTEL RA-10 Amplifier

- B&W 686 S2 speakers

- SuperPro 707 DAC USB

- Sources:

LINUX SYSTEM dor FLACs
Sony BDPS1200B.EC1 in COAX for CDs
I'm really impressed from marantz Mcr610 possibilities.

How much the Marantz DAC is good? It could be a good choice to buy this system and to add it to my configuration still using ROTEL RA-10 amplifier?

thanks for your help

 

[ID.]

Sounds like you'd be paying a lot of money for a lot of functions you wouldn't be using. Seems a strange choice to me just as a DAC. If you were to make use of the streaming and net radio functions I can see the attraction, and in that case, if you didn't need the CD player you could consider the M-CR510, which would hopefully be a bit more compact.

If you don't need the other functions that the Marantz gives, there are a whole lot of other DACs available for that budget that I would expect to outperform the Marantz (although I'm sure Overdose will be along soon to explain why all decently designed DACs should pretty much sound the same if competently designed...).

 

[germe]

Sounds like you'd be paying a lot of money for a lot of functions you wouldn't be using. Seems a strange choice to me just as a DAC. If you were to make use of the streaming and net radio functions I can see the attraction, and in that case, if you didn't need the CD player you could consider the M-CR510, which would hopefully be a bit more compact.

If you don't need the other functions that the Marantz gives, there are a whole lot of other DACs available for that budget that I would expect to outperform the Marantz (although I'm sure Overdose will be along soon to explain why all decently designed DACs should pretty much sound the same if competently designed...).

thank you very much for your feedback

my needs are definitely 2+1:

- New DAC

- Spotify Connect and DLNA Streaming

- CD if possible

if you have other suggestions please gimme your choices

ps

M-CR510 does not have Audio out

 

[ID.]

Ahh, completely forgot that the M-CR510 doesn't have audio out. Sorry. I can't comment on the quality of the DAC, but it certainly sounds like it fits your needs.

I was going to suggest this

http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/audio-visual/hifi-components/cd-players/cd-n500_w/?mode=model

But it looks like the only digital in is via a network connection and I have no experience of its sound quality.

 

[germe]

thank you again ID.

it is propably the best choice for now...even if i'd like to have the Overdose opinion about this choice

no pm available on this forum?

thanks

 

[ID.]

Sorry, just joking around about Overdose.

His usual position (and apologies if I've misrepresented it) is that any DAC that has been decently designed will have a flat frequency response and similarly low levels of distortion, so there is actually very little difference in sound between competently designed DACs, and it is is a waste of money to spend too much on a DAC. Therefore, on this basis, the DAC section of the M-CR610 should sound fine, and pretty much just as good as any other DAC you are in the market for.

Any differences heard between DACs will be mainly down to expectation bias (subconsiously knowing one DAC is more expensive means your brain will want it to sound better), differing voltage outputs (the human brain tends to think something that sounds louder sounds better), or one DAC being poorly designed so that the frequency response isn't flat.

Personally I'm not sure it is quite so simple, as the analogue output section has an influence on the sound. There are also issues such as the choice of filter which can give DACs a slightly different sound, but all in all, the DAC should be the part of the audio chain that has the least influence on the overall sound. Certainly the differences are likely to be far smaller than those due to the speakers, amp, or even the room the hi fi is playing in.