OK, first impressions of using the line level RCA (red & white aux/phono) output from the MCR610 into my headphone amp...
I only had a short time so I could only do some initial smoke testing, but I tested 3 scenarios with the same tracks. Alanis Morrisette "All I Really Want" from Jagged little Pill and Bon Jovi "Hey God" from These Days.
The 3 scenarios I tested were:
- Using the MCR610 to directly access Spotify
- Using AirPlay from the Spotify app on the iPhone 6 sent to the MCR610
- Streaming 320K MP3s ripped from CD stored on my NAS on the local network
Unfortunately I didn't have time to test directly with the CDs themselves, but in time I shall and I'll update it here.
Spotify accessed directly from MCA610:
Sibilance!!! My goodness it’s harsh, offensive even. I couldn’t listen for long and the problem was manifest on both tracks. Very disappointing. I could not find a Spotify quality setting on the MCA610 so maybe it’s pulling down 96kbps, which could explain this(?).
Spotify sent from iPhone via AirPlay:
No trace of that harsh sibilance?! Sounds very good, Spotify app is set to “Extreme” quality (320kbps stream) so maybe that’s the key.
Streaming MP3 from NAS:
Very good, the tracks are clear and pure. This is best of all 3 options.
Although I didn’t test the CD itself during this round of listening, it’s clear that none of these playback option on the RCA connection sound as good as playing a CD into the amp using the Marantz UD7007, although with the MP3 and AirPlay it's not so far off that it's really bad. The convenience outweighs the small drop in sound quality at the times I can't be bothered to hunt through 700 odd CDs in folders.
I’m yet to try direct CD in the 610 but I will soon which will indicate whether it’s the connection type or the media type. Luckily if I can manage to play the same CD on both the UD7007 and the MCR610 at exactly the same time (some pause and play pressing until they’re in sync) then I can easily switch the source on the amp between RCA and balanced that way I can hear the instant transition between sources!
One more thing, before I retired to bed, I found there was a firmware update (I should have done that out of the box) so maybe, just maybe, the harshness from direct Spotify has been fixed.
I'll try different styles soon, some classical. Mari Kodama playing Beethoven's piano sonatas is a good test of simple pure music, then some Berlioz operas for powerful voice and Mozarts Requiem because it's complex and awesome. Then the original CD release of Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" because for me that's the benchmark of perfectly mastered and engineered albums, and Rage Against the Machine's eponymous album, again because it has great SQ and great music.
I’ll do more and report back, but for now hopefully that’s of interest.
It's sounding like this is becoming a review, but as it's RCA output only I can't really justify it as one.