PM5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly DAC v1.2 vs PM6005

Hey, Im new here, I need help deciding upon these two options to pair to my Qacoustics Concept 20s
The choices areMarantz PM5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly DAC v1.2 (€419) Marantz PM6005 (€399)My budget is around (€400 to €500) Maximum I listen to mostly Deep House tunes, UK Garage, Soul Music, My girlfriend listens to Classical (Tchaikovsky, Chopin etc)I'd like to get to as close as a neutral sound for my budget, which of these two options would you recommend? I've tested out the PM6005, and it sounds absolutely wonderful with my Speakers, but I was wondering if the Marantz PM5005 to be paired with the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 would produce a better sound (even if its slightly better) than the Marantz PM6005 on itself. Or if you have any other recommendation around that price, i don't want to save up any longer, due to me buying the speakers 6 months ago, and i really just wanted to start listening to tunes. Another question would be, would I need to get a CD player or would I be able to play tunes from my Laptop + Receiver + Speakers Thanks for the time
 

gasolin

Well-known member
Irwan Kasman said:
Hey, Im new here, I need help deciding upon these two options to pair to my Qacoustics Concept 20s

The choices are Marantz PM5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly DAC v1.2 (€419) Marantz PM6005 (€399) My budget is around (€400 to €500) Maximum I listen to mostly Deep House tunes, UK Garage, Soul Music, My girlfriend listens to Classical (Tchaikovsky, Chopin etc) I'd like to get to as close as a neutral sound for my budget, which of these two options would you recommend? I've tested out the PM6005, and it sounds absolutely wonderful with my Speakers, but I was wondering if the Marantz PM5005 to be paired with the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 would produce a better sound (even if its slightly better) than the Marantz PM6005 on itself. Or if you have any other recommendation around that price, i don't want to save up any longer, due to me buying the speakers 6 months ago, and i really just wanted to start listening to tunes. Another question would be, would I need to get a CD player or would I be able to play tunes from my Laptop + Receiver + Speakers Thanks for the time

The dragonfly sounds a bit better then the the dac in the amp but the pm6005 has more power and i think it has generally better sound then the PM5005.

The pm6005 will make the sound from your pc and cd player almost the same and not great from the pc and okay or just avarage from the cdplayer if you used the dragonfly with the smaller amp.

The dragonfly can only make the sound better from your pc, the pm6005 can make it better from your pc and cdplayer so choosing a cplayer can save you some money if you buy a used cd5004 or 5003 an get about the same sound as if you have bought the well reviewed cd6005
 
Irwan Kasman said:
Hey, Im new here, I need help deciding upon these two options to pair to my Qacoustics Concept 20s

The choices are Marantz PM5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly DAC v1.2 (€419) Marantz PM6005 (€399) My budget is around (€400 to €500) Maximum I listen to mostly Deep House tunes, UK Garage, Soul Music, My girlfriend listens to Classical (Tchaikovsky, Chopin etc) I'd like to get to as close as a neutral sound for my budget, which of these two options would you recommend? I've tested out the PM6005, and it sounds absolutely wonderful with my Speakers, but I was wondering if the Marantz PM5005 to be paired with the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 would produce a better sound (even if its slightly better) than the Marantz PM6005 on itself. Or if you have any other recommendation around that price, i don't want to save up any longer, due to me buying the speakers 6 months ago, and i really just wanted to start listening to tunes. Another question would be, would I need to get a CD player or would I be able to play tunes from my Laptop + Receiver + Speakers Thanks for the time

I think you need to look at a different amplifier if you wish to play back from a laptop as, as far as I am aware, the PM5005 has not got the facilities to attach an Audioquest Dragonfly, it certainly has no digital input or USB ports. Perhaps there's a work-around but I am sure there are amps more suitable for your set-up.

There may be, with a suitable cable, a way to attach it to the CD phono inputs but I am not sure about this. If there is then the DAC module used in the Dragonfly is certainly a good one although the one in the 6005 goes to a higher resolution.

I am sure someone else will be along with greater knowledge to assist you soon.
 

Blacksabbath25

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Al ears said:
Irwan Kasman said:
Hey, Im new here, I need help deciding upon these two options to pair to my Qacoustics Concept 20s

The choices are Marantz PM5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly DAC v1.2 (€419) Marantz PM6005 (€399) My budget is around (€400 to €500) Maximum I listen to mostly Deep House tunes, UK Garage, Soul Music, My girlfriend listens to Classical (Tchaikovsky, Chopin etc) I'd like to get to as close as a neutral sound for my budget, which of these two options would you recommend? I've tested out the PM6005, and it sounds absolutely wonderful with my Speakers, but I was wondering if the Marantz PM5005 to be paired with the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 would produce a better sound (even if its slightly better) than the Marantz PM6005 on itself. Or if you have any other recommendation around that price, i don't want to save up any longer, due to me buying the speakers 6 months ago, and i really just wanted to start listening to tunes. Another question would be, would I need to get a CD player or would I be able to play tunes from my Laptop + Receiver + Speakers Thanks for the time

I think you need to look at a different amplifier if you wish to play back from a laptop as, as far as I am aware, the PM5005 has not got the facilities to attach an Audioquest Dragonfly, it certainly has no digital input or USB ports. Perhaps there's a work-around but I am sure there are amps more suitable for your set-up.

There may be, with a suitable cable, a way to attach it to the CD phono inputs but I am not sure about this. If there is then the DAC module used in the Dragonfly is certainly a good one although the one in the 6005 goes to a higher resolution.

I am sure someone else will be along with greater knowledge to assist you soon.
there is a USB port at the front of the cd6005 but its only for connecting iphone but not sure if the USB will do anything more i did have an arcam ir dac connected to mine but this will take you over budget
 

gasolin

Well-known member
Al ears said:
Irwan Kasman said:
Hey, Im new here, I need help deciding upon these two options to pair to my Qacoustics Concept 20s

The choices are Marantz PM5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly DAC v1.2 (€419) Marantz PM6005 (€399) My budget is around (€400 to €500) Maximum I listen to mostly Deep House tunes, UK Garage, Soul Music, My girlfriend listens to Classical (Tchaikovsky, Chopin etc) I'd like to get to as close as a neutral sound for my budget, which of these two options would you recommend? I've tested out the PM6005, and it sounds absolutely wonderful with my Speakers, but I was wondering if the Marantz PM5005 to be paired with the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 would produce a better sound (even if its slightly better) than the Marantz PM6005 on itself. Or if you have any other recommendation around that price, i don't want to save up any longer, due to me buying the speakers 6 months ago, and i really just wanted to start listening to tunes. Another question would be, would I need to get a CD player or would I be able to play tunes from my Laptop + Receiver + Speakers Thanks for the time

I think you need to look at a different amplifier if you wish to play back from a laptop as, as far as I am aware, the PM5005 has not got the facilities to attach an Audioquest Dragonfly, it certainly has no digital input or USB ports.

What the........ are talking about, put the audioquest dragonfly in a usb port in your pc, use a minjack to phono cable and connect it to the Marntz PM5005

Why would you need a digital or usb input on th PM5005 if you want to use the dragonfly in your pc and connect it to the amp using it ONLY to get better sound out of a pc?
 

gasolin

Well-known member
Blacksabbath25 said:
Al ears said:
Irwan Kasman said:
Hey, Im new here, I need help deciding upon these two options to pair to my Qacoustics Concept 20s

The choices are Marantz PM5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly DAC v1.2 (€419) Marantz PM6005 (€399) My budget is around (€400 to €500) Maximum I listen to mostly Deep House tunes, UK Garage, Soul Music, My girlfriend listens to Classical (Tchaikovsky, Chopin etc) I'd like to get to as close as a neutral sound for my budget, which of these two options would you recommend? I've tested out the PM6005, and it sounds absolutely wonderful with my Speakers, but I was wondering if the Marantz PM5005 to be paired with the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 would produce a better sound (even if its slightly better) than the Marantz PM6005 on itself. Or if you have any other recommendation around that price, i don't want to save up any longer, due to me buying the speakers 6 months ago, and i really just wanted to start listening to tunes. Another question would be, would I need to get a CD player or would I be able to play tunes from my Laptop + Receiver + Speakers Thanks for the time

I think you need to look at a different amplifier if you wish to play back from a laptop as, as far as I am aware, the PM5005 has not got the facilities to attach an Audioquest Dragonfly, it certainly has no digital input or USB ports. Perhaps there's a work-around but I am sure there are amps more suitable for your set-up.

There may be, with a suitable cable, a way to attach it to the CD phono inputs but I am not sure about this. If there is then the DAC module used in the Dragonfly is certainly a good one although the one in the 6005 goes to a higher resolution.

I am sure someone else will be along with greater knowledge to assist you soon.
there is a USB port at the front of the cd6005 but its only for connecting iphone but not sure if the USB will do anything more i did have an arcam ir dac connected to mine but this will take you over budget

It's only for input not output, nothing comes out of the usb port so the sound can't go into the dragonfly
 
Hey, thanks for all the reply,

first of all, I don't have a CD player to connect to the Receiver, i will be using a laptop to play my music. Do I need a CD player or will my laptop be enough? I am planning to connect the DAC to my laptop, and then connect it to the PM 5005.

My question would be, which of the two options.

1.) Marantz PM5005 + Audioquest DragonFly v1.2

vs.

2.) Marantz PM 6005

Or is there a better receiver that would pair well with my Q Acoustics Concept 20s in the budget range

Thank You
 
gasolin said:
Al ears said:
Irwan Kasman said:
Hey, Im new here, I need help deciding upon these two options to pair to my Qacoustics Concept 20s

The choices are Marantz PM5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly DAC v1.2 (€419) Marantz PM6005 (€399) My budget is around (€400 to €500) Maximum I listen to mostly Deep House tunes, UK Garage, Soul Music, My girlfriend listens to Classical (Tchaikovsky, Chopin etc) I'd like to get to as close as a neutral sound for my budget, which of these two options would you recommend? I've tested out the PM6005, and it sounds absolutely wonderful with my Speakers, but I was wondering if the Marantz PM5005 to be paired with the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 would produce a better sound (even if its slightly better) than the Marantz PM6005 on itself. Or if you have any other recommendation around that price, i don't want to save up any longer, due to me buying the speakers 6 months ago, and i really just wanted to start listening to tunes. Another question would be, would I need to get a CD player or would I be able to play tunes from my Laptop + Receiver + Speakers Thanks for the time

I think you need to look at a different amplifier if you wish to play back from a laptop as, as far as I am aware, the PM5005 has not got the facilities to attach an Audioquest Dragonfly, it certainly has no digital input or USB ports.

What the........ are talking about, put the audioquest dragonfly in a usb port in your pc, use a minjack to phono cable and connect it to the Marntz PM5005

Why would you need a digital or usb input on th PM5005 if you want to use the dragonfly in your pc and connect it to the amp using it ONLY to get better sound out of a pc?

Because if the amp had a digital input the Dragonfly would be completely superfluous, thus saving him money in the long run.....
 

rainsoothe

Well-known member
Irwan Kasman said:
Hey, thanks for all the reply,

first of all, I don't have a CD player to connect to the Receiver, i will be using a laptop to play my music. Do I need a CD player or will my laptop be enough? I am planning to connect the DAC to my laptop, and then connect it to the PM 5005.

My question would be, which of the two options.

 1.) Marantz PM5005 + Audioquest DragonFly v1.2

vs.

2.) Marantz PM 6005

Or is there a better receiver that would pair well with my Q Acoustics Concept 20s in the budget range

?

Thank You

The 6005 is the better amp. But mind you, its usb port is only for usb sticks, ipods and such, it cannot convert stuff from your laptop. The dac in the marantz only has optical or coaxial inputs. If your laptop has optical out, then you can do it directly. Otherwise, you need an outboard dac. The cheapest option I can think about is Behringer uca 202, you can find them on thomann. Geting the 6005 makes more sense to me, and maybe upgrade DAC later. You certainly don't need a cd player, unless you want one or have a lot of CDs. Otherwise, playing lossless files (flac, alac, wav etc) from laptop is just fine.
 

gasolin

Well-known member
Irwan Kasman said:
So just to be clear,

Marantz PM 6005 + Beheringer Uca 202 will produce a better sound than,

Marantz PM 5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2

You don't have to buy the behringer if you have digital output

If you buy the PM6005 you can buy a cheap cdplayer with digital output if you want to, i have never heard of a laptop with a silent cdplayer, it could take times if you want to rip all your cd's to your laptop and have something like 100+,but then again if you use spotify/tidal you might not need a cdplayer
 

rainsoothe

Well-known member
Irwan Kasman said:
So just to be clear,

Marantz PM 6005 + Beheringer Uca 202 will produce a better sound than,

Marantz PM 5005 + Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2

I think so, yes. But again, if your laptop is a macbook or apple, I think most model's headphone outputs double as optical outs. Which means you're better off buying a 3.5 jack to toslink optical cable then getting another box (a DAC). If, however, most or all your music is on CDs, then geting a cheap CD player (or bluray/dvd player) with optical or coaxial out is also a good sollution, since you can just use an optical or coaxial cable into the digital input of the PM6005 and let the Marantz DAC do the work.
 
Alright, Im sold on the PM6005.

Last question

Would it be possible to connect the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 to the PM6005, or would that not work due to the PM 6005 already having a DAC built in?

I'm looking for ways to improve the sound quality, for future purchases
 

gasolin

Well-known member
Irwan Kasman said:
Alright, Im sold on the PM6005.

Last question

Would it be possible to connect the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 to the PM6005, or would that not work due to the PM 6005 already having a DAC built in?

I'm looking for ways to improve the sound quality, for future purchases

No usb on the PM6005 you can only use it with a pc and sent the sound to the amp

Don't buy the dragonfly and the pm6005 get a cheap cd/dvd player instead of the dragonfly
 

rainsoothe

Well-known member
Irwan Kasman said:
Alright, Im sold on the PM6005.

Last question

Would it be possible to connect the Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 to the PM6005, or would that not work due to the PM 6005 already having a DAC built in?

I'm looking for ways to improve the sound quality, for future purchases

If by connecting it to the PM6005 you mean sticking the Dragonfly in your laptop's USB and then using a jack to RCA cable into one of the Marantz's "line in" connectors, of course you can. But I don't know if the Dragonfly is a worthwile improvement over the DAC in the Marantz. It might be, I literally have no clue. And, again, if your music is on CDs, get a player like gasolin says. If it's not, then don't.
 

steve_1979

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I would go for the 6005.

The slight extra power that it has is more likely to improve the sound quality than using a different DAC will. Also the DAC is built in which makes it a much neater and straightforward solution.
 

gasolin

Well-known member
steve_1979 said:
I would go for the 6005.

The slight extra power that it has is more likely to improve the sound quality than using a different DAC will. Also the DAC is built in which makes it a much neater and straightforward solution.

No thers so little in difference that most people won't notice it 0.5db in difference
 

rainsoothe

Well-known member
gasolin said:
steve_1979 said:
I would go for the 6005.

The slight extra power that it has is more likely to improve the sound quality than using a different DAC will. Also the DAC is built in which makes it a much neater and straightforward solution.

No thers so little in difference that most people won't notice it 0.5db in difference

it's not only the wattage, the circuitry is different. I don't know a whole lot, but the PM6005 has toroidal transformer, the 5005 has EI - all this stuff influences the sound.

OP - by the way, if you need USB funcionality for the DAC, you could also use a USB to SPDIF converter cable (basically lets you connect USB out to Coaxial in), but I don't know whether a cheap one would be as good as the Behringer. But if you find a cheal variant, it couldn't hurt to try I guess :p
 

Thompsonuxb

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If you have not bought the 6005 yet there is the option of a budget AV amp.

A Poineer maybe. They have a signature which should pair with the Q's nicely.

Just turn off unused channels and send low frequencies to fronts.

Won't recommend Yamaha as the sound is less inyerface with music.

They come with a DAC plus all the connections too and with a little adjustment will most likely outperform the budget amp - don't believe the hype.

They'll also drive a sub if you decide to go that route.

If your laptop has an HDMI out that's what I'd suggest.
 
Hey, so I spent the entire day and night researching some options. From my notes, i've learnt that using a coax input sounds subtly better than optical input. So i looked through a few converters, and I found the Matrix USB-SPDIF 24Bit/96kHz Audio Interface.

The reason that apeals to me is because it's around €50, and that I can connect it to both my laptop, and my Ipad Air. I would love to hear some other suggestions, I wouldn't mind spending an extra €100.

The question I have with this is that, the Matrix support up to 24Bit/96kHz Digital audio signal transmission, how will this affect the sound input when it enters the DAC of the PM6005? Will the sound improve, or should i just go for the Behringer UAC202

Thank you in advance
 

Thompsonuxb

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Your equ is budget and your expectations are a bit high - you may need to bite the bullet and just go with your initial plan.....toss a coin.

Doubt you'll get a huge difference between your two options.

Your laptop should cover all your needs how good it is will determine how good your playback is within the limits of your kit.

The external DAC can only do so much.

That said if your kit takes HDMI/optical or coax give an av amp an audition and compare , if you can. you may be surprised.....seriously.

Note:
Don't be fooled if the stereo amp gets loud at 9o'clock on the volume dial its not an indication of its 'power'
 
Im an undergraduate at the Economics faculty. Hopefully once Im done with my masters degree, and get a good job, my finance would be stable and i'll be able to increase my budget. I have a passion for music, I also study at SAE part time, so Im always training my ears to pick up the slightest changes when it comes sound manipulation through my Audio Mastering and Mixdown classes. Been involved with music for a few years now. Im new to the high fi department, currently I own a Bang & Olufsen A2 to power my house parties, and also own the Beyerdynamic DT 770 headphones for all my music production.

my question from before is, how will the sound quality change through all the interface connected.

i.e. Flac file to Matrix Usb to the Marantz PM 6005. Will the sound quality change when the Flac file played from my laptop enter Matrix's 24Bit/96kHz to Marantz's 24Bit/192kHz. What happens to the sound quality? Will it get better or worse?

Thanks once again
 

ID.

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Irwan Kasman said:
Im an undergraduate at the Economics faculty. Hopefully once Im done with my masters degree, and get a good job, my finance would be stable and i'll be able to increase my budget. I have a passion for music, I also study at SAE part time, so Im always training my ears to pick up the slightest changes when it comes sound manipulation through my Audio Mastering and Mixdown classes. Been involved with music for a few years now. Im new to the high fi department, currently I own a Bang & Olufsen A2 to power my house parties, and also own the Beyerdynamic DT 770 headphones for all my music production.

my question from before is, how will the sound quality change through all the interface connected.

i.e. Flac file to Matrix Usb to the Marantz PM 6005. Will the sound quality change when the Flac file played from my laptop enter Matrix's 24Bit/96kHz to Marantz's 24Bit/192kHz. What happens to the sound quality? Will it get better or worse?

Thanks once again

i doubt that it will change much and you are probably expecting too much from entry level kit if you think you will be picking up noteworthy differences between coax vs optical. To be honest, you are sweating insignificant aspects, especially considering that you're playing in the budget end of the pool. Headphones are a totally different equation.
 

Thompsonuxb

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Again, not much difference will be heard.

What's more important is the quality or how well your music files are'recorded'.

To be honest you could be better off going 2nd hand and getting a better amp for your money.
 
Alright, I understand.

So as of right now, my setup will be

Marantz PM 6005 + Matrix USB SPDIF to be connected with my Q Acoustics Concept 20s

my next upgrade in a few months will most probably be the Chords Mojo DAC.

I'd like to thank all of you who have taken the time and reply to my questions.

Thank you for your kindness,

Irwan
 

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