Digital Drive Upsamplers, DACs, jitter, shakes and analogue withdrawals, this is it.

---

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Digital Drive ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

New DAC and CD Player search

Posted by airheadair (A) on June 17, 2016 at 23:38:28

Here are some preliminary observations concerning my search for an improved digital source.
Recall my goal was to find a single box that would serve as a CD/SACD player and a DAC to which I could connect our Macintosh network. My hope is to eventually get to the point where digital sources rival my vinyl setup.

I decided to try the Marantz SA 14S1. It arrived three days ago, and I've spent a couple of hours a day since then listening. Everything works, including the optical and USB inputs, fed from a Macintosh (no driver issues). The controls are not as nice as those of my older Onkyo (the twist dials on the latter are more convenient for searching through tracks than the pushbutton on the Marantz, for example.) The sound seems better, but I'm not yet sure how much. CD's sound good, SACD's excellent, and the DAC (through the optical link) does seem better than the DAC in the Airport Express I had been using. Some details, and a question, follow:

1. Key session: Lorin Maazel's recording of Ravel's l"Enfant et les Sortileges (DG):

This sounds wonderful on LP, with a tremendous sense of space, separation of the different voices and instruments, and beautiful soprano solos. My old CD player sounded okay but lacked the depth and excitement of the LP. Here the Marantz seemed to do very well: the separation and space were there, and the voices sounded beautiful, especially with Filter 2 place.

2. Key session: Patricia Barber SACD's:
I listened to Modern Cool, Distortion of Love, and some of Smash and Cafe Blue. The first two were very impressive on SACD, especially Distortion of Love. Probably these rival the LP recordings I have, and the Distortion of Love SACD may be even better. Smash, perhaps was a bit dry. Cafe Blue is "unmastered" so an unfair comparison.


So far, my thoughts were that the Marantz is a worthwhile upgrade.

3. Key session: Kind of Blue, CD.
A disappointment. I have several LP pressings of this, and they sound simply fantastic on my system, with stunning focus, presence, and musical detail that grabs every bit of your attention. The CD sounded okay but not nearly as good as the LP. I have ordered an SACD version of this disk to see if it matches my vinyl experience.

4. Key session. Hand Eye, performed by Eight Blackbird, CD. Contemporary music.This sounded very good, dynamic, sweet and extended highs, quite exciting. Possiblymore detail and space than I had on the Onkyo, but not a game changer, since the Onkyo wasn't bad either.


So here is my question. Can people with good digital and vinyl equipment comment on
the sound of Kind of Blue in CD vs LP (and maybe vs SACD as well)? Am i wrong to expect
the similar kind of involvement from digital sources as I get from vinyl? My current view is that it depends on the disc(s), so I especially interested in specific comparisons about these discs in particular.

Some people are recommending that I send back the Marantz and get an Oppo and external DAC for the same price. But I would prefer a single box, at least for now, if possible.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

VH Audio

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---