[Brinston]

Right now i have a Marantz SR4400 which has digital inputs through optical and coaxial. And normal analog inputs (white-red pairs).
I am willing to connect my android to the setup. Which will be the best setup ?
 
I guess the marantz has its own dac, so it will be fabulous if i am able to make use of it as i will save a lot of bucks. 
I was considering a usb to RCA adapter and/or a usb to coaxial/optical adapter but i do not know if it will work fine.
 
So any recommendations on how should i do the setup ?

 

[billybob_jcv]

The easy way:
Use the headphone jack on your phone with a 3.5mm to RCA cable to connect to a pair of RCA jacks on the Marantz.

The hard way:
If your phone supports Android On-The-Go (OTG), then use an Android OTG cable to a USB DAC like the Schiit Modi2. Connect the RCA jacks on the Modi2 to the RCA jacks on the Marantz.

The even harder way:
If your phone supports Android OTG, then use an Android OTG cable to a USB DAC or Converter that has a TOSLINK or digital coax output, like the Audinst HUD mx-1. Connect the Audinst HUD mx-1 TOSLINK output to the optical input on the Marantz.

Please note that "the even harder way" is probably not better than the "the hard way". It's actually kind of a waste of the Audinst HUD mx-1. The only thing it is needed for is to act as a USB -> TOSLINK converter, however it can also be powered externally, which might make it easier to use with the OTG cable than, for example, a Fiio E10K. I'm not convinced the Marantz DAC is better than the Schiit Modi2 DAC, so I really don't think going from USB->TOSLINK is necessary.

 

[Brinston]

The easy way:
Use the headphone jack on your phone with a 3.5mm to RCA cable to connect to a pair of RCA jacks on the Marantz.

The hard way:
If your phone supports Android On-The-Go (OTG), then use an Android OTG cable to a USB DAC like the Schiit Modi2. Connect the RCA jacks on the Modi2 to the RCA jacks on the Marantz.

The even harder way:
If your phone supports Android OTG, then use an Android OTG cable to a USB DAC or Converter that has a TOSLINK or digital coax output, like the Audinst HUD mx-1. Connect the Audinst HUD mx-1 TOSLINK output to the optical input on the Marantz.

Please note that "the even harder way" is probably not better than the "the hard way". It's actually kind of a waste of the Audinst HUD mx-1. The only thing it is needed for is to act as a USB -> TOSLINK converter, however it can also be powered externally, which might make it easier to use with the OTG cable than, for example, a Fiio E10K. I'm not convinced the Marantz DAC is better than the Schiit Modi2 DAC, so I really don't think going from USB->TOSLINK is necessary.

 
I am actually searching for a low cost solution, as connecting it through my androids 3.5 mm jack does not give a good output. And i am certainly convinced by using the marantz for a certain time that, the marantz has a better DAC than my android (HTC one M7).
 
So i was thinking about a way to connect the marantz with the android through a digital interface. My phone supports OTG (also it has MHL out if that helps)

 

[cel4145]

What does "low cost" mean to you? Means different things to different people.

The first generation Schiit Modi is on closeout for $79 shipped. See if it works well with Android phones, as well as your Android phones (not all Android phones support USB audio out).

 

[Brinston]

What does "low cost" mean to you? Means different things to different people.

The first generation Schiit Modi is on closeout for $79 shipped. See if it works well with Android phones, as well as your Android phones (not all Android phones support USB audio out).

 
My phone supports usb audio, but i was thinking about something that will make use of internal dac of marantz. 
By low cost i mean (a solution with least cost)

 

[kramer5150]

Yes you definitely should take advantage of the Marantz internal DAC.... or make every effort to do so.  If you can get it to work, it will be worth the effort.  Marantz in general is a company known to expend a lot of effort into the sonic fidelity in all the conversion stages of their products.
 
Another option is a bluetooth aptx to toslink converter.  This might also be your cheapest solution.
http://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Bluetooth-Receiver-smartphones-tablets/dp/B00E5N9ONM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425233657&sr=1-2&keywords=aptx+receiver+toslink
 
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-BT2A-Bluetooth-Receiver-Wolfson/dp/B00G2CQFT0/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425233792&sr=1-3&keywords=aptx+receiver+toslink
 
http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Theater-Receiver-Support-110248/dp/B00DIGAO22/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425233792&sr=1-1&keywords=aptx+receiver+toslink
 
aptx is not completely lossless however.  Its just the least lossy bluetooth codec thus far.
 
The apple airport might also hold a solution for you via lossless bit stream over wifi.  It has an optical output that can send 0s and 1s to your Marantz.  I know its seamless within the Apple DNA, not sure how well it behaves with Android phones.
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-AirPort-Express-Station-MC414LL/dp/B008ALA2RC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425234105&sr=1-1&keywords=apple+airport
 
I don't have first hand experience with these however, I am just passing along alternatives... although I am THIS CLOSE to getting an airport to use it as a wireless media host for my music library that I have stored on an external USB drive.

 

[Brinston]

  Yes you definitely should take advantage of the Marantz internal DAC.... or make every effort to do so.  If you can get it to work, it will be worth the effort.  Marantz in general is a company known to expend a lot of effort into the sonic fidelity in all the conversion stages of their products.
 
Another option is a bluetooth aptx to toslink converter.  This might also be your cheapest solution.
http://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Bluetooth-Receiver-smartphones-tablets/dp/B00E5N9ONM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425233657&sr=1-2&keywords=aptx+receiver+toslink
 
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-BT2A-Bluetooth-Receiver-Wolfson/dp/B00G2CQFT0/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425233792&sr=1-3&keywords=aptx+receiver+toslink
 
http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Theater-Receiver-Support-110248/dp/B00DIGAO22/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425233792&sr=1-1&keywords=aptx+receiver+toslink
 
aptx is not completely lossless however.  Its just the least lossy bluetooth codec thus far.
 
The apple airport might also hold a solution for you via lossless bit stream over wifi.  It has an optical output that can send 0s and 1s to your Marantz.  I know its seamless within the Apple DNA, not sure how well it behaves with Android phones.
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-AirPort-Express-Station-MC414LL/dp/B008ALA2RC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425234105&sr=1-1&keywords=apple+airport
 
I don't have first hand experience with these however, I am just passing along alternatives... although I am THIS CLOSE to getting an airport to use it as a wireless media host for my music library that I have stored on an external USB drive.

 
I stay in india, so the options you stated are not available here. If you can tell me in general, what this equipments are known as ? that would be great.
Also if compared to the aptx, is dlna any better ?
 
I was also thinking about getting a usb to rca connector... And connecting the phone to the input of marantz.... will it work that way ?

 

[cel4145]

I was also thinking about getting a usb to rca connector... And connecting the phone to the input of marantz.... will it work that way ?

Do you mean USB to coaxial converter? Otherwise, a device which coverts from USB to RCA analog out is a DAC, and you would be bypassing the DAC in your Marantz.

And yes. DLNA is better than Aptx.

 

[Brinston]

  Yes you definitely should take advantage of the Marantz internal DAC.... or make every effort to do so.  If you can get it to work, it will be worth the effort.  Marantz in general is a company known to expend a lot of effort into the sonic fidelity in all the conversion stages of their products.
 
Another option is a bluetooth aptx to toslink converter.  This might also be your cheapest solution.
http://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Bluetooth-Receiver-smartphones-tablets/dp/B00E5N9ONM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425233657&sr=1-2&keywords=aptx+receiver+toslink
 
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-BT2A-Bluetooth-Receiver-Wolfson/dp/B00G2CQFT0/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425233792&sr=1-3&keywords=aptx+receiver+toslink
 
http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Theater-Receiver-Support-110248/dp/B00DIGAO22/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425233792&sr=1-1&keywords=aptx+receiver+toslink
 
aptx is not completely lossless however.  Its just the least lossy bluetooth codec thus far.
 
The apple airport might also hold a solution for you via lossless bit stream over wifi.  It has an optical output that can send 0s and 1s to your Marantz.  I know its seamless within the Apple DNA, not sure how well it behaves with Android phones.
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-AirPort-Express-Station-MC414LL/dp/B008ALA2RC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425234105&sr=1-1&keywords=apple+airport
 
I don't have first hand experience with these however, I am just passing along alternatives... although I am THIS CLOSE to getting an airport to use it as a wireless media host for my music library that I have stored on an external USB drive.

And about the receivers you have mentioned ? Is it something like receivers just receive the signal and forward to the dac to play it ?

 

[Brinston]

Do you mean USB to coaxial converter? Otherwise, a device which coverts from USB to RCA analog out is a DAC, and you would be bypassing the DAC in your Marantz.

And yes. DLNA is better than Aptx.

 
I mean this stuff by usb to rca
 
http://www.amazon.com/GSI-RCA-To-USB-Cable/dp/B003QA5LA0

 

[billybob_jcv]

The problem is that to use the internal DAC of the Marantz, you need to feed it a digital signal.

My concern is that most USB -> S/PDIF (TOSLINK or Coax) converters are USB powered, like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/USB-DAC-PCM2704-Optical-Converter/dp/B0093KZTEA
and this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A2QJK5
and this:
http://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Beach-Advantage-Digital-Adapter/dp/B0036VO4X4
and this:
http://www.amazon.com/Ha-Info-U2-SPDIF-Converter-TE7022L/dp/B006WU7E92
and this:
http://www.amazon.com/Peachtree-Audio-T1-24-96/dp/B00AEN0SIW
and this:
http://www.amazon.com/PHIREE-U2S-Converter-upgrade-version/dp/B00OMPAOO6

That would be fine for a PC, but not for a phone.

It would be much easier to have a device that obtained it's power from it's own A/C power supply. That's why I suggested the Audinst HUD mx-1. It has S/PDIF output AND it can be powered externally.

HOWEVER, if you are going to buy a device like the Audinst HUD mx-1, then why not just use the DAC in the mx-1 (or the Modi)? There's really no benefit to the Marantz DAC over a good USB DAC. If your Marantz had the ability to accept the USB OTG directly, then the answer would be much different.

If you can find a USB->S/PDIF converter that is externally powered AND cheaper than a readily available externally powered USB DAC, fine - go for it!

 

[kramer5150]

  And about the receivers you have mentioned ? Is it something like receivers just receive the signal and forward to the dac to play it ?

Basically yes thats how they work.  They are bluetooth receivers and receive a data stream over bluetooth.  Internally they convert a BT stream to a toslink optical stream that you then feed to the toslink input on your Marantz.  The Marantz (and DACs in general) will auto-detect the optical bit stream when 1s and 0s are being sent, and "data lock" onto that.

 

[cel4145]

I mean this stuff by usb to rca

http://www.amazon.com/GSI-RCA-To-USB-Cable/dp/B003QA5LA0

I have no idea if that will do what you want it to do, but seems unlikely. It has to use some kind of DAC for the audio, and what do you think you would be getting for $7? Something better than a phone's DAC? I doubt it.

BTW: it has more 1 star reviews than 5 star. Doesn't seem like a promising product for any use.

 

[Brinston]

  Basically yes thats how they work.  They are bluetooth receivers and receive a data stream over bluetooth.  Internally they convert a BT stream to a toslink optical stream that you then feed to the toslink input on your Marantz.  The Marantz (and DACs in general) will auto-detect the optical bit stream when 1s and 0s are being sent, and "data lock" onto that.

http://www.ebay.in/itm/WiFi-AirPlay-DLNA-Audio-Receiver-Wireless-Stream-Stereo-Bluetooth-Speaker-3-5mm-/281432465848?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item4186aea1b8
 
I found this receiver. What opinion do you have about this ?

 

[Brinston]

I have no idea if that will do what you want it to do, but seems unlikely. It has to use some kind of DAC for the audio, and what do you think you would be getting for $7? Something better than a phone's DAC? I doubt it.

BTW: it has more 1 star reviews than 5 star. Doesn't seem like a promising product for any use.

Nope, its just a simple wire that transmits digital signal from phone to marantz... Dat is all i want it to do... Marants will interpret the digital signal then.