[Livnmuskoka]

Wow I’m looking back at my comments from 2015 onwards and seeing how I still own HD-DAC1. It’s still works fantastically well, besides the clicking portion! It’s at least 7-8 years old.

I had, AKG 7XX, HD800 and HD800S preciously and it paired superbly well with all especially both HD800s! Till I sold them and paired with LCD2. The pairing isn’t fantastic as compared with my HD800s. Obviously the headphones signatures are opposite ends. The warm is slightly overpowering and I was wondering if it was the LCD2’s. I remembered trying them out with KANN Alpha and it sounded amazing! Separation was good, details can be heard with wide soundstage hence my purchase of LCD2.

I want to confirm if DAC1 is warm or not. I tried with another earpiece that is quite neutral and it was full and authoritative! Small sound staging and details are as layered as KANN Alpha. Based on this, I felt so tempted to sell this and get back HD800S.

Also, as I was reading, another way is to pair with another amp. Was interested in Monolith but most reviews are that it’s quite linear, not much musicality and slight poorer quality

I added a Topping L30 to my Dac-1 and it was a good jump up in clarity and detail for my LCD-3F. It sounded really good. But I thought the Topping went faulty and returned it. Turns out it was the RCA cable between them. Highly recommend giving this combo a try. It's a good upgrade for little money.

 

[fattycheesebeef]

I added a Topping L30 to my Dac-1 and it was a good jump up in clarity and detail for my LCD-3F. It sounded really good. But I thought the Topping went faulty and returned it. Turns out it was the RCA cable between them. Highly recommend giving this combo a try. It's a good upgrade for little money.

Yeah am looking at Topping or SMSL to pair with it. Am also curious to see if the Topping/SMSL stack would beat DAC1+Topping/SMSL amp

 

[pbarach]

Wow I’m looking back at my comments from 2015 onwards and seeing how I still own HD-DAC1. It’s still works fantastically well, besides the clicking portion! It’s at least 7-8 years old.

I had AKG 7XX, HD800 and HD800S previously and it paired superbly well with all especially both HD800s! Till I sold them and paired with LCD2. The pairing isn’t fantastic as compared with my HD800s. Obviously the headphones signatures are opposite ends. The warm is slightly overpowering and I was wondering if it was the LCD2’s. I remembered trying them out with KANN Alpha and it sounded amazing! Separation was good, details can be heard with wide soundstage hence my purchase of LCD2.

I want to confirm if DAC1 is warm or not. I tried with another earpiece that is quite neutral and it was full and authoritative! Small sound staging and details are as layered as KANN Alpha. Based on this, I felt so tempted to sell this and get back HD800S.

Also, as I was reading, another way is to pair with another amp. Was interested in Monolith but most reviews are that it’s quite linear, not much musicality and slight poorer quality

I have had an HD-DAC1 for several years. I liked it a lot with HD-600 and Focal Clear OG's. I did not find it warm but rather accurate, especially in its reproduction of voice and acoustic piano (I listen almost exclusively to classical music). When I began to use a Topping D50s as the DAC, I noticed increased detail in complex orchestral passages. When I moved the Marantz to another room, I bought a Drop THX 789 to use with the Topping as the DAC. I did not find the result to be dry, clinical, or in any sense less enjoyable than when the Marantz served as the amplifier in that system. The only thing I miss about the Marantz is a remote control for the amplifier (the Drop doesn't have one).

 

[Bernard23]

I bought a JDS Element 2 on a whim after reading some reviews on a no win no fee Amazon basis, and have to say it's noticeably better than the Marantz for me. Less warmth, bloom, better control and punch and more dynamic. Marantz sounds a bit too veiled and slow in comparison. I did try isolating the DACs and amps of each device to cross compare, I suspected that the JDS amp was much better than the marantz, and that was clear, but suprisingly the JDS DAC was cleaner than the Marantz too. The ground hum loop on the Marantz also irritated me after a while, plsu the JDS can drive just about anything to silly levels with ease. I've put the marantz up for sale.

 

[pbarach]

The ground hum loop on the Marantz also irritated me after a while, plsu the JDS can drive just about anything to silly levels with ease. I've put the marantz up for sale.

I hear no ground loop hum, even with the volume on the Marantz turned up as high as it will go. This must be a peculiarity of your HD-DAC1 or your system. I've not heard others complain about it, either.

 

[Bernard23]

I hear no ground loop hum, even with the volume on the Marantz turned up as high as it will go. This must be a peculiarity of your HD-DAC1 or your system. I've not heard others complain about it, either.

I've come across it in other forums, that's how I noticed it. It's absent until the streamer is "locked.". When the device us on, open the streamer and the relay will click, and the hum is present albeit at a very low level.

 

[fattycheesebeef]

Or is it just a ghost

 

[MacMan31]

I had an HD-DAC1 for a long while. I really enjoyed it as it sounded really great. I have since moved on to a Schiit stack consisting of a Bifrost 2, Asgard 3 and Valhalla 2. I'm currently comparing the two amps as I don't need to keep both. I actually did have the Valhalla 2 when I had the DAC1 so I used the DAC in that to feed the Valhalla 2. I swapped the headphones between the two amps and to my ears there was very little difference in how the two sounded. I guess that is a testament to how good the HD-DAC1 sounded. The only "downside" to my DAC1 unit was that the headphone jack felt a little "used". Granted I did buy it used but when plugging in headphones it was not very snug. You know when you plug in the headphones and there is that snug click with the last little bit of the plug goes in? Well my unit barely had that. There was no issue with sound but it still felt a bit loose. Otherwise the DAC1 was an excellent DAC and amp combo.

 

[1-MiC]

I actually liked that you could one hand the plugging and unplugging of headphones because the jack was a bit looser and the unit was heavy.
I think I'm ready to move on to seperates for my headphone rig as well, but it's so functional. I'm sure it will always have a place for me somewhere.

 

[jamca]

Marantz DAC1 still holds very well in2021… i have compared it with many others (aune, rme, ifi) and it is the most complete device. The only downside is the little narrower soundstage, which however has great depth. Also the amp section is great. It blows away rme adi 2 which is also known for its good amp. Dac1 has more authority…

 

[Smoothstereo]

The Marantz DAC1 is a great All in One even in today's standards. DAC and amp are very respectable. To get wider soundstage from the amp side, try High gain. It widens the stage noticeably vs the Low and Mid gain.

 

[jamca]

The Marantz DAC1 is a great All in One even in today's standards. DAC and amp are very respectable. To get wider soundstage from the amp side, try High gain. It widens the stage noticeably vs the Low and Mid gain.

I will try it

 

[MacMan31]

The Marantz DAC1 is a great All in One even in today's standards. DAC and amp are very respectable. To get wider soundstage from the amp side, try High gain. It widens the stage noticeably vs the Low and Mid gain.

Doesn't high gain add distortion? I don't recall using mid or high gain on the DAC1 when I had it. Low gain was plenty for me and my HD6XX.

 

[fattycheesebeef]

DAC1 has enough power to drive my LCD2 at low gain with 8-9am volume knob position. Mid gain is about 7-8am position

 

[Smoothstereo]

Doesn't high gain add distortion? I don't recall using mid or high gain on the DAC1 when I had it. Low gain was plenty for me and my HD6XX.

I no longer have the DAC1. But I heard no distortion at High gain or any of the gains at any volume levels with my headphones (Sundara, Denon D5200, AQ Nighthawk, Fidelio X2HR, Elegia). I read somewhere earlier on this thread that the DAC1 designer purposely created a different character for each of the gains. So it's not just setting the gain loudness for each level, there are some sonic personalities differences and he urged the user to try all three and see what you like best. Obviously user will need to volume match first before hearing the characteristics of each gain setting.

Although most of my hps were easy to drive except the Sundara, I like the High gain most as it has the widest soundstage but gives up a bit of depth, more impactful and upfront. The Mid gain was more relaxed and smoother, and not as impactful and had lesser wide soundstage, but has a tad more soundstage depth. I don't use the Low gain much back then so I cant remember what it's characteristics were.