[AkkiJU]

Does anyone know if the HD-dac1 will be able to handle a set of Beyerdynamic T1, and if it will be a good match?
 
I have heard it's a warm/round sounding amp/dac.. Atleast that's what I am looking for

 

[Mojo777]

It looks like you traded to the Oppo HA-1?  I've only read one head to head between the two; would you mind comparing them?  Sound, feature set, build quality, overall enjoyment, etc. I assume then that the HA-1 doesn't unlock and click like the DAC1?

I thought the Marantz was slightly more musical vs the more analytical nature of the OPPO. Marantz's house sound Dna is there (which I think is very good). they both sound amazing and I was lucky enough to have both at the same time to compare. It came down to the unlocking issue and the OPPO's analog inputs.

Interestingly enough I thought the single-ended jack on the Marantz did a much better job than the ha-1 with my he-400's.

 

[xenithon]

  I have both the UD 301 & HD Dac 1. They are different animals and are both excellent. The Teac is (perhaps) more transparent, but less refined than the Marantz, which is very smooth & easy to listen to. Build quality of the Marantz is very good indeed. Teac also good, but more industrial.
 
The head amp on the Marantz, I feel, is superior to the Teac's - tighter bass, perhaps more drive, variable gain settings. But the Marantz is also perhaps more polite than the Teac, which is rawer and abit rougher round the edges (a trait I quite like).
 
DSD via USB into both is excellent - locks onto both 2.8 & 5.6 without difficulty via A+. Teac has problems with A+ and appears to accept DoP/PCM conversion only. However via the Teac HD Player it plays (extracted) .iso's very well (either in Phillips or Sony formats). 
 
Teac has XLR out if that is important to you (I like it for my power amp). Marantz has a remote (points for that!).
 
Overall I would say it's hard to go wrong with either unit for head fi: it depends I would have thought on one's ears and gears. I like each, for different reasons. Good thing is they are cheap enough you can keep both.
 
I have said it before - it is amazing what you can buy for under $800 these days...
 
I agree wholeheartedly with what 2leftears wrote:
 

 
Thanks for these impressions and comparison between the two. I am leaning toward the Teac simply because I have a balanced amp, so just need something to fulfil DAC duties.

 

[tricka]

   
Thanks for these impressions and comparison between the two. I am leaning toward the Teac simply because I have a balanced amp, so just need something to fulfil DAC duties.

 
Pleasure. I'm using the Teac for exactly that purpose.

 

[xenithon]

Thanks once again! You mentioned that you found the Teac more transparent, but less refined than the Marantz...would that also apply in DAC-usage only? (I'd be feeding the output to a dedicated balanced amplifier)
 
Also have you perhaps managed to get DSD working with the Teac via Audirvana+?

 

[tricka]

  Thanks once again! You mentioned that you found the Teac more transparent, but less refined than the Marantz...would that also apply in DAC-usage only? (I'd be feeding the output to a dedicated balanced amplifier)
 
Also have you perhaps managed to get DSD working with the Teac via Audirvana+?

 
Yes dac only as well.
 
DSD works with A+ but seems to be via DoP ie not natively. I may be mistaken in that, but that is how it looks to me. I may misunderstand how A+ works. No problem with the Teac player however.

 

[gPope]

Great thread.  I am about to pull the trigger on the Marantz, but I wanted to ask if anyone has found a way to mute the variable audio out when plugging in headphones.  The owner's manual says the mute button on the remote will mute both output and headphones which is nonsensical.
 

 

[jmsaxon69]

Plugging in headphones doesn't kill the other outputs on the back of the unit?

 

[gPope]

  Plugging in headphones doesn't kill the other outputs on the back of the unit?

That's what I read somewhere and the same goes for the Oppo HA-1.  But, on the Oppo, you could mute the RCA outputs selectively via the mute button on the remote.
 

 

[jmsaxon69]

that's kinda cool, what are you trying to accomplish btw?

 

[gPope]

  that's kinda cool, what are you trying to accomplish btw?

 
What I said in post #142 above.  How to mute the audio outputs (preamp/amp) when plugging in the headphones on the Marantz HD-DAC1.

 

[jmsaxon69]

   
What I said in post #142 above.  How to mute the audio outputs (preamp/amp) when plugging in the headphones on the Marantz HD-DAC1.

Oh Okay, I thought "That's what I read somewhere...." meant that you read that it DID mute the outputs when plugging in the headphones, sorry!
 
You could just turn off the amp?

 

[2leftears]

 
Oh Okay, I thought "That's what I read somewhere...." meant that you read that it DID mute the outputs when plugging in the headphones, sorry!
 
You could just turn off the amp?

I am sure gPope is aware of that, so there must be a good reason he/she prefers not to do that.
 
So, three items on the whish list for the Marantz HD-DAC1 mkII:
 

1. Analogue line level RCA inputs to the headphone amp bypassing the DAC
2. Separate mute facility for the headphones / RCA outs
3. Forcing a constant lock-on the digital input, or some other means of avoiding the muting relays clicking on and off when switching tracks.

 
And if I am really nit-picking:
 

1. The same gold finish as the SA-11S3 / PM-11S3 as an option

 

[gPope]

  You could just turn off the amp?

 
Yes, you could if you were using the fixed output.  In my case, I'd be using the variable output to powered speakers and a powered subwoofer.  Their on/off switches are not in convenient places.

 

[xenithon]

 
So, three items on the whish list for the Marantz HD-DAC1 mkII:
 

1. Analogue line level RCA inputs to the headphone amp bypassing the DAC
2. Separate mute facility for the headphones / RCA outs
3. Forcing a constant lock-on the digital input, or some other means of avoiding the muting relays clicking on and off when switching tracks.

 
And if I am really nit-picking:
 

1. The same gold finish as the SA-11S3 / PM-11S3 as an option

 
Would add to the list: fully balanced circuitry with balanced output