[pbarach]

My experience with this device over the last several years has been truly enjoyable in every way. It makes me seriously doubt the usefulness of that extremely negative series of measurements on the Audio Science Review website.

I originally bought this unit as an open box from Music Direct, but it refused to play 24/192 files. Marantz replaced it under warranty with a brand-new unit that has worked faultlessly ever since.

 

[Livnmuskoka]

I just posted this on the Audeze LCD3 thread, but thought I would share it here too:

I've found the best dac/amp combination yet for my Lcd3f's;
Using Tidal Hifi through my old iPhone 6s, plugged into a Marantz hd-dac 1, out to a Topping L30 amp.
With the L30 gain in the middle setting at 0db, volume at 10 o'clock is usually quite loud, and haven't turn it past 12 o'clock for longer than a few seconds.
I wanted to improve on the Chord Mojo's deep bass output and hopefully get a little wider Soundstage.
With the Marantz HD dac-1 alone, it gave a fuller sound, lower bass, and better tonality than the Mojo, but gave up a small amount of clarity and the bass wasn't as controlled.
After reading several times that the Dac-1 has a great dac and only a decent amp, I thought I'd try it with the L30.
It worked out amazingly well. It has all of the benefits and no downsides that I can hear.
It has the same extreme clarity of the Mojo, but with deeper bass, slightly wider soundstage, just as good or better detail, more natural and better tonality.
I don't think it's worth my time or bigger cost to keep looking for further improvements. I've listened to even higher end headphones and found them too bright for me. I've only heard the Lcd3's with a couple higher end Dacs. But from what I can remember, I like this combo as much or more than with the Hugo TT or Dave, so for now my search is over. Highly recommended.

 

[Smoothstereo]

The Marantz HD DAC1 is a very good dac. Even though it uses an older chipset Cirrus Logic CS4398, a hybrid Multibit/Delta Sigma topology, its still considered a competitive dac for PCM and DSD for today IMO. Many previous Esoteric brand DAC/Players used them back in the day, this shows it was no slouch. I only listen to ripped CDs at 44.1khz and use audio app on my Android phone to upsample to 192khz, sometimes I even upsample to 2x DSD to the Marantz with no issues.

The amp section of the HD-DAC1 is very solid, its achilles heal if we can call it that, is that its not the most powerful. For low impedance and high sensitivity headphones, it can do wonders. For much harder to drive headphones, it can still sound good, but might not be at its best. If Marantz incorporated a true balanced headphone out (and line out) with greater power, this unit would have been bonkers.

Most of my headphones are of the low impedance and pretty sensitive kind, so the HD-DAC1 can drive them with good authority and sound so sublime.

 

[pbarach]

The HD-DAC1 does a great job powering my Sennheiser HD-600's as well as the lower impedance Focal Clears. I don't have any really "tough customer" headphones, such as Hifiman HE-6.

 

[AndyBrechin]

Is there anyone in this thread in the UK who has loved and cared for their Marantz HD-Dac1 over the years but who is now looking to upgrade, or has upgraded and has one lying around surplus. As the thread said still a good buy second hand at low cost as the tech has moved on and that's where I would fit in! Send me a private message if you fit the bill, cheers.

 

[Smoothstereo]

I am wondering if Marantz will be working on a successor for the HD-DAC1 soon. I would like it if they put more attention to the headphone space as I think they have the scope to do well in this realm. Would be nice if they make separate DAC and Balanced head amp.

 

[Livnmuskoka]

I am wondering if Marantz will be working on a successor for the HD-DAC1 soon. I would like it if they put more attention to the headphone space as I think they have the scope to do well in this realm. Would be nice if they make separate DAC and Balanced head amp.

Even if you hook up a Topping L30 or maybe JDS Labs Atom up to your Dac-1 I think you'll be very surprised. It's not a subtle improvement, depending on how much your headphones will scale up I guess.
It was a huge improvement with Lcd3f's, and a pretty big difference even with 1more triple driver in ears, adding extra clarity and little fuller sound.
From what I've heard over the last few years I don't think it can get much better.
I'd avoid bright sounding headphones though, it'll give it to you honest.

 

[AndyBrechin]

This is probably a stupid question, but are/were all the HD-Dac1 models made in the Far East, or were some made in Europe?
Also, were two voltage variants made (in addition to the black/silver finishes), i.e. Approx. 240 (230-250) V, and 110 (100-120) V?
Stupid question maybe.
If I sold a Euro model and shipped it to someone in the States does that cause a difficult complication for them?

 

[Steve Wilcox]

Hyperfi in the UK are currently selling this for 350 UK POUNDS. Hyperfi appear to be legit but there's some poor reviews. What do you think? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?

 

[pbarach]

I don't know anything about Hyperfi, but I have had an HD-DAC1 for a couple of years. I'm very happy with it. It is heavier than you'd expect given its size, which may indicate good build quality. It has no trouble powering Focal Clears, AKG K-702, Sennheiser HD-600, or Hifiman HE-400i headphones. It allows air and space around the music when the recording contains it. Some feel the sound is slightly on the warm side, but whether that's an issue will depend on your headphones and personal preferences. It works flawlessly with files from my PC input to its rear panel USB input, as well as with coax and digital inputs coming from my universal player. Audiosciencereview.com published some measurements of an HD-AMP1 (which looks similar but does not clearly have the same implementation of DAC and headphone amp as the HD-DAC1) that made it look bad, in contrast to good measurements obtained by What Hifi recently (WHat Hi-Fi Review).

 

[MacMan31]

Not sure how many people are watching this thread anymore. In any case I'm looking at getting the HD-DAC1 used on Canuck Audio Mart. I was hoping to just keep things simple and use the HP jack on my Marantz PM8005 amp and stream via Airplay to the Node 2i. However the sound is hit or miss depending on which headphones I use. Currently I just have the Sennheiser HD6XX and 58X. The latter actually sounds pretty good on the PM8005. However the HD6XX sounds almost horrible by comparison. The 58X has more bass compared to the HD6XX so perhaps that is why it is able to sound good on my amp. But the HD6XX has a "hollow" sound when using the amp. That's the best word I can think of. It just doesn't sound full like they do on even a portable headphone amp like the Fiio Q3. So is the HD-DAC1 still worth getting in 2020? The HP amp would not be sitting close by so one with a remote is needed. My goal is to have no wires connected to my laptop while I lounge and listen to my music on my headphones.

 

[pbarach]

I got a Drop THX 789 amp last week to use with the HD-DAC1 that I've had for several years. Both of these units power HD-600 cans without any trouble. The Drop amp is slightly clearer in more complex music than the HD-DAC1.

 

[Livnmuskoka]

Not sure how many people are watching this thread anymore. In any case I'm looking at getting the HD-DAC1 used on Canuck Audio Mart. I was hoping to just keep things simple and use the HP jack on my Marantz PM8005 amp and stream via Airplay to the Node 2i. However the sound is hit or miss depending on which headphones I use. Currently I just have the Sennheiser HD6XX and 58X. The latter actually sounds pretty good on the PM8005. However the HD6XX sounds almost horrible by comparison. The 58X has more bass compared to the HD6XX so perhaps that is why it is able to sound good on my amp. But the HD6XX has a "hollow" sound when using the amp. That's the best word I can think of. It just doesn't sound full like they do on even a portable headphone amp like the Fiio Q3. So is the HD-DAC1 still worth getting in 2020? The HP amp would not be sitting close by so one with a remote is needed. My goal is to have no wires connected to my laptop while I lounge and listen to my music on my headphones.

I just recently got a Dac-1 and really like it. It sounds more natural and has better tonality than the Chord mojo it replaced. The Mojo was a small step up in clarity though, so I tried hooking up a Topping L30 amplifier out of the Dac-1 and it sounds amazing. Great natural sound with incredible clarity.
An effective and cheaper route for you to go might be buying a Topping L30 and hook it up with RCA's from the pre output on your PM8005 amp. Just set the Topping volume at about 75% and control the volume from your PM8005 with its remote.
I either use an ipod into the front of the Dac-1 and can control track skips and volume from the Marantz remote, or using my Samsung phone and casting Tidal to my TV with built in chromecast. Then optical out from the TV into the Dac-1, controlling song selections from my phone and volume from the Marantz remote.

 

[tokyodan]

I came across a twitter post that was about Marantz HD-DAC1. Here are the few key component of it:

1. Has selectable headphone impedance (32-600 ohm)
2. It is based on Cirrus Logic CS4398 (DSD capable)
3. Comes in two colors of silver and black.
4. It has a dedciated headphone section that is based on the HDAM-SA2 modules found on the other Marantz products already
5. It has the ability to feed other amp as well as having input to act as an amp alone which suggest the headphone out is not to shabby.
6. Based on a link I found it seems that the price to be under 1.2K!

http://www.redcoon.de/B547048-Marantz-HD-DAC1-Silber-Gold_Kabel-Adapter

More info:

Source : http://www.audiovideohd.fr/actualites/10433-Marantz-HD-DAC1.html
DAC Marantz first signed, particularly the successful design, including the integration of a circular front panel display, an aluminum chassis and side walls adorned with painted wooden panels, the HD-DAC1 is based on a converter Cirrus Logic CS4398 and a symmetrical circuit design.

The DAC has a double clock to reduce jitter, each responsible for processing samples 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz, the HDAM-SA2 modules and the power supplied by a large toroidal transformer.
Section amp helmet accept impedance headphones from 32 to 600 ohms, a gain selector on three levels is also available on the front.

HD-DAC1 naturally provides support for audio files up to 192 kHz / 24 bit, and also features compatibility DSD 2.8 MHz / 5.6 MHz. More surprisingly, the presence of a front USB port allows playback of MP3, AAC, WMA, FLAC and WAV formats always practical.

The connector portion comprises a USB-B output for connecting a PC / Mac, RCA analog output on which it will be possible to associate with each other amp since the output is adjustable in fixed or variable, and finally two entries optical, one coaxial input and output 6.35 mm. Marantz HD-DAC1 will be available partor October 2014, retail price of € 799.


Features Marantz HD-DAC1:

1. DAC headphone amp
2. Cirrus Logic CS4398 converter
3. Dual clock
4. HDAM-SA2 modules
5. Toroidal transformer
6. Compatible 192 kHz / 24-bit DSD 2.8 / 5.6 MHz
7. Gain Selector
8. Fixed or variable output
9. Connectors: 1 RCA analog output, one USB port asynchronous, two optical inputs, 1 coaxial input, 1 output jack 6.35mm, 1 USB port
10. Delivered with remote control

Is it possible to connect speakers to this?

 

[audionewbi]

No.