[351Cleveland]

Hi everyone. I've been thinking about adding an HR Micro DAC to my Marantz CD-5001 but I'm not sure it would be a worthwhile upgrade. The CD-5001 uses the Cirrus CS4392, while the Micro DAC uses the CS4398. Would the upgrade be worth it, or is the difference between the Micro DAC and the CD-5001's internal DAC not enough to justify the expenditure? Is there anything else about the Micro DAC (or any comparable external DAC) that would make it a worthwhile upgrade? Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give me.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I have the MicroStack, and have used the Micro Amp via the RCA out of the CD5001, and it sounds great. But I never got around to trying the Micro DAC with the CD5001 because I have the Apogee mini-DAC hooked up to it. For the longest time I ran the CD5001 RCA right into the Dark Voice 336 and always liked it.

What I can say is the Micro DAC in general is a little warmer and fuller sounding that the RCA out of the CD5001. If you want a great sounding DAC, that runs on battery or AC, go for it; but you might get a bigger jump in SQ if you go with the HR Ultra Micro DAC or Apogee mini-DAC.

 

[351Cleveland]

^Thanks for the advice. It's much appreciated.