DAC in 1066 / 1072 vs Marantz dv 9500

[hongkongphooey]

I been running a Rotel 1072 CD player running through a 1066 pre-pro and have enjoyed hours of quality listening…

Have just bought a Marantz dv9500 universal DVD player to provide an HDMI link to a Pioneer plasma.

Sonically the Marantz is performing very well. Does anyone have an opinion on whether the Marantz audio DAC (192kHz/24bit) should perform better than that in either the 1072 or the 1066?

I’ve tried both the 1072 and the 9500 with a number of different analogue and co-ax interconnects to the 1066 and the difference is marginal.

http://us.marantz.com/shop/_templates/Proddetail.asp?model=30

[aaron]

I own the cheaper but still awesome DV6500 and Rotel's 1068 preamp. I can tell you that when I play 2 channel CD audio using the Marantz DAC's (analog out of the player / no processing in the preamp / bypass mode) it sounds noticeably better than using the preamp's DACS (digital out of player / preamp set to 2 channel/PCM). Your DV9500 uses even better DAC's than my 6500. The Rotel is no slouch as a preamp though. Marantz has always been a well respected "audio" company. I'd be willing to bet that most of their bang for your buck went into the DACS and very few reasonably priced preamps would have any chance of matching it in the digital to analog conversion process.

[DrJRapp]

I was never really impressed by the sound quality of the DACs in my 1066 when I owned it. Even a lowly Sony CD changer had better DACs. Your DV 9500 distinguishes itself by having high end audio grade analog output due to some special op amp devices that Marantz employs. To me that one is a no brainer.

My current RSP 1098 has far superior DACs to the 1066 but I would still utilize analog transfer if I were fortunate enough to own a DV 9500.

[hongkongphooey]

Well that's that one cleared-up then - thanks guys...

Would you expect the 9500 to outperform the 1072 for regular CD playback?

And can you recommend any analogue interconnects that are sonically matched with Rotel kit? I'm looking at the Merlin Chopin's at the mo'

Best,

HKP

[nyny]

Rob,

I think you are in a better position to tell us whether the 9500 or the 1072 performs better with CD playback, since you have both units. Personally, I think it's better to perform AB comparison on your own and determine which one sounds better to you, rather than making the judgement based on theoretical performance of the DACs.

I was hoping that you woud share your finding since I am debating whether I should get the 9500 to replace my 1072 and DVD player. :B