Which DAC is "best"?

[Tom Caines]

I will receive a new-to-me Rotel RSX-1056 today and was wondering, does the 1056 have a better DAC than my LG DVB418 DVD player?

I do movies 80% / music 20%. Is one of these DAC's better for movies and the other better for music? Although music is 20%, I do want to have a quality music listening experience.

I'll be using the 1056's amps to drive the Vandersteen C1's for front and rear, and a VCC center. My sub is an SVS 20-39 PC-Plus.

I appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.

[madmac]

Dvd players... except for maybe the Oppo 83SE ($900.00) do not produce good analog audio. Use the optical out to the Rotel and let it do the converting. The DAC's in the Rotel will outperform the LG by a long shot. You can always hook up both inputs too and toggle between to two to compare, but I'm quite sure of the results in this case. I have a Marantz CD67SE ($600.00) that I bought around 7-8 years ago and it outperforms the Rotel internal DAC's for CD audio but not by a wide margin!. It's a little warmer and has a little more of a transparent soundstage. The LG dvd will have no warmth or soundstage. The Rotel will give you at least some.

[Tom Caines]

Thanks for your reply. I'll give the digital/analog signals a side by side test.

I'm thinking about sending the analog stereo signal to an amp in another room (home gym) to add some "motivation" to my workouts.

[PewterTA]

Yep only you can tell us which sounds better to you. Even if one or the other is technically better, if you don't like the sound of it... it makes no difference.

[TommyV]

It is not just the DACs you need to worry about. You need bass management, speaker delays/levels and other processing that is available to you in the 1056. Only very high end DVD or BD players could come close to providing all that. Just use the digital connection and make sure to adjust all your speaker settings in the Rotel for best results.

[Tom Caines]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

I got to complete the wiring of my system and then had knee surgery which slowed down my progress. I hope to be all setup and have the 1056 dialed in next week. I'll post my results.

Happy New Year!