Marantz HD-DAC1 - Reference Quality Headphone Amplifier, Digital-Analog-Converter & Stereo Preamp All-in-One | High Resolution Audio Playback | iPod/iPhone Compatible | MusicLink Space Saver Design

I'd read glowing reviews from users about the DAC1 on Head-Fi but was extremely satisfied with my Bryston BHA1/BDA-2 amp/dac combo. But curiosity got the best of me, so I ordered one just to see what all the raves were about.Cutting to the chase, right out of the box, my HD-800S & AKG K812 sounded as lush, as full and smooth as the Bryston -- with a discernable improvement in the soundstage. Assuming it was the novelty of a new piece of gear, I decided to listen to the Marantz for at least a week without any back&forth switching with the Brystons.The most evident improvement was in my AKG cans -- the hotter top end was smooth as silk and mids were even lusher with the improved soundstage. Ultimate 3-dimensionality! And the Senn HD800 that's been (justifiably) criticized for a certain artificial sense of depth was pin-point perfect. To state the old hackneyed description, I was rediscovering my classical music collection (hi-res flacs, DSD files). My source is a FiiO X5 second gen connected via coax to the Marantz. Nothing in between. And as bonus, my two iPod Classics at 160GB each, plug directly into the DAC1, extending the capacity for my music. Wow!Back to my Brystons after a week-long audition of the DAC1, I found a sense of artificial 'detail' and 'presence' that causes listening fatigue after about an hour...with either of my headphones -- something I didn't experience with the Marantz. It becomes 'invisible', allowing me to glory, from massive symphonies to the intimacy of string quartets and everything in between.As a disclaimer, my musical tastes are almost strictly classical...with a small percentage of early bop. Rock isn't on my radar...but I can see why the Brystons would be more suited to it with its hard-edged sound and faux punchiness. Bottom line, I sold them for a handsome profit and haven't looked back...happy and loving it with the DAC1. At $800, it's one of the best values in headphone electronics!

2-8-20Disliked: It sounds digitized. It should sound like music. It sounds like digitized music. Very good but digitized.Liked: Looks sharp. Good weight. Well designed for a lot of inputs.Disliked: It can’t reproduce dense music like John Williams E.T. soundtrack or Joe Lovano Sinatra tribute One for My BabyLiked: Bass is done very well, piano is pretty good.Disliked: cymbals, trumpets, upper register of saxes, sounds are a shadow of reality. It will hurt your ears after an hour.Liked: Dynamics are very very good. Perfect for non critical listening (video games, rock, hip hop.) Forget about jazz, classical, movie soundtracks. You’ll be left wanting.It’s definitely not more musical than my Halide dac I bought used more than 5 years ago. I tested this using Focal Clear headphones. My old 2013 Halide Dac sounds better by a significant margin. Much less edgy and more musical; closer to vinyl and actual sounds of vocals and instruments.I’m gonna burn this in for a few days and update this review. This is a decent 1rst Dac for a music lover who can’t afford anything in this price range and doesn’t want to spend for used equipment. I’ll pass. If you like vinyl you will too. It does lower register stuff very well. It’s dynamic in loads. After that it’s digital edgy music. 50% there unfortunately guys. Keep going Marantz. Hope you make it better next release.2-11-20After 36 hour burn in I’m truly surprised how less digitized and edgy the top end has become. It was awful before now it's tolerable but still digitized, but a lot less. Bottom end has become more musical and realistic. I used the medium gain setting for more dynamics and this dac really cooks in 1st gear. Bass is perfect ride in 2nd gear. Low mids are graceful then it gets stuck. Snare sounds shadowy, cymbals sound less fake than before but still fake. I’m buying a Wireworld USB cable to isolate the power and let this thing burn in more. Focal Clears are handling anything this can give out. Will update in a few days. Was a weak 3 stars now a strong 3 stars.2-14-2020NOW WE ARE COOKING 72 hour burn in and replaced stock USB with Wireworld USB cable. Now the bass is almost perfect. Midrange 90% better. Highs 75% better. Sound is more musical and locked in. Still can tell its digitized music but much less so. As long as you stick to small combo music jazz and classical you can live with this. I can't, so my search will continue but I am very impressed what this can do for small groups. Orchestral or large ensembles. Forget it. No way this unit can do it. But if your music needs are simple, or all electronic, then get this DAC. If you need a DAC that can do large dense works, keep looking. If realistic cymbals and wood blocks and bells are what you need. Keep looking. If you need vocals that are real. Keep looking. This DAC is 80% of what you really are looking for. If you listen to rock and hip hop or play games; this is the perfect dac for you.March 03, 2020Somehow I thought I'd try one more thing before I sent this DAC back. Instead of using the on board amplifier I would feed it into another better headphone amplifier. I have a very old Pioneer VSX-D912 here and let me tell you. GOOD LORD. It is almost not even the same DAC. I can't believe it. Bass that was great now is almost perfect. Low mids are just luscious. Cymbals a LOT LESS DIGITIZED. Phantom Menace actually gave me goose bumps. Immoculation from Schindler's list just sung like an angel. Oh man. Now we have a winner. Why marantz? Why do I have to change out your stock USB cord and use another amplifier? Can't you just make a product that kills without hassles? It kills but after 50 hours of twiddling. Hey guys. Pretty confident this is a 4 star DAC now. Even dense music has seperation in the vocals, french horns, etc... I'm shocked. With caveats and 100 hour burn in you can get 4 star sound here.

Good lord this DAC/Amp sounds beautiful. I bought this unit as an upgrade for the Aune X1s paired with the legendary Emotiva a-100 basX amp. Man, what an upgrade it is. Don’t get me wrong, I still think the X1s is a very good DAC and the a100 can drive any headphone ever. What I wasn’t happy with was how recessed vocals seemed with the Aune and the incredibly loud noise floor of the Emotiva. I wanted an amp that could drive my Beyerdynamic dt1990 pros (250 ohm) and a DAC that didn’t sound quite so sterile. I looked at cheaper options such as Aune’s own X7s, the Darkvoice 336se, Schitt amps, Beyerdynamic amps, Massdrop’s THX AAA 789. In the end I figured I’d spend the extra money up front and hopefully save myself some growing pains. The reviews described the Marantz as an extraordinary DAC/amp that’s worth twice it’s price tag and I’d confirm that those boasts may be very, very true. Firstly with the Marantz, the noise floor wasn’t dropped, it was completely erased. The background is absolutely pitch black. At any volume. Secondly, the sound. I can’t imagine anyone would want something other than what the Marantz presents. I could go into a boringly detailed audiophile description about bringing vocals forward, filling out sub bass, and presenting treble so refined and pleasing that my entire music collection was completely transformed, but I’m not going to write that novel in an Amazon review. This is what I will say: I own Beyerdynamic dt1990 pros, Campfire Cascades, Shure SE846s, as well as a smattering of lower end OEM and IEM offerings, and through the Marantz HD DAC-1 they all sound ABSOLUTELY incredible!