Marantz HD-DAC1

The Marantz HD-DAC1 headphone amplifier and DAC is one of Marantz's premium models, in the popular, smaller HD form factor case, that makes it perfect for bedside or desktop use, or for someone who wants a stylish unit on display in a living room. The Marantz HD-DAC1 headphone amplifier and DAC is one of Marantz's premium models, in the popular, smaller HD form factor case, that makes it perfect for bedside or desktop use, or for someone who wants a stylish unit on display in a living room. It can also act as a DAC for a computer it's a USB Audio Class 2.0 device. In that mode it supports the same PCM but also DSD in both regular and double-speed forms. It also has a 3.5mm analogue input which you can use with, for example, the headphone output on a digital audio player. On the front is a flat-type USB connection. You can plug a USB memory stick into that and play (some) of the music thereon. Or you can plug your iPod or iPhone into it and play its music. In the case of the iPhone and the only remaining iPod model, the Touch, you control playback using the Apple device's interface. The Marantz HD-DAC1 simply takes over from the device's own audio output. The Marantz HD-DAC1 can deliver output audio in three ways. One is via the front-panel 6.35mm headphone output. Another is via a pair of fixed-level RCA outputs on the rear. The third is via another pair of RCA outputs, but these ones are variable in output and controlled by the front panel volume knob. Behind that knob seems to be an analogue potentiometer, capable of turning through the traditional clock-range of 7 to 5. It's on the right side of the front panel above the headphone output. On the left side is a rotary input selector. Underneath that is the standby button and a setup button. That last lets you set the amplifier gain to one of three levels, change auto-standby behaviour and set the brightness level of the display. That display is round in shape, as is Marantz's practice in recent years. It shows a couple of lines of text, with the default being to display the input selection and the audio format that's being played. The unit is supplied with a plastic remote control. This is convenient and works well, but it seemed strangely generic and out of place, a clear build quality mismatch with the main unit. The DAC functionality is based around a Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chip. This is a 24-bit device with sampling rate support to 192kHz. It has dedicated DSD inputs and can apply a 50kHz filter to ADD inputs to conform to Scarlet Book specifications (that is, the specs for SACDs), or bypass it. The PCM decoder uses multibit oversampling techniques. The analogue amplifier uses current feedback amplification and Marantz HDAM-SA2 modules. Marantz only specifies the output power for 32 ohm loads 800mW and notes that it can drive audiophile high-impedance headphones up to 600 ohms.

DAC operation mode: USB / Coax / Optical Asynchronous mode rear USB Bit-perfect transmission USB-B DSD Audio Streaming: DSD2.8 / DSD5.6 / Ground isolator for DAC Mode operation iPod / iPhone compatible USB input DAC chip CS4398 Jitter reducer HDAM version HDAM+HDAM SA2 High Grade Audio Components HDAM+HDAM SA2 Customized Components Inputs/Outputs Headphone Out Headphone Volume Control Headphone Gain Control (low / mid / high) Analog Input 1 Analog Out (fix / variable) Digital Optical In 2 Digital Coaxial In 1 Sample Rate digital In 192kHz/24bit Gold Plated Cinch Front USB USB type B input for Computer (back) Asynchronous mode rear USB Sample Rate USB type B In 192kHz/24bit USB-B DSD Audio Streaming: DSD2.8 / DSD5.6 D-Bus D-Bus Specifications Frequency response 2 Hz-20 kHz Signal to Noise Ratio 106 dB Total Harmonic Distortion 0,0012% Channel separation 100 dB Headphone Power 800mW / 32 ohm General Remote Control RC001HD Standby Consumption in W 0.3 Auto Power off Detachable Power Cable Maximum Dimensions (W x D x H) in inches 9.84 x 10.63 x 3.54 Weight in lbs. 11.02