Receiver DAC vs. Emotiva XDA-2

[Marty McFly]

I am planning on buying a DAC with pre-outs to pre-amp a pair of Marantz MA-500 mono blocks. I have a schiit bifrost w/ usb, but I want to sell it to buy a more comprehesive setup.

So the order would be Computer>DAC/pre out>MA-500>pair of Polk LS-90

I then noticed I can buy a Marantz sr5006 AVR for the same price with a DAC and pre-outs...and many other additional features.

My question is, would it be worth it to buy an all-in-one receiver (hooked up via hdmi for music) or go with the XDA-2 for a 2 channel music setup? Would there be a discerable audible difference? Which would you recommend?

 

[lsiberian]

I'm pro receiver. You can normally add an amp later if it has pre-amp outs.

 

[Marty McFly]

I'm pro receiver. You can normally add an amp later if it has pre-amp outs.

So, you're saying the Marantz sr5006 DAC is on par with the Schiit Bifrost DAC? For what it's worth, I A/B cross tested the Schiit bifrost & Schiit Asgard headphone amp with my Yamaha HRT-5590 from the same cdplayer and found the Yamaha to be more musical...who would have thought?

I think the main difference had to do with the class A headphone amp, so I guess there wasn't much of a difference w/ the DAC. Based off of this info, the Marantz amp section is more musical than the Yamaha so Marantz AVR > Yamaha AVR for music?

Also, would you recommend the Pioneer VSX-1022-K over the Marantz sr5006 for music and home theater?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

So, you're saying the Marantz sr5006 DAC is on par with the Schiit Bifrost DAC? For what it's worth, I A/B cross tested the Schiit bifrost & Schiit Asgard headphone amp with my Yamaha HRT-5590 from the same cdplayer and found the Yamaha to be more musical...who would have thought?

I think the main difference had to do with the class A headphone amp, so I guess there wasn't much of a difference w/ the DAC. Based off of this info, the Marantz amp section is more musical than the Yamaha so Marantz AVR > Yamaha AVR for music?

Also, would you recommend the Pioneer VSX-1022-K over the Marantz sr5006 for music and home theater?

External Dacs are very often overpriced and I'm very skeptical of them, except then absolutely necessary - like in desktop audio (see D1 in my sig), sorry in most cases internal audio is too noisy.

Speaker of AVRs I wont recommend Pioneer over Marantz , due to Audyssey MultEQ XT which is considered by many as superior auto-room calibration technology....
Also There is another option:
DENON AVR-1913 7.1ch Home Theater Receiver w/AirPlay 3D ready | Accessories4less

 

[jinjuku]

So, you're saying the Marantz sr5006 DAC is on par with the Schiit Bifrost DAC? For what it's worth, I A/B cross tested the Schiit bifrost & Schiit Asgard headphone amp with my Yamaha HRT-5590 from the same cdplayer and found the Yamaha to be more musical...who would have thought?

I think the main difference had to do with the class A headphone amp, so I guess there wasn't much of a difference w/ the DAC. Based off of this info, the Marantz amp section is more musical than the Yamaha so Marantz AVR > Yamaha AVR for music?

Also, would you recommend the Pioneer VSX-1022-K over the Marantz sr5006 for music and home theater?

I'm thinking: You have Polk LS90's. DAC's aren't where I would personally tell someone to spend their money.

The question I think need be asked is 'more comprehensive'? That deserves some exploration. You have a solid DAC already. Speaker upgrade would yield vastly improved results.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I say the DACs in the Marantz AVR is as good as the Emo DAC.

DAC is a matured technology; you won't hear a difference IMO.

Of course, some people do believe ext DACs sound better than AVR DACs, but I disagree.

So yes, I vote for buying the AVR and totally forget the DAC.

 

[agarwalro]

It's not the size of the DAC it's how you use it that matters .

Assuming the additional connectivity and HD Audio formats are immaterial, one feature in which mid level receivers trump expensive integrated amps and DAC+stereo pre-pro is, bass management (crossover frequency, distance and level) options.

 

[Marty McFly]

External Dacs are very often overpriced and I'm very skeptical of them, except then absolutely necessary - like in desktop audio (see D1 in my sig), sorry in most cases internal audio is too noisy.

Speaker of AVRs I wont recommend Pioneer over Marantz , due to Audyssey MultEQ XT which is considered by many as superior auto-room calibration technology....
Also There is another option:

Thanks for the link. I did hear that the Marantz sr5006 is a re-badged Denon AVR 1912. If this is the case, do you think it's wise to still go with the sr5006 if it's the same price as the AVR 1913?

 

[Marty McFly]

I say the DACs in the Marantz AVR is as good as the Emo DAC.

DAC is a matured technology; you won't hear a difference IMO.

Of course, some people do believe ext DACs sound better than AVR DACs, but I disagree.

So yes, I vote for buying the AVR and totally forget the DAC.

I tend to agree as well. The only case I would see an external DAC being useful is if it's used over a PC sound card. With all other applications, the performance margin seems to be very small...if there even is a difference.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The only case I would see an external DAC being useful is if it's used over a PC sound card.

We use the AVR DAC over the PC DAC too (bitstreaming from PC to AVR) so there really is no case for using an external DAC, especially if the DAC costs more than an AVR.

The only "case" for buying a DAC is if you just don't want to buy an AVR.

Thinking somehow a ext DAC sounds better than the AVR DAC just because the ext DAC has less parts and signal paths.

Thinking an analog preamp sounds better than a pre-pro because the preamp has less parts and signal paths.

Thinking a pre-pro sounds better than an AVR because the pre-pro has less parts and signal paths.

 

[macddmac]

I use an xda-1 for my second zone when using a digital source. I route the signal to the dac, then the receiver, then the now analog signal goes to the second zone amp.
Cheers, Mac

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I use an xda-1 for my second zone when using a digital source. I route the signal to the dac, then the receiver, then the now analog signal goes to the second zone amp.
Cheers, Mac

Oh, I see...because the other zones can only receive analog signal, not digital?

 

[macddmac]

Oh, I see...because the other zones can only receive analog signal, not digital?

Exactly! When I bought my 3313 I thought it had the zone 2 digital Source output. the 3312 did and I assumed the new model did as well
So, I was back to the place I was with my 2105! At least I had the xda on hand.
Cheers, Mac

 

[PENG]

Thanks for the link. I did hear that the Marantz sr5006 is a re-badged Denon AVR 1912. If this is the case, do you think it's wise to still go with the sr5006 if it's the same price as the AVR 1913?

I think the 1712/1912 have more robust power supplies than the 1X13 models, but that may be less important to you than the difference in the feature sets.