Hi,
Finally decided to go for a streamer.
my set up is:-
1.Marantz PM6007
2.Philips dvd player-coax out to marantz
3.Sony dvd player -rca out to marantz(mainly for the presence of usb input that was missing on the philips) .
Since i guess rcaout from sony dvd to marantz just bypasses the AKM dac on marantz PM6007 i hoped that any preamp like WX-c 50 can take the rca ins from the dvd but still i guess it will bypass the ess or burr brown dacs on the yamaha wx-c because i guess that the analog outputs wont involve the dacs.Correct me if i am wrong.
So seeing this set up what do u think is better to use as a network streamer/dac cum usb playing set up.i looked at allo boss2 since i saw it got a good dac and i can feed the rca outputs to the rca in of my marantz and get really good sound.
The only confusion is among the two
1.Yamaha WXC-50 - Rs 25000(India)/340$
2.Allo Boss 2 player(with Shanti)- Rs 21000(India)/286$
I will pair this with my Marantz PM6007 and will use for playing files from usb and as a network streamer(mainly Airplay) for Tidal and spotify/apple music.
Which do you guys think is the better one among the two(in terms of SQ)?
Note:-
I have heard the sound signature of Yamaha RX-V685 and i have liked it better than my present Marantz PM6007.
Also the ALLO Boss 2 review of Amir(audio science review) looks great.
The Allo Boss 2 did measure at least 20 dB better than the WXA-50 on the ASR bench in pre out SINAD. The WXC-50 should measure about the same.
Assuming both has the features you need, then I think it is an easy decision if you think you can hear the difference between 90 dB SINAD and 110 dB SINAD. Even under the worst case scenario, I doubt the WXC-50 would have SINAD below 70 dB and that's 0.03% THD+N!!
If you end up with the WXC-50, you can still bypass
The Yamaha's analog input will get double conversion, as the signal flow would be from analog to ADC to DAC so if you use it to control the volume you will lose probably another 10 dB SINAD depending on how good its ADC is, but again, can you hear the difference?
Considering the price it would seem the Yamaha is a better deal because in the US and Canada the price difference between the two is much bigger.
Based on specs and measurements, it is clear objectively speaking the Allo Boss 2 has better SQ, but subjectively I don't believe there will be audible difference, all else being equal, because the Yamaha's measurements were very good, much better than the only AVR measured, the RX-A1080, and better than any of the Marantz AVRs and AVPs measured (except the flagship AV8805 that measured marginally better).
Regarding your concern of double conversion if you end up with the WXC-50, you can use the analog aux output to feed the PM6007 and bypass the WXC-50's ADC/DAC.
