Marantz SA 14 upgrade or add DAC?

Have a Marantz SA14 circa early 2000's and can Upgrade to a OPPO 205 or add a DAC via Coaxial or optical.
Considering a Schiit Gungnir or Yggdrasil or perhaps a used DAC. Any thoughts? Listen mostly to Vinyl

mjs09-02-2018 9:16pm

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nesto719 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 77 posts 09-03-2018 at 03:43am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Interesting I have the same player and wondering the same ?
auxinput Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 2,920 posts 09-03-2018 at 04:35am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete It depends on your needs. The Oppo 205 is a 4K universal player with a VERY good DAC for a bluray player - you are paying for a jack-of-all-trades swiss army knife. However, there are much better stand-alone DACs out there if you can use your Marantz SA14 as a transport. I think the Yggdrasil will have much higher resolution and tonal qualities. Extremely clean. I have always been interested in the LKS MH-DA004, but I haven't gotten around to getting one yet. I recommend you always use digital COAX cable. Toslink is a very poor interface.
anwar Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 119 posts 09-03-2018 at 07:21am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete It depends on your needs, whether you are only playing redbook CDs or you also play high-res music, either in PCM or DSD. Playing DSD/SACD will not work if the external DAC is connected to the coaxial output of SA-14 or Oppo 205. If you have the budget, consider Marantz SA-10 or the limited edition Marantz SA-KI Ruby. Their approach in DAC-less conversion direct from DSD (all formats upsampled to DSD 4x) is worth reading.

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