A true heavyweight in the realm of standalone DACs at this price point. While this offering from Marantz is beginning to show its age, it still offers the most dynamic and detailed sound not only in its own class, but is quite comfortable punching well above its weight as well. When a friend brought his Chord Hugo over for a head-to-head comparison, neither of us could pick a clear winner... Yes, its that good. In fact, the performance level of this Marantz DAC greatly surpasses the expectations one might have, when based upon its budget DAC price tag alone. I replaced a similarly priced Rega DAC with this unit. Both units are very well constructed, and use high quality components. In the end, however, the Marantz blows the Rega away when it comes to sound quality. The only reason I only gave four stars is this DACs age, and subsequent lack of features which have been developed since its release. These include the inability to upscale to DSD. While it has the ability to play hi-res tracks which are already in native DSD 2.8 or 5.8, that is as far as it goes. No DSD 64/128 or higher, and or course, no MQA. I highly recommended this DAC for anyone searching for one of the best sounding and best built DACs out there, as long as there is no need for your DAC to handle high-rate DSD or MQA.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I originally saw a review o this product that was described as having "a great DAC and a damn good amplifier". I wanted one with a USB port because I'm using it as a desktop Amp for my PC. My other ones didn't produce enough power to kick the sound up where I enjoy it. It has a ton of power. runs cooler than my Audio GD NFB 11.28 and is simple to operate. I would highly recommend this for anyone. Best money I spent on my audiophile collection.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
There are so many DACs on the market it's hard to know where to begin. I chose the Marantz unit primarily because it has a variable output feature using RCA connectors and I have the Marantz reference limited edition components and felt it would be a good sonic fit. I have NOT been disappointed. This item works beautifully streaming TIDAL through an ASUS PC. I'm sure there are better DACs on the market, but I am confident that it would be hard to better the performance of the Marantz HD-DAC1 at anything close to this price point.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Don't be fooled by low cost Chinise Dac/Amps. They can sound good but this is a whole different league. Deep,rich extended bass. bought this used and it blows way Fiio K7.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Was using my high end marantz universal player (if i recall over $3K) with its internal DAC only. now i route the optical output through HD-DAC1 before signal hits the pre-amp. OMG, what an enhanced listening experience. i had no idea how important it is to incorporate a modern outboard DAC.. i get it now !!! Game Changer
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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