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Comparing external DAC to CD player DAC

I have been using a well-known, inexpensive ($300), and well regarded DAC with an old MAC as a music server.  I also stream TIDAL masters and use the CD transport through the server, all going through the external DAC.   I recently pulled out my old CD player, a Marantz CD-67se: an "oldie but a goodie".  The CD player with its onboard, 20+year old DAC is far superior to what I am experiencing with the external DAC, from any source..  Is this expected.  I am not opposed to purchasing a new external DAC, but i really don't want to spend thousands of dollars to reproduce sound I can get from a 20 year old CD player.  What am i missing? Could I be I doing something wrong, or could my external DAC be malfunctioning.

djbarabino
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,344 posts
 

Mac into that level dac will fall short of the sound quality that marantz cdp produces. To run a fair comparison and or to determine the real potential if that dac run your cdp into it via spdif. 

lanx0003
676 posts
 

I also had Marantz CD-67se.  Not one but two that I purchased 25 years ago from a sale as far as I could recall.  The SQ out of CD-67se is good but nothing special really to write home about.  Both of them quit a while ago.  I replace one of them with the vintage Rotel RCD 855 with the well-known Philips TDA 1541 chip.  It performs brilliantly with detailed treble, warm midrange and solid bass, better than Marantz. 

itsjustme
681 posts
 

good gracious - the Rotel 855 was very good at the time and price, but was far from truly audiophile.  I had one - at the price loved it.  (actually i still have it -- somewhere) But i can move into a totally different world with a regular nothing special mac laptop, bitperfect, lossless files, and one of many dacs under $500. Now that i have a solid foundation in what's being discussed somethign is very, very wrong with the OP's experience. 

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