I have a PerfectWave MkII with Bridge and I’m about to connect to my McIntosh C48 preamp and configure to stream from my DLNA media server across the LAN.
Currently, my Marantz SA14S1 SACD is connected to an RCA input on the C48. The Marantz has a coax and optical digital output. Would it be worth running this through the PSA DAC and if so, what would be the best method?
Thanks in advance.
Welcome to the forum!
I’m not familiar with the SA14S1, but if it’s like every other Marantz SACD player I’ve seen (SA8005, SACD 30n, Ki Ruby, SA10), outputting through its digital connections automatically disables reading of the DSD layers of the discs. Those players limit their digital outs to passing only 16/44.1 data, whether using coax or optical. If you want to play DSD, it has to be through the player’s internal DAC and output through its analog RCAs.
If you already knew that, and are just wondering about whether you’d hear an improvement in regular CD playback through the PerfectWave instead of the player’s internal DAC, why not go ahead and try it and see what you think? As to the method, I’ve always heard that coax is better than Toslink.
Edit: I couldn’t find an online manual for that player, but I see a spec sheet that says it will output DSD data through a USB-B port. That’s interesting. And that the coax and optical, while limited to PCM, will pass higher sampling rates up to 192k.
Thanks for your reply Craig and no, I did not know that. Based on what you’ve told me, I would be best to continue using the built-in DAC.