maverick audio DAC VS Marantz cd6003

[vaibhav.gadade]

so now that i own both the MAverick audio DAC and Marantz audio CD 6003 i did an AB comparison over the weekend and here are the results

constants were,
bob james and earl klugh CD titled cool, track 2- as it happens
NAD C320 BEE integrated amp
nibbana esika transmission line speakers
sommer interconnects

CD 6003 was used as a transport with the DAC

the DAC sounded better than my Samsung DVD player by about 10%

CD6003 sounds better than the DAC by nearly 25%

i believe thats a huge margin. the separation is awesome, the speed is impeccable, and the airy-ness in the highs is to die for.

conclusion-the DAC is a bust. the CD player is a gem.

@esantosh and iaudio.........should have asked you guys before i placed the order for the DAC. but then again...........the reviews on head-fi were all praises for the DAC and very convincing.

hence guys, pls take this comparison of mine too with a pinch of salt. if you can, pls. listen to these units yourself before you decide to buy.

 

[gobble]

so now that i own both the MAverick audio DAC and Marantz audio CD 6003 i did an AB comparison over the weekend and here are the results

constants were,
bob james and earl klugh CD titled cool, track 2- as it happens
NAD C320 BEE integrated amp
nibbana esika transmission line speakers
sommer interconnects

CD 6003 was used as a transport with the DAC

the DAC sounded better than my Samsung DVD player by about 10%

CD6003 sounds better than the DAC by nearly 25%

i believe thats a huge margin. the separation is awesome, the speed is impeccable, and the airy-ness in the highs is to die for.

conclusion-the DAC is a bust. the CD player is a gem.

@esantosh and iaudio.........should have asked you guys before i placed the order for the DAC. but then again...........the reviews on head-fi were all praises for the DAC and very convincing.

hence guys, pls take this comparison of mine too with a pinch of salt. if you can, pls. listen to these units yourself before you decide to buy.

Did you use optical or coax from transport to the DAC? Optical may have resulted in bad SQ from DAC. Although after evaluating a few sources like Oppo, Nad, CA, and another DAC, I believe the cd6002 is the best budget source one can buy below 20K...

cheers

 

[rallynut]

i distinctly remember someone mentioning that the dac section of the maverick was no great shakes,but the headamp section was excellent.budget dacs are exactly what they are,at a budget.therefore comparos do get a bit suspect .still,always nice to know perceived differences .BTW,u have some interesting speakers there!!!!how much did they set u back by hyeah:??impressions??cheers

 

[rolen29]

Hi..could you please help me in buying a good AVR..I found Denon 1311 to be good having DTS HD MA and 3D capabilities with 1.4 hdmi...my interest is music and more movies..

 

[vaibhav.gadade]

@ globble, i used the coax. i did try the digital too, but negligible difference between the two. i know i have a strong opinion against the DAC, but then again, the CD6003 is really that good.

@rallynut, the speakers are really good. 78k and i think they are very modestly priced for the awesome soundstage and imaging they generate. also, bass without any port resonances, clean clear and deep. i really like those transmission lines. quality over quantity i would say.

 

[rallynut]

@vaibhav,true,good TL designs present sonics beautifully,esp the bass :licklips:.very nice speakers from the looks of them and would love to hear them sometime .congrats,nice rig there!cheers

 

[iaudio]

Vaibhav, pl do start a thread with more info on your speakers. Pics, details of the drivers used etc would be much appreciated.
Absolultely agree with you on Tl speakers, esp the bass. Its the best I have heard.

Regarding the Maveric D1 I was also at one point very interested in the DAC( or any budget DAC that would help integrate the music on my PC to the set up without loss in sound quality) but from whatever little I have heard it is hard to get a DAC which actually matches the SQ of a CDp at the budget level.
The Maverick D1 was not sounding anywhere as good as the Marantz cd63 when I listened to both at esanthoshs place. However, I found the headphone out very impressive, neutral, detailed and powerful.
I have a very basic Nuforce udac and here again it is no giant killer as its makers claim on the accompanying leaflet, claiming to usurp many budget cd players.
At another members place, we had auditioned the Keces 131 against the CD6002 and there again the former was lagging way behind the latter.
The DDDac at another members place sounded better than all the above, with actually some body and good tone, but again in the set up I listened to, it lacked speed.

 

[sonosphere]

@ globble,

@rallynut, the speakers are really good. 78k and i think they are very modestly priced for the awesome soundstage and imaging they generate. also, bass without any port resonances, clean clear and deep. i really like those transmission lines. quality over quantity i would say.

Hi Vaibhav,
I saw the DVI bookshelves in nibbana website.
1. Did you audition the DVI bookshelves? If yes please share your impressions.
2. Any idea how much they cost?

Thanks,
Sonosphere

 

[magma]

i distinctly remember someone mentioning that the dac section of the maverick was no great shakes,but the headamp section was excellent.budget dacs are exactly what they are,at a budget.therefore comparos do get a bit suspect .still,always nice to know perceived differences .s

i have gotten so tired reiterating this for so many budget dac buyers that i dont bother anymore and just quietly observe
ofcourse everone is entitled to his own opinion and there must be many happy dac buyers
the above is just my own opinion
P.s i have heard quite a bit of my share of budget dacs and was never impressed
Theres only 1 budget dac that has managed to win me over but thats about it
All other sub 300$ dacs are well lets say in the words of the OP
"proablably just 10% better than a standalone DVDP "

 

[esanthosh]

uDAC, Maverick and probably Audinst - all are better headphone amps than DACs. That's the budget DAC thing, I guess. It's got that Wow factor for headphone listeners, but once you try to put them in a speaker setup, you always get disappointed. Lesson learned after spending a lot

PS: I'll still keep Maverick as my headphone amplifier and uDAC for IEMs and travel.

 

[sonosphere]

.....
"proablably just 10% better than a standalone DVDP "

Hi Magma,
Have you auditioned Cambridge Audio DACMagic? If yes, what "% better" would you put it above a DVDP?
Thanks,
Sonosphere

 

[moktan]

i am not sure if the price at which i bought my dac is 'budget' ..but i am quite happy with my MUSICA usb 30 (Rs15000/-)...i find it as good if not better than my 6002...however what it does, in allowing me to access the musical content in the notebook, is the real clincher ...
these days i haven't been using my cd player at all and i don't seem to be missing anything..
but those are just my two pence..

 

[iaudio]

Moktan, but isnt your Musica Dac actually from a higher price bracket? or does it normally retail for INR15k? Really good to know its doing well and giving you a solid alternative to the cd6002. I would love something like that too.

 

[magma]

Hi Magma,
Have you auditioned Cambridge Audio DACMagic? If yes, what "% better" would you put it above a DVDP?
Thanks,
Sonosphere

dear sono
though ive heard the said dac
im not getting into this % thing since everyone has there own views about how each dac sounds
Secondly it derails this thread

i am not sure if the price at which i bought my dac is 'budget' ..but i am quite happy with my MUSICA usb 30 (Rs15000/-)...i find it as good if not better than my 6002...however what it does, in allowing me to access the musical content in the notebook, is the real clincher ...
these days i haven't been using my cd player at all and i don't seem to be missing anything..
but those are just my two pence..

moktan
yes for people into computer source audio the dac makes most sense, In this scenario yes the dac would be needed
even a budget dac is better than most sc's
i myslef use the PC as source

however once you start compairng with CDP;s then thats where budget dacs dont do well

 

[iaudio]

Thats why even though I have a lot of audio on pc and do play it a lot, I find myself switching it off and turning on the CDP when I really want the music to 'sweep me off my feet'!

 

[moktan]

i think the eden audio retails the musica dac for about 500 euros..at least that is the price on the eden audio site...the japanese sites too sell the dac in the same range..
i happened to be the happy purchaser of another musica product from ARN the musica INT 30 amp (thanks Gobble for the auditions)...and it was for that reason perhaps that i was offered the said DAC at that price..
the amp which i had bought earlier (at 17K) has very low wattage (15Watts ) and would pair only with high sensitivity speakers....which i happened to posses in my audire callistoes..it was perhaps for that reason (another reason could be that musica is a relatively 'unknown' brand) that there weren't too many takers for it..
so apart from that a few other things fell in place..
i who happened to be someone who listens to a very specialized genre of music (acoustic jazz, female vocals most of the times) at moderate to low volumes
Gobble who happened to have the same speakers as mine and graciously volunteered to audition the amps..
and forum member Odyssey who was game in having the amp and the dac delivered to me on 'buy it if you like it basis'...
and Cranky of course who gave his seal of approval on the products....
apart from the fact that i have enjoyed these products i would like to share the very reassuring experience of having bought these things from Odyssey...

 

[rallynut]

@magma,ur right.in fact im quite dependent on my hard drive for music and have very few cd's ,therefore the dac does a stellar job .and more importantly,setup synergy will always be the clincher.sonics thru a budget dac in a well integrated budget system will sound beautiful,at least enough for u to marvel at how relatively 'inexpensive' ur investment in audio was .still,a cdp will be irreplaceable.curious though,which dac were u even remotely happy with ??cheers

 

[cooltoad]

M agma, what is that one budget dac?

Theres only 1 budget dac that has managed to win me over but thats about it All other sub 300$ dacs are well lets say in the words of the OP"proablably just 10% better than a standalone DVDP "

 

[Kittu]

What is it magma ? :signthankspin:

 

[iaudio]

i think the eden audio retails the musica dac for about 500 euros..at least that is the price on the eden audio site...the japanese sites too sell the dac in the same range..
i happened to be the happy purchaser of another musica product from ARN the musica INT 30 amp (thanks Gobble for the auditions)...and it was for that reason perhaps that i was offered the said DAC at that price..
the amp which i had bought earlier (at 17K) has very low wattage (15Watts ) and would pair only with high sensitivity speakers....which i happened to posses in my audire callistoes..it was perhaps for that reason (another reason could be that musica is a relatively 'unknown' brand) that there weren't too many takers for it..
so apart from that a few other things fell in place..
i who happened to be someone who listens to a very specialized genre of music (acoustic jazz, female vocals most of the times) at moderate to low volumes
Gobble who happened to have the same speakers as mine and graciously volunteered to audition the amps..
and forum member Odyssey who was game in having the amp and the dac delivered to me on 'buy it if you like it basis'...
and Cranky of course who gave his seal of approval on the products....
apart from the fact that i have enjoyed these products i would like to share the very reassuring experience of having bought these things from Odyssey...

Yes Moktan I do remember you saying something about Gobble auditioning it for you and helping you take a call. As for Sridhar, with what little I have been able to interact with him, he comes across as a gem of a guy. Definitely makes you comfortable, assured when you buy stuff from him.
Coming back to the Musica, so its again a 500 euro dac, thats the catch!