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Post by jonathan on Aug 16, 2019 15:50:37 GMT -5
I was looking for a feature comparison but haven't located it.
If anyone has put together a list, I'd love to understand in what ways these two devices differ.
Thank you,
Jonathan
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Post by AudioHTIT on Aug 16, 2019 17:44:48 GMT -5
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Post by jonathan on Aug 17, 2019 11:59:00 GMT -5
Thank you so much. That spreadsheet was exactly the info I was looking for! Seems that the only significant feature difference is "AKM4490 DACs in Differential Mono Mode (best mode)" vs. all channels. I'm don't know what "Differential Mono Mode" is, so I'm not sure if this is important or not.
Thank you,
Jonathan
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Post by repeetavx on Aug 17, 2019 14:53:14 GMT -5
The AKM DAC chip itself is capable of delivering either: - two channels of fully balanced output (in "stereo mode")
- one channel of higher quality balanced output (in "mono mode")
However, the designer doesn't HAVE to take advantage of its balanced capabilities, so it can also be used as a stereo "unbalanced" DAC. (You simply connect the "+" output for each channel, and leave the "-" output unconnected, which saves you several parts, and a few foil traces, per channel.)
I have no idea what choices Marantz made in their various products.
I should also point out that we're talking about very small differences here.... For example, the S/N rating of the AK4490 DAC chip itself, is 120 dB in stereo mode, and 123 dB in mono mode. To put that in perspective, the theoretical maximum S/N for a CD is 98 dB... And, to put that in perspective, that is about the same as the difference between the noise floor in a quiet library and a jet aircraft at 50m.
When you connect an AK4490 DAC chip in "mono mode" you get slightly better performance (by the specs). However, when you connect them that way, you only get one channel per chip instead of two, so you need twice as many DAC chips, and a bunch of other extra parts as well .
And, while the difference can easily be measured, I really doubt that most people would hear the difference. And, yes, if you compare them carefully enough, the new AKM DAC chips sound a tiny bit different than the DAC chips we used in the XMC-1. However, the difference is probably less than the differences in sound between the mixing consoles they used to master your two favorite movies. (Do you read the details of every movie to see which brand of mastering console, which software, and which plugins, were used to master it?)
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