AVR with digital [DAC] by-pass

[MothAudio]

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I'm looking to replace my Denon AVR-590 * with a AVR that will allow me to connect an out-board DAC and ATST by-pass the internal AVR DAC. Just to clarify, I'm using the RCA output on the DAC to the analog input on the AVR. Any recommendations in the $500 range would be appreciated. Perhaps a dedicated pre-amp would be another option. TIA.


* The 590 has this feature but only in stereo mode.

[Mr Peabody]

I don't understand what you are trying to do, why buy a AVR which you know has a multichannel DAC jus to bypass it? It would seem to makemore sense to buy an AVR with a capable DAC that would make you happy. Is this for like multichannel SACD?

The only thing I can think of that may work would be an AVR with the multichannel analog inputs. McCormack and Conrad Johnson made multichannel preamps with no processing internal you might be able to pick up used, these may be just what you need.

[MothAudio]

I want surround and don't want to be stuck/limited with the captive AVR DAC that become quickly out-dated.

[Mr Peabody]

Well, what keeps the external DAC from being equally outdated? Really, HT DAC's don't become obsolete that quickly unless you want to be a 1st adopter of every whim of the industry. For instance, would you sell your receiver for Atmos? For me, if I have DTS-MA or Dolby Tru-HD, which we've had for some years now, I'm good. Hence, if you look at my signature you'll see a fairly old Marantz AV8003 that is still serving me well.

And, actually I know of no multichannel external DAC's that will decode movie soundtracks. So if you get the DAC in a Blu-ray player, for instance, it's still internal and likely inferior to the one in a receiver, but that's dependent on price and performance of each unit.

[MothAudio]

The DAC will be upgradeable by the manufacturer, so I'm eye-ballin' a smaller investment down the road. I'm not one of those that buys the latest iPhone. My HT speakers are 25 years old, my AVR is 7 and my 2 channel stuff is from the early 2000's.

The outboard DAC is for music playback rather than video. Looking at everything the weakest link is my AVR, so I want to upgrade with one that offers more HDMI ports, processor/pre-out and specifically the multi-channel DAC by-pass. The Marantz SR5008 looks interesting, not sure if it has the one feature I need.

[topspeed]

See if you can choose the input method on your avr. For example, I have my Denon sacd player connected by both RCA and hdmi. This way, if I select digital input on my Marantz SR5010 (you can do this on the 5008 as well), I'll be listening to the onboard AK dac. If I switch over to 7.1 analog input, I'm using the Burr Brown dac's on the Denon. It's not uncommon for me to flip back and forth just to see what sounds better with whatever source I'm playing, although 90% of the time, the much older BB's sound better to my ears. Like Mr. P implied, newer doesn't necessarily mean better.

Hope that helps.

[MothAudio]

Actually, my AVR has this "direct" option but only in stereo.

I should have clarified in my initial post that I wanted to bypass the AVR DAC and send the analog signal from the outboard DAC to all speakers not just stereo.

Researching further I believe the Marantz SR5070 may send the unprocessed signal to all speakers.

[topspeed]

Actually, my AVR has this "direct" option but only in stereo.

I should have clarified in my initial post that I wanted to bypass the AVR DAC and send the analog signal from the outboard DAC to all speakers not just stereo.

Researching further I believe the Marantz SR5070 may send the unprocessed signal to all speakers.

On Denon's, "Direct" bypasses room correction processing while "Pure Direct" will also shut down all video processing that is running in the back ground, this is why the display will go dark in PD mode. Some models also have programmable PD modes, which is what my SACD player does. PD is the closest you can get to turning your avr into a passive preamp and is arguably the cleanest signal, basically your source plus gain.

As I mentioned, you can bypass your avr's dacs by using analog inputs from the dac. Just make sure you choose "analog" on "input type" on your avr. The signal will reach whatever speakers you've chosen whether stereo or multi-channel.

BTW, the Modi 2 uses AK dacs. Before you to go to all of this trouble, you might call Marantz and see what dacs are on the avr you're considering as they have a penchant for using AK dacs.

[MothAudio]

On Denon's, "Direct" bypasses room correction processing while "Pure Direct" will also shut down all video processing that is running in the back ground, this is why the display will go dark in PD mode. Some models also have programmable PD modes, which is what my SACD player does. PD is the closest you can get to turning your avr into a passive preamp and is arguably the cleanest signal, basically your source plus gain.

As I mentioned, you can bypass your avr's dacs by using analog inputs from the dac. Just make sure you choose "analog" on "input type" on your avr. The signal will reach whatever speakers you've chosen whether stereo or multi-channel.

BTW, the Modi 2 uses AK dacs. Before you to go to all of this trouble, you might call Marantz and see what dacs are on the avr you're considering as they have a penchant for using AK dacs.

RCA out from my DAC to Analog input on AVR. You're right, the Marantz uses a AK4458 chip and my DAC has the new AK4490 chip.