Bushmaster & Marantz NR1403 AV Amp
I have been a happy owner of a Bushmaster since September. I recently upgraded my AV amp to a Marantz NR1403. Unlike many AV amps these days it has pre-outs so I can drive my B&W main speakers via the unity gain AUX input on my Linn Kairn pre-amp. That way the NR1403 controls the volume. What's this got to do with the Bushmaster?
Just as an experiment I thought I would see what the DAC in the NR1403 is like (the Analog Devices ADSP21487 DAC chip), so I connected my SB Touch directly to it using the optical input. The SBT was connected to the BM via coax and then to the Kairn. This allowed A-B comparisons simply switching between CD and AUX inputs on the Kairn.
The surprising bit is that when using the "Pure Direct" mode of the NR1403 - which shuts off unused electronics - I could barely tell the difference between the two, even when I switched the coax and optical connections. When pushed the BM gives a slightly more 3D sound, but that's it. Without "Pure Direct" mode the sound is clearly harsher.
Any thoughts on why the DAC in this £250 AV-Amp sounds almost as good as the BM in my system?
Cheers
Alastair
RPI4/PI2AES running PiCorePlayer/LMS-> AQ Carbon AES -> Topping D90 DAC-> Khozomo Passive Pre-Amp -> 4x Temple Audio Monoblocks powered by 2xLiFePO batteries->Van Damme Black Bi-Wired to B&W 804 Nautilus and Sommer Carbokab 225 Interconnects