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[vigotone]

I've been playing around with my new Marantz 8805, which replaces an 8801. In the past, I've played music files from my Mac Mini music server (with JRiver Media Center) through the Oppo 205 via DLNA, which was connected to the 8801 via Analog, to take advantage of the superior DACs in the 205. Now with the new Marantz 8805, I've been trying out the digital connection from the Oppo 205, to check out the improved DACs in that unit as well as the implementation of Audyssey. It actually sounds great, so I'm not sure which I prefer just yet.

Here's my question: Today I compared the sound of music files played through JRiver to the Oppo 205 via DLNA, connected via HDMI to the 8805 to the same music played directly from the Mac Mini connected directly to the 8805 via HDMI, and there is a definite difference. First off, the levels are different, with the Mac Mini direct music being about 10 "volume levels" louder (sorry I didn't use an SPL meter, so I'm referring to the number on the volume level). Secondly, the sound feels "warmer" directly from the Mac Mini to the 8805, with the sound coming through the 205 via DLNA slightly thinner sounding. Thirdly, because these were 5.1 FLAC files, the surround felt more enveloping directly from the Mac Mini.

I checked in JRiver, and as far as I can tell, there are no settings that differentiate between direct playback and DLNA playback (i.e. all DSP's are off). And since I'm connecting the 205 to the Marantz 8805 via HDMI, any sound configuration settings in the 205 (crossover, speaker levels, etc) should be bypassed. So shouldn't they in theory sound identical?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[bob]

What are your MC DLNA server settings? If your renderer can play all of the formats in your library you should have it set to Original Format.

[vigotone]

Yes, everything is set to ORIGINAL. No DSP is applied in JRiver using DLNA or in the main player. And since I'm going from the Oppo 205 to my Pre-Pro via HDMI, none of the configuration settings in the 205 should apply either. I just don't understand why there would be any sonic difference between DLNA in the 205 to my Pre/Pro via HDMI and direct HDMI from my Mac Mini to my Pre/Pro!

[bob]

Yes, everything is set to ORIGINAL. No DSP is applied in JRiver using DLNA or in the main player. And since I'm going from the Oppo 205 to my Pre-Pro via HDMI, none of the configuration settings in the 205 should apply either. I just don't understand why there would be any sonic difference between DLNA in the 205 to my Pre/Pro via HDMI and direct HDMI from my Mac Mini to my Pre/Pro!

I don't either. Seems like the whole chain is digital unless someone along the line is applying replay gain.

[wer]

No offense intended, but if the Marantz is new to you, are you sure of all the settings it's actually using?

It can set DSP, effects, attenuation etc differently per input and per type of input signal. It may be applying totally different settings to the DLNA stream vs the Mac HDMI input vs the Oppo HDMI input.

You'd need to investigate that.

One way you can narrow things down is to swap the inputs the Oppo and Mac are on.

If all settings are the same, on both source and destination, it will sound the same.  If it doesn't sound the same, that's telling you something is different.

[vigotone]

I'll take a look, but other than Audyssey (which I believe is uniformly applied across all digital inputs), I'm not using any other DSP or effects. But that's a great idea to try swapping the two inputs and seeing if that changes things. Thanks so much.

[vigotone]

I figured it out! Audyssey is not uniformly engaged in all inputs. In my case, "Dynamic EQ" was ON for the Mac Mini input, but OFF for Blu-ray. Problem solved. Thanks so much for your help!

[wer]

Glad to help...

Just goes to show, the more sophisticated these processors become, the easier it is to overlook something.

[AndrewFG]

I just don't understand why there would be any sonic difference between DLNA in the 205 to my Pre/Pro via HDMI and direct HDMI from my Mac Mini to my Pre/Pro!

The output of MC to HDMI may have MCs digital volume control being applied. Whereas it’s output over DLNA certainly does not. So the two output bit streams may not be identical. You can disable MCs volume control in settings..

[vigotone]

Thanks! Just in case, I disabled volume control.

I also have a question about Room Correction: I'm assuming that going directly from the Mac Mini to the Marantz 8805 Pre/Pro with Audyssey means that I should not engage any room correction in JRiver (speaker distances, crossover, etc.) since Audyssey is handling that in the 8805. But if I'm using DLNA from the Oppo 205 to the Marantz via Analog (to take advantage of the DACs in the 205), should I use Room Correction in JRiver? I've set speaker distances and levels in the 205 using a SPL meter, so I'm assuming any Room Correction I do in JRiver in this instance would be in effect "doubling up". Is that correct?

Given my setup, is there any advantage to JRiver's Room Correction over either Audyssey XT32 in my Pre/Pro or the speaker configuration in the 205?

[wer]

Regarding going through the Oppo, the situation is the same: apply the Audyssey settings in the Marantz, and not in MC.  That way the two sources will sound the same.

Regarding JRiver vs Marantz:  The Marantz is capable of giving you much better adjustments than the MC room correction module, which is simplistic. Plus, the Marantz has already performed its measurements if you went through the setup process.  You would have to futz with the MC settings.

However, if you are talking about Convolution, that is something else.  MC can give extremely high quality and accurate adjustments when using the convolution filter, but there is a LOT of work in getting that measured and setup.  MC Convolution can give equal (or superior) results to Audyssey, if you put the work in and have the know-how.  Unless you know what you're doing, I would recommend you stick with the Audyssey system in the Marantz.