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[Glimmerman911]

I was recommended by a friend to investigate MC for playback of high res losses audio files (include DSD formats, I have a setup for ripping SACD).

I have video and streaming covered through my Nvidia Shield, so just looking for audio.

What hardware would you recommend, and interface between the computer and my Marantz 7703 processor?  HDMI? Other?

I have a spare PC that is a core i5, 8GB RAM.  I also have a Radeon 580 graphics card if this is better than the built-in when it comes to audio?

Thanks in advance!

[wer]

What you have will do just fine. Faster more powerful graphics cards help if you're doing video, but for audio it won't matter.  HDMI will do fine for PCM output, and is optimal for the connection between your PC and the Marantz.

You'll find that doing DSD from a PC to a receiver has some issues, but those won't be resolved by upgrading your PC.  Read this for more: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/DSD

[dtc]

HDMI from a PC does not support DSD. The DSD support on the 7703 is through usb from a disk or from a SACD player.  You can also send DSD through DLNA, but I am not sure the 7703 supports DLNA.  It is not in the manual.

[Glimmerman911]

Thank you so much for the quick replies!

Thank you for the Wiki link, I read it and I now have more questions than answers, but thats the way these things go!

Reading my marantz 7707 manual, it says it can play DSD files through the network using JRiver:

"
Playing back a file saved on a PC or NAS
A server or server software compatible with distribution in the corresponding formats is required to play music files via a network.
For playing mentioned audio formats via a network a server software, for example Twonky Media Server or JRiver Media Server, needs to be installed
on your computer or NAS for full support. There are other server software available too. Please check supported formats.
DSD 2.8/5.6 MHz –.dsf/.dff
"

So I don't use HDMI from HTPC, but I setup JRiver on a computer then have it serve up the files over the network to my Marantz? 

[dtc]

Sorry - there is no mention of DLNA as a feature, but you are correct that it mentions accessing files on a PC through a DLNA server. That would mean using the Marantz to select the music to play. I did not see any mention of the Marantz acting as a DLNA renderer, which would allow MC to use the Marantz as an output device. But, that capability may be there. I did find one reference that seemed to say it works. I will defer to people to actually have the unit.

[Glimmerman911]

Sorry - there is no mention of DLNA as a feature, but you are correct that it mentions accessing files on a PC through a DLNA server. That would mean using the Marantz to select the music to play. I did not see any mention of the Marantz acting as a DLNA renderer, which would allow MC to use the Marantz as an output device. But, that capability may be there. I did find one reference that seemed to say it works. I will defer to people to actually have the unit.

Thanks again for the help, I believe I have a solution now which is a DLNA server and my Marantz as the player.  I will try with Twonky as my Unraid server has a Twonky docker so that only takes me a few minutes to setup.

[mojave]

I was recommended by a friend to investigate MC for playback of high res losses audio files (include DSD formats, I have a setup for ripping SACD).

I have video and streaming covered through my Nvidia Shield, so just looking for audio.

What hardware would you recommend, and interface between the computer and my Marantz 7703 processor?  HDMI? Other?

I have a spare PC that is a core i5, 8GB RAM.  I also have a Radeon 580 graphics card if this is better than the built-in when it comes to audio?

Thanks in advance!

Since the 7703 doesn't support DSD, you can use JRiver to convert your ripped SACD's to PCM during playback. The 7703 does support DLNA so you can either connect your PC directly to the Marantz with HDMI, or stream over your network if your PC and the 7703 is connected to the same network.
Your PC will work just fine for audio and you don't need the graphics card.

Edit:  You later say you have a 7707.

So I don't use HDMI from HTPC, but I setup JRiver on a computer then have it serve up the files over the network to my Marantz?

Yes, if you have the 7707.

[wer]

So I don't use HDMI from HTPC, but I setup JRiver on a computer then have it serve up the files over the network to my Marantz?

Glimmer, it's important for you to understand this is only about DSD.  As I explained in my first post, for everything EXCEPT DSD, the HDMI connection is optimal.

All these other posts are talking about DLNA in the context of DSD.

Moreover, the Marantz's support for DSD over DLNA is limited: it is 2 channel only. You will never get multichannel DSD into it that way. You would have to convert the multichannel DSD to PCM, and send it over HDMI.

On top of all that DLNA is a pain. You will have a better playback experience if you avoid it if you can.

If you want to do DSD well from a PC, or multichannel DSD at all, you will need to use a USB DAC like the Okto DAC8 and not the Marantz.

I suggest you experiment with listening to DSD converted to PCM over HDMI compared to DSD via DLNA to see if you even hear a difference worth going to the extra trouble.

[Glimmerman911]

I suggest you experiment with listening to DSD converted to PCM over HDMI compared to DSD via DLNA to see if you even hear a difference worth going to the extra trouble.

Do you have a recommendation how I could test the PCM as I do have multichannel DSD?  I have the nvidia shield (ideal player as it does my movies via plex), plex server, HTPC I could setup, unraid server with various dockers available, and xbox one s.