How much better is the DAC chip TDA1547 in DD-82 better than just SAA in Philips DCC900 sound-wise ?
I’m asking because my DD-82 has the same DAC board as my 900, both without the TDA. Had someone such a case ? Probably it was deliberately done because TDA supposed to better.
The DCC900 and all other 1st-gen machines (IIRC) use the SAA7350 DAC. The Marantz stationary recorders have the TDA1547 in addition to the SAA7350 because the TDA1547 needs some of the timing signals that the SAA7350 produces. In the Marantz machines, the analog output of the SAA7350 is not used if I remember correctly.
The difference in quality is a subjective matter. Some people say they can hear it, personally I can’t. Here’s how the TDA1547 datasheet boasts about its features:
FEATURES
Top-grade audio performance
– very low harmonic distortion
– high signal-to-noise ratio
– wide dynamic range of approximately 108 dB
(not A-weighted)High crosstalk immunity
Bitstream concept
– high over-sampling rate up to 192 fs
– pulse-density modulation
– inherently monotonic
– no zero-crossing distortion
===Jac
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Ok, thank You for the response. Anyways my DD-82 plays and records fine without the TDA1547.
If you own a Marantz with a board from a DCC900 (not TDA), then it was most likely switched.
The reason for it is that the board can be exchanged and they are triple layer, meaning if something goes wrong in the 2nd layer (not visible), you can’t repair it (as far as we know).
But you can use any other first Gen board and switch.
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