I’m using Roon together with a Marantz Cinema 50 AVR and would like to optimize the sound quality through settings within Roon or on the device itself.
I have a few specific questions:
1. Which Roon DSP functions (e.g. upsampling, parametric EQ, DSD upsampling) are meaningful from a sound quality perspective when outputting audio to the Cinema 50 via HDMI or network?
2. Does the Marantz Cinema 50 support filter or oversampling modes (e.g. linear phase / minimum phase), and do they have a noticeable impact on sound?
3. What is the best way to output DSD files – natively, via DoP, or converted to PCM? Which method offers the best sonic results with this device?
4. Are there any best practices regarding clock management / synchronization between the Roon Core and the Cinema 50? Can jitter have an audible impact?
5. Can you recommend any sample rate and filter combinations that are especially effective for specific genres (e.g. jazz, electronic music)?
System overview:
• Roon Core runs on: macOS
• Signal path: Core → Ethernet → Marantz Cinema 50 → HDMI → Speakers
• DAC capabilities: up to DSD128 via HDMI, 192 kHz PCM (filter selection not visible in menu)
• Preferred genres: Jazz and electronic music
• Sound goal: as natural as possible
Thank you in advance for your support – I look forward to your recommendations.
We can move this thread to the Roon Software Discussion category where it will remain open for broader comment (posts in the support section close automatically once an issue is “resolved”), but we’ll provide some thoughts on your questions here first:
The particular MUSE DSP combinations would be secondary to the source material and speaker configuration (stereo, 5.1, 7.1) and physical placement. In a standard 5.1 HDMI setup, Parametric EQ can improve clarity and balance (general room correction) and will usually have the most immediate and noticeable psychoacoustic effect. Convolution will depend on and require specific room correction filters (e.g., from REW or Dirac).
This would be a question for Marantz specifically, but any impact of these settings would be minimal compared to the room configuration and DSP profiles in your audio chain (MUSE). AVRs don’t tend to expose detailed filter settings like linear/minimum phase.
Native DSD playback with a DSD-capable DAC is generally the desired output for DSD. This is a) not always possible and b) not necessarily a flexible configuration if you have a variety of devices and source materials (formats). The Marantz does not support native DSD or DoP from Windows and Mac, so in an HDMI configuration, any DSD would be converted to PCM by the AVR anyway. It’s probably easiest and simplest to convert to PCM via Roon first.
Via HDMI, clocking would be handled by the Marantz. Jitter wouldn’t be audible. RAAT sends a buffered stream; packet delay won’t degrade the audio. See here for more:
We’d be exposing ourselves to scrutiny by our highly opinionated user base if we endorsed a particular EQ combination for any genre. Generally, EQ should aim to highlight the frequency ranges (within the physical framework of your listening space) that will be significant within any genre. Sometimes, this is a more a question of dampening other frequency ranges. I recommend tinkering around or posing this question directly in Roon Software Discussion to see what some experienced listeners there might say.