A quick glance online finds this on the Marantz AV7702.
- DACs: TI PCM 1690 (24-bit/192kHz)
- Four Analog Devices SHARC 32-bit DSPs
- D/A Conversion for Zones 2 and 3
I'm encouraged by Blumlein's comment about his AV7701's HDMI audio, because I also found this online, at the same article as spec-quoted above - which suggests that this is an issue for a lot of people with mass market receivers:
Marantz also upgraded the DAC compared to the AV7701. Dr. Rich again: “The 7702 DAC has a slight upgrade to the TI PCM 1690, which is the workhorse standard in AVRs these days up to about $1000 – $1500 when the transition to better DACs in Pioneer, Yamaha and Onkyo occur.
https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews...rantz-av7702-surround-sound-processor-review/
So whether because of the age, or this pre/pro's mass market nature, no ESS or AKM chips. I hope the following article suggests that TI takes pride in their lack of jitter for all digital, even HDMI audio.
https://www10.edacafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=ICNews&articleid=361986
I thought that Burr Brown was distinct from TI, but this article - which is way over my head - suggests that some attention went into jitter reduction,
https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/pcm1690.pdf?ts=1602376552022&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Page 26:
The PCM1690operatesunderthe systemclock(SCKI)and the audiosamplingrate (LRCK).Therefore,SCKIand LRCKmusthavea specificrelationship.The PCM1690doesnot needa specificphaserelationshipbetweenthe audiointerfaceclocks(LRCK,BCK)and the systemclock(SCKI),but doesrequirea specificfrequencyrelationship(ratiometric)betweenLRCK,BCK,and SCKI.If the relationshipbetweenSCKIand LRCKchangesmorethan±2 BCKclocksbecauseof jitter,samplingfrequencychange,etc.,the DACinternaloperationstopswithin1/fS, and the analogoutputis forcedinto VCOM(0.5 VCC1)until re-synchronizationbetweenSCKI,LRCK,and BCKcompletesand then38/fS(single,dualrate)or 29/fS(quadrate)passes.In the eventthe changeis less than±2 BCKs,re-synchronizationdoesnot occur,and this analogoutputcontroland discontinuitydoesnot occur.
I cannot tell if this relates to HDMI audio as well.
Blumlein's review of the prior TI-based DAC opined "
So just as a DAC, this isn't up to some of the better DACs around though it is hardly terrible."
EDIT: Just a reminder, you seemed even less impressed by the DAC in the 7002's successor, the 7705:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...z-av7705-home-theater-processor-review.11359/
2 years later, with such great, inexpensive Topping DACs available, I can imagine benefit to using the zone 2's digital output, unless it being HDMI makes that counter-productive. Because of both jitter and connectivity.