Ipod as source

Autor

Beitrag

Krish
Stammgast

#1 erstellt: 23. Jul 2007, 07:48

Hi,
B'cos of the fact that I was not carrying my music on CDs, I happened to hook up my iPod to a Marantz IS201 docking station( neat little gizmo,comes with a tiny remote and has all kinds of features ), while auditioning the Kandy Power Amp.A lot of the music stored in my iPod is either uncompressed or copied at a high bit rate.

I must admit that I was quite pleasantly surprised.I must hasten to add that I did not do a classical A/B comparison with output from the CDP (the Roksan Kandy CDP in this case).

That having been said, I thought that the reproduction in terms of resolution,timing,tonality... was quite stunning.

Oh, I might as well also add that the only genre that I did not listen to, was a Western Classical Symphony.That i'm sure would have been the acid test, but still...

The iPod dock in question retails for about GBP 100 in the U.K. See this link for more info

www.marantz.com/new/...s=hf&spotlight_id=14

Arj, I think you happen to use your iPod as source, don't you?

Anyway, I'm wondering what the rest of you feel about using the iPod as source.Th convenience is obvious, but wonder what the rest of you have to say about the fidelity bit.

K

Shahrukh
Inventar

#2 erstellt: 23. Jul 2007, 07:53

Yes krish, even I connect my pod directly to the amp - no dock. Except for the pain of getting up and changing tracks, it's quite good. But a CDP (Marantz 5001 > ) will thrash it any day!

But yes, they say these new docks from Marantz and Arcam are pretty darn good!

[Beitrag von Shahrukh am 23. Jul 2007, 07:58 bearbeitet]

soulforged
Stammgast

#3 erstellt: 23. Jul 2007, 08:39

Red Wine audio has an approved mod for iPods...pretty good I heard...

Redwine iMod

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#4 erstellt: 23. Jul 2007, 09:00

Hi,

I am quite an ipod freak myself.

Sadly have to admit that the iPod sound... even playing wav files does not hold a candle to my Universal Player ... an aging Denon 2900.

No matter which dock or cable is used, the iPod, provides the same Analog ( ONLY ) output from its Headphone jack or the underside connector used by Docks.

MSB is the 1st company that commercially modifies the iPod, to pull out a digital SPDIF output. Their Digital dock then stores it in Half a second of memory, reclocks the data to reduce jitter, adds a digital buffer and outputs it to feed to an external DAC.

MSB claim that the iPod diggital output has a LOT of jitter... they have some pictorial interpretations ( NOT Test results or factual O'scope pics ) on their website.

I think they charge some US $ 200 or so to modify your Ipod, and Hold Your Breath.... US $ 1900 for the digital doc... the External DAC is (ofcourse ) extra

The hope is that future iPods will have a digital output, though I doubt it personally, since the iPod is a mass market, notr a purist, niche product, and DACs are not sold at Walmart..

[Beitrag von Amp_Nut am 23. Jul 2007, 09:01 bearbeitet]

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#5 erstellt: 23. Jul 2007, 09:05

The Redwine mod cis an Analog Output.

They bypass the Internal Volume control of the pod to improve sound quality, and provide a fixed output level ( Line Out ) instead.

Yup, they seem to have been well received...

But personally, the I find the iPod So much inferior to a CD (my ) player, that would not want to put good money in trying to improve that analog audio output...

Arj
Inventar

#6 erstellt: 23. Jul 2007, 10:12

Hi Krish,
I too found the ipod to be pretty good as a source..the output amp for the Ipod is not really capable of handling amps which are tough loads hence a Tube Buffer really helps. else i thought that the dynamics were just that little bit congested.

I finally moved to getting an Airport Express which got digital straming from my PC..and the AE was connected to my DAC. that I felt made a fantastic transport !

vjcritic
Ist häufiger hier

#7 erstellt: 23. Jul 2007, 17:47

http://www.aloaudio.com/

Initially I though of buying one of the Lineout docks but after doing some research I sourced the parts and made one myself. It does not look that good but it works.

Some of these docks in the link are just outrageous. If you have ever looked in to the IPOD Dock connector you will understand how small the pins are and how hard it is to solder the connection.

surrealistix
Ist häufiger hier

#8 erstellt: 02. Aug 2007, 14:46

Can you suggest a good iPod Dock with a remote available easily in India?

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#9 erstellt: 03. Aug 2007, 04:47

The Apple Dock ?

I have been using it for almost 2 years.

If I recall correctly, the package includes a charger... and ofcourse the remote control

It was available in the Mumbai grey market for about Rs 6 K.

I dont know the position now.