Are digital iPod docks worth checking out?

Dimitri

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Originally Posted by Themis

Well, if you use the earphone out, then, I would advice to consider buying a dock cable like this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Line-Out-RCA-x...item5d277951fa before considering getting a digital dock.
The dac inside the iPod is not that bad. ;)

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Thanks again for this. I ordered the cable in the end, as relatively cheap - even cheaper if you make an offer.

You say the dac inside the iPod is not that bad - mine's a Classic - and it certainly seems good enough for what's on it at present, though now I should put some lossless encoded material on if I can figure that out. Perhaps the dacs used differ between the different iPods. Are they all roughly equally good? We also have a nano and an iPod Touch - not mine though.

I want to ask more about the Onkyo dock - but will wait for a later post.

I had an email today about the iPad - http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/. Does that also have audio out - hopefully decent quality? Could be worth checking that out when it finally becomes available.

Steve

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Originally Posted by twelvebears

I'd recommend the Onkyo dock myself as I have one and it's really good.

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If the music is on the iPod as Apple lossless, the results are pretty bloody good too.

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Looking at the specs for the Onkyo, does it only have digital outputs? No analogue? Not quite sure what kind of beast it is - whether it just converts the Apple output to SPDIF for feed into an external DAC, or if it also has its own DAC.

Also, there is mention of video outputs, but only composite. Is that good? Perhaps if you're only interested in audio you've not checked - but I could find a use for my iPod as a video storage device, and a dock like thiis could make it more useful/useable.

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Originally Posted by dave2010

Looking at the spec of the Onkyo NDS1 dock, it also has a video out capability via composite video. Not sure what level of quality could be obtained with that.

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Now found the manual on the Onkyo site - http://www.eu.onkyo.com/dl/1459201/M...S1_English.pdf

at http://www.eu.onkyo.com/products/ND-S1.html

It's now clear to me that this is "only" a way of getting Toslink/SPDIF out, though has a few bonus features, such as video and remote control.

Mac users presumably don't need to bother - or if they have older Macs without the optical out they perhaps can't. The device seems to be PC only.

It's not a DAC, so there's no analogue output.

For iPod owners it may be a cheaper option (altogether) than buying one of these http://www.m2tech.biz/products.html (as well). Which would match a DAC better I don't know.

Alternatively it might be possible to play through a computer - though my PC currently seems temperamental (actually it's iTunes, which I note some here hate), and doesn't seem to want to output sound from my iPod through my PC. No doubt some software nonsense. AFAIK it's not even the case that the library is different - unless I inadvertently connected the iPod to my wife's machine.

As I mentioned earlier, it does have a video out, but I don't know how good that is. Has anyone here tried it? What resolution settings are possible?

Hi I use a digital dock the Wadia 170i - it sounds a lot better than using it directly via the mini out jack I play mine through a Beresford Caiman and the detail using it using Apple Lossless is staggering - it bypasses the audio chips and Stan's amazing DAC does the rest I am having another power supply built for it as the standard Wadia runs extremely hot and there is no way to turn the unit off from the mains the PSU unit is hidden inside a a sideboard with a number of malt whiskies - not a good combination... I haven't heard the Onkyo but the comics rate it ... I rate my Classic Wadia combo I have the convenience of a portable music collection which I can enjoy at home...

Kind Regards - Martyn

Thanks Martyn. I found a Wadia FAQ - http://www.wadia.com/products/transp...nsport_FAQ.pdf taken from this site - http://www.wadia.com/products/transp...technology.php

On the face of it this does seem a bit cleverer than the Onkyo dock, but some things aren't clear. The video output is component (compared with composite) or S-video - but not HDMI. The note in the pdf file says that the video is simply passed through.

There's a pair of analogue outputs, but no statement about how the audio is generated. If I were making/marketing such a device I'd be inclined to trumpet the DAC capabilities if they're good, or make some statement about passing on a digital signal to another device for improved quality. It seems odd that there isn't any statement about this.

I have a wire (recommended by Dimitri) which passes the audio signal from an iPod to my amp, and it's a clear improvement over the headphone output, but there's no DAC involved.

Actually I'd expect the Wadia to contain a DAC, though perhaps a competent rather than outstanding one, but the documentation doesn't make this clear at all.

The comments re video outputs suggest that if I need more information about video I should look elsewhere, and that's also making me wonder if there's a cheap cable which will allow me to use an iPod with a TV e.g iPod connector to HDMI or similar.

The price I found for the Wadia is around £345, so personally I'd be interested to know exactly what's in the box to justify the quite high cost.
It may, of course, be outstanding, but the Onkyo (which maybe doesn't actually do too much - other than convert to SPDIF and pass through video, together with some remote control functionality) can be had for around £125. The difference in cost is over £200, which might buy a few beers or even dinners.

Most of us can't afford to buy both in order to make a comparison.

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Originally Posted by Psion770

Hi I use a digital dock the Wadia 170i - it sounds a lot better than using it directly via the mini out jack I play mine through a Beresford Caiman and the detail using it using Apple Lossless is staggering - it bypasses the audio chips and Stan's amazing DAC does the rest I am having another power supply built for it as the standard Wadia runs extremely hot and there is no way to turn the unit off from the mains the PSU unit is hidden inside a a sideboard with a number of malt whiskies - not a good combination... I haven't heard the Onkyo but the comics rate it ... I rate my Classic Wadia combo I have the convenience of a portable music collection which I can enjoy at home...

Kind Regards - Martyn

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Hi Folks,
I agree with Martyn, a great piece of kit, I also use Stan's amazing Caiman DAC and I use Russ Andrews 170iPak for the power supply for the Wadia 170iTransport which I think sounds better and runs a lot cooler, when I save up more pennies I will get the DC power supplies & the internal clock of the PCM2706 chip with a ultra-low jitter external clock moded this will bring it up to another level :)

Marty