of capacitors and cables

[Ori]

JJ, what's that Liverpool FC logo?! They used to be on my fave list but constant whining and threats of resignation every other week proved too much for me... I think I'll go with Hull or Stoke City this year...

No rocket science with the cap project, just literally thinking outside the (big!) box...
I still marvel the build quality of that capacitor box, with hermetic seals and all that. It's a work of art by itself!

[Golden Monkey]

Liverpool is my team, but god, they've looked like crap this year. Strickly going by their record is one thing, but to watch them play is about as fun as pulling teeth. Last gasp 1-0 wins are not going to cut it this year...not with an almost 45 million pound strike force.

[gyrodec]

billyboy. Lovely work, but a serious question. For the kind of money you spent you could have bought the Wadia 170 iPod doc and then built an opus or Buffalo DAC from TPA (or even just bough a decent DAC) - and that combo would have been a huge leap in perfornmance over your doc (even if your doc is the best analogue doc ever made for an iPod). So why didn't go that route instead of this one.

[billyboy]

From Liverpool FC to Wadia 170iTransport...

Thanks for the compliment. I didn't consider the Wadia out of ignorance, not knowing of its existence. Looking slightly further, I realize that I was looking for a portable source. I was fascinated at how Vinnie had taken the output of the iPod DAC and allowed the possibility of choosing the coupling caps. The iPod, in my opinion, provides an exceptional combination: large storage, portable, user interface, and a decent DAC chip (for a portable device). I understand that many people listen to CD's from a source (or even Vinyl from a turntable). I have not gone there yet and, where I stand today, I view CD's as an archive. Digital music is most conveniently stored for access on a hard drive. So, the iPod allows portable access to stored music. I then looked at the commercially-available capacitor docks, realising that higher quality caps enhanced the listening experience considerably. I then looked at this capacitor comparison. Then I asked myself... since I do not do much DIY, how could I optimize the output of this portable source (in a portable, or at least transportable) manner.

So, I learned something today. I had no idea one could extract the digital signal from an iPod. I thought the only output available was from the internal DAC. The Wadia 170 will allow even the newer iPods to be used. Then, the only remaining challenge is to find a good DAC, with a solid output stage. Some comments I have seen suggest that DACs from the '90s have far better output stage than those of today. Indeed, for home use, this would seem the better route. In fact, maybe a Squeezebox into a DAC... bypass the iPod.

Thanks for the tip.

[Luminette]

Interesting - it would be nice if we could mod it to use it as a transport with an external dac

It'd be even nicer if we just had a true audiophile PDAP

For me, the wadia is out of the question from both expense and it's home-only application

[billyboy]

A true audiophile PDAP... what is the world coming to?

A number of people would be falling over themselves (and others) to acquire one... if and when it really exists!

[Anouk]

Hello, Nice, I have never heard of the wadia dock before... But like luminette I want a portable solutiont oo...
Greetings, Anouk,