Wadia iTransport iPod Dock Gets Bit-Perfect Digital from iPods!

[IPodPJ]

I just realized that the iTransport has a propietary power input jack. This means we can't use aftermarket power cords with it. Bummer. But not the end of the world.

And the Stereophile article confirms what I've been saying all along, that certain mobile audio manufacturers like Alpine have been allowing the iPod to transmit a digital signal to the head unit's internal DAC.

[ZephyrSapphire]

"The iPod click wheel interface is not available while the player is attached to the iTransport and using digital audio out." - iPod Video

That just spoiled my chances of buying it. If the analog outputs are using the iPod's DAC then Wadia just lied to us all about it bypassing the iPod's DAC Unless its whole purpose of bypassing if for the SPDIF output only. Then we'd be paying for that part of it only. LOL. But I still disagree with jp11801's statement "The wadia could simply take the analog signal off the dock and pass it through to the rcas, that is all I was trying to say." If this were to happen then we would still need to connect the RCAs to a DAC if the iTransport does not have a DAC. I've never seen a digital RCA input before. Yes people talk about hard drive blablabla iTunes, USB cable etc. But in the end. What do we use to play the music? A sound card. Which has a DAC.

Oh well, since the iPod Video can't use the clickwheel. I guess my only option would be the overpriced iLink.

[HiWire]

I just noticed the video section of this large gadget. It looks like you could run full-power DivX or MPEG movies out of the iPod, as well as the usual lossless audio - the only things missing are HDMI-out (probably non-feasible due to DRM issues) and multi-channel audio. I'm not sure how exactly you would do this, but the capability is there...

[jp11801]

Originally Posted by ZephyrSapphire

But I still disagree with jp11801's statement "The wadia could simply take the analog signal off the dock and pass it through to the rcas, that is all I was trying to say." If this were to happen then we would still need to connect the RCAs to a DAC if the iTransport does not have a DAC. I've never seen a digital RCA input before. Yes people talk about hard drive blablabla iTunes, USB cable etc. But in the end. What do we use to play the music? A sound card. Which has a DAC.

Oh well, since the iPod Video can't use the clickwheel. I guess my only option would be the overpriced iLink.

ok I'm really not sure how I am mis communicating but I have been doing it all day so I'll give it one last shot. today as we speak you can rum your ipod directly out of the dock connectors to any stereo you like simply by getting a dock line out cable that is outfitted with rca cables. Headfi members do a truncated version of this all the time with dock line out cables to mini jacks to use them with amps. Well if a mini jack will work so will an rca and I have friends that use this all the time. All wadia has to do is implement the same line out structure that taps the direct out of the dock section and run them to analog rcas.

[IPodPJ]

Originally Posted by ZephyrSapphire

"The iPod click wheel interface is not available while the player is attached to the iTransport and using digital audio out." - iPod Video

That just spoiled my chances of buying it. If the analog outputs are using the iPod's DAC then Wadia just lied to us all about it bypassing the iPod's DAC Unless its whole purpose of bypassing if for the SPDIF output only. Then we'd be paying for that part of it only. LOL. But I still disagree with jp11801's statement "The wadia could simply take the analog signal off the dock and pass it through to the rcas, that is all I was trying to say." If this were to happen then we would still need to connect the RCAs to a DAC if the iTransport does not have a DAC. I've never seen a digital RCA input before. Yes people talk about hard drive blablabla iTunes, USB cable etc. But in the end. What do we use to play the music? A sound card. Which has a DAC.

Oh well, since the iPod Video can't use the clickwheel. I guess my only option would be the overpriced iLink.

No, your option would be to get an iPod Classic. That's a whole lot cheaper than the iLink and doesn't void the warranty on the iPod.

I'm not sure how you would even control the iPod if you can't use the click wheel interface. How would you control the audio then? It doesn't make sense.

Pretty much, you need to use the newest generation of iPods.

[IPodPJ]

Originally Posted by jp11801

All wadia has to do is implement the same line out structure that taps the direct out of the dock section and run them to analog rcas.

Wadia is doing this. Haven't you seen the pictures of the iTransport? There are RCA jacks on the back of the unit. It uses the analog signal from the iPod and passes it straight through.

[ezkcdude]

Originally Posted by rodentmacbeastie

Back to the other suggestion I made, SqueezeBox 3!

I said it on page 2 of this thread.

[rgbyhkr]

To me, what makes this exciting is finally getting what many of us have wanted, but without internal modification - that is a true digital out from the iPod to use with any DAC we choose. The iTransport is an interesting first step, but what I really want to see is somebody make this solution portable. I want a portable device that, at most, has digital and analog outs and ideally just has digital outs. The question is if it would requires it's own power supply to function properly.

Imagine - iPod -> portable dock with authentication chip that has a digital out -> portable DAC -> portable amp -> headphones. I like that idea a lot.

Jeff

[ezkcdude]

Originally Posted by rgbyhkr

To me, what makes this exciting is finally getting what many of us have wanted, but without internal modification - that is a true digital out from the iPod to use with any DAC we choose. The iTransport is an interesting first step, but what I really want to see is somebody make this solution portable. I want a portable device that, at most, has digital and analog outs and ideally just has digital outs. The question is if it would requires it's own power supply to function properly.

Imagine - iPod -> portable dock with authentication chip that has a digital out -> portable DAC -> portable amp -> headphones. I like that idea a lot.

Jeff

Hmmm...let's call it an iPod.

[morphsci]

I'm with the other users. If you want to use digital audio at home why not just use a an SB3? or a MAC Mini? For me I see no use for this device, if I want digital based tunes at work, I have a dual xeon workstation and terrabytes of storage to use so what is the advantage of using an ipod with limited codec support? At home I have a dedicated slimserver and multiple SB3's running FLAC files from a portion of my NAS? When an Ipod can run FLAC using its native firmware we can talk, until then I remain an ipod free zone.

[bowraboy]

I would like one to get rid of the eMac sitting on the floor next to my bed.

[Edwood]

There's just something ironic about docking something so small into something so huge.

But it's about time someone did a digital output dock right. And even with the iPhone to boot.

[ZephyrSapphire]

Originally Posted by morphsci

I'm with the other users. If you want to use digital audio at home why not just use a an SB3? or a MAC Mini? For me I see no use for this device, if I want digital based tunes at work, I have a dual xeon workstation and terrabytes of storage to use so what is the advantage of using an ipod with limited codec support? At home I have a dedicated slimserver and multiple SB3's running FLAC files from a portion of my NAS? When an Ipod can run FLAC using its native firmware we can talk, until then I remain an ipod free zone.

iPod sharing. Friends bringing over iPod. Don't tell me your friends don't bring over their iPods.

Finally I understood jp11801. Took long enough @@

And iPodPJ, true true. But yeah, getting a new iPod just for iTransport, not worth the time and money. I'd rather get a squeezebox and be selfish so my friends can't play their iPods in my room. LOL

[flohmann]

Originally Posted by ezkcdude

Hmmm...let's call it an iPod.

Right. Only with a much better amp and much better DAC. Kind of the whole point of most of the head-fi community -- getting a better headphone experience than the stock iPod + buds can offer.

I agree with the post above -- the real news here is not the Wadia unit itself, but the news that digital out is now possible from the iPod (once you get Apple's blessing for the "authentication chip"), which means it's only a matter of time before a portable pico amp + DAC solution is made available. Paging Ray and Tyll...

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by jp11801

while this looks interesting and is a good value at $349 you can buy a mac mini for $599 and essentially be at the same place and have a platform that provides greater storage and additionally its a computer.

But then you need a monitor, keyboard and mouse and have to deal with the OS, rather than the ipod menus and remote, etc...

(although I'm the type that would hook a Mac mini with BT keyboard and mouse to my 42" Sony - I actually bought one for the kids Xmas to use on the HDTV and my wife made me take it back for a macbook).