I got my Redwine iMod-ed iPod today,WOW! - Page 3

Yeah, if I had an aux input I'd be fine. The problem is essentially an incompatibility with the output level of the iMod and what my cassette adapter/cassette deck can handle...

I'm tempted to have my Toshiba SD-3980 DVD player similarly modded by Red Wine Audio (same price I think), but the trouble is I don't know if it will last even a year due to cheap build quality. The iPod is definitely better built (hell, just about anything is).

I agree ... the PX-100 has no place in the same chain as the iMod. Robster's profile also lists a pair of HD650 with Bluemoon cables. I suspect that by now he's swapped them into his system and ditched the PX-100.

The same argument applies to car audio ... unless you have a very very good car system; you're not going to hear the subtleties that the iMod brings to the table. Get yourself a nano for the car and leave the iMod in your living room.

I've said it before but it bears repeating: the iMod is a viable main source in a high-end system.

So it is true that the Redwine iMod can transform my iPod to a high-end source that's euivalent, or at least closely similar, to CD players costing $1000+?

Let's not forget that the iPod is still a portable source, and because of that is subject to some compromises (like lower power and less than reference level DAC (?)), so I'm not sure I'd go quite that far. Could be wrong though, haven't directly compared it to any $1000+ CD players.

Although I haven't heard a redwine modded ipod I would tend to think claims like that to be a little bit of an exaggeration. I could be wrong though.

With the iMod you get:

independence from a/c power -> dead silent background
minimalist implimentation -> uber-short signal path
all the benefits of PC-based audio (better cd reads, no spinning transport, less jitter, etc.)

The sound character is very similar to a high-end NOS dac but without the compromise of rolled-off highs. It's smooth, liquid, detailed and transparent. Background noise is whatever is on your cd plus whatever the amp adds, period. I'm also using a battery-powered amp and my system is absolutely dead quiet to the point where I can hear mic's come in and out on the mixing board with a lot of recordings.

Previously I had a pretty expensive digital front-end (~$4k retail) and my clearaudio turntable was so much better that I hardly wanted to listen to cds. Now, the opposite is true. The clearaudio still sounds a little more organic and lifelike than the iPod, but not enough to make it worth tolerating the background noise and loss of frequency extension on both ends. I don't think I've been able to sit through a single record side in the last two months, although to be fair I haven't set my record cleaner up since a recent move so my records are a little bit 'poppier' than they ought to be.

If I were to try to upgrade from the iPod, I'd probably be looking at a $2k transport and a $4k dac. Roughly. I'm hoping to take it to Montreal next month to compare it to directly some very upscale digital front ends. That is, if they'll let me plug my iPod into their $100k+ systems. Should be fun.

Gary

Gary: could'na said it better myself.

Vinnie: get ready for the rush!

Is it in fact a high-end DAC in the iPod? You'd think at the selling price, they'd have to compromise on some things, but sounds like it may not be so. Wow, $1k+ suddenly went to $6k+...

It's a pretty good DAC, a Woolfson, which is used in many high-end components.

I think the actual chip doing the d/a conversion is typically a fraction of the end price in any $4k dac. Implementation is what costs all the money. Having said that, I believe there are several players out there that use the same wolfson dac as the iPod.

Gary

Who else has compared the iMod to very high end CD setups? This is getting interesting... a used iPod plus iMod wouldn't be expensive at all, I could probably save up for it.

Well, what the iMod basically does (unless I have this wrong, but I'm pretty sure about it) is take stuff out of the signal path. So if the Redwine iPod really compares to $1k CD players, that means either 1) Apple had an extremely good DAC implementation to start with, since the mod doesn't change that or 2) these CD players have certain issues 3) it's a matter of decreasing returns and since the CD players are only better in subtle ways, they are quite comparable.

Well, Vinnie takes the crap out of the signal path but he also uses Black Gate capacitors between the dac and the jack. That's a significant upgrade IMO. As for 1), the original implementation may be close but it's flawed, and that's what Vinnie's fixing. Item 2) is very real I think, and this is why PC-based audio systems are getting so much attention on all the audio forums lately. PC-based playback just sounds better, and you have to spend a lot less to get high-fidelity sound than you would with a standalone player or transport/dac. As for 3) I disagree, I find the difference between an entry-level and a quality cd player to be night and day. And to my ears the iMod iPod is about as far from entry-level-sounding as you can get.

Gary