Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif In my limited auditioning last night, I would say that the iPad > camera kit > USB DAC sounds just as good as Macbook > USB DAC, using ALAC files and very highly resolving JH13Pro and ES3X IEM. I am excited by this. I do wonder about battery life and will test that later.
If anything battery life should improve, as we are taking the iPad's internal DAC and amplifier out of the equation, yes? Especially if the DAC is self-powered rather than a USB 5v "leech".
Hi guys, I've just bought the camera kit and anxiously connect it up to my ipad to try it out. My setup: Ipad>USB connector>USB cable>Predator USB Dac/amp>TWag jh13>JH13. I played some tracks from my Ipad and the volume was very very low. So I played around with the gain settings (low, med, Hi) on the Predator and it didn't do much. I actually turned the volume on my Predator to the max on Hi gain and still receives very little volume. I couldn't figure out why and eventually I move the volume control up on the screen of the ipad while the song is playing and the volume increased. I almost hurt my hearing because I didn't anticipate that the volume control will be active on the Ipad. I was thinking that if I bypass the internal DAC and AMP of the Ipad, then the only volume control will be on my Predator. Can anyone understand what has happened here? Because on the Ipod classic, if you use a LOD, the volume control is inactive on the ipod. In addition, I heard quite a bit of static humming and hissing in the background that I also did not anticipate. I though since I am bypassing the dac and amp, the signal should be pretty clean. Please share your experience with your use of the ipad in the above setup.
I'm only guessing, but if the iPad volume control operates in the digital domain that would be before the dac and therefore could be active even with digital out. Static etc could be rf interference on the cable or the external devices and not actually be in the signal coming out from the iPad.
Hopefully the volume is disabled with the camera adapter/usb out to dac. Maybe that's the trade-off, that you can't bypass the volume control with a LOD, but you can with an external dac
I'm only guessing, but if the iPad volume control operates in the digital domain that would be before the dac and therefore could be active even with digital out. Static etc could be rf interference on the cable or the external devices and not actually be in the signal coming out from the iPad.
But for the new information since your post, this makes sense to me. In the circumstances, you would want to set the volume to full so that the iPad does not apply numerical changes to the bit stream (i.e. calculate for down volume) before it outputs to USB.
I agree also that the static should be interference of the iPad with the amp, unrelated to the bit stream.
However... the difference between this and Jalo's experience with the Predator does not make sense to me at all. vpivinylspinner's more positive experience is what would be expected and seems to be consistent with that of others. This raises the question: what is going wrong with Jalo's iPad/Predator combo?
I think you are right pertaining to the humming. I went back and tried again and noticed that every time when I held the Predator in my hand, it hums or buzz pretty bad and it went away when I put the Predator down. I also noticed that if the usb cable does not cross with other cable it will not hum either. So I need to buy a shielded usb cable (I was using an El cheapo). Good job catching the RF, NC800.
This doesn't make sense to me at all. The volume slider on the Ipad is either active or not. It has nothing to do with what it is connected to whether Predator or Pico.
I have yet to recieve my connection kit. But I have seen the situation in the past with past devices where the connector on the iPad side could have something wrong with it. When it connects it should tell the device that the contol is disabled but if that is not working a similar situation to the one above could occur. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the connector to know if they have something like this built in. I wonder if something like this is occurring or if since the connector was not designed for this application that your results will vary. Although I agree the results should be consistent no matter what dac is plugged in.
Jalo, are you sure the quiet music you were hearing was not the iPad speaker playing being muted by your IEMs. Then when you turned the volume all the way up the Predator DAC happened to start working and you got really loud music.
I can move the volume all over the place with the DAC plugged in and the sound output does not change. When I unplug the DAC the volume I had set for the headphone/speaker out returns and the volume controls work again. Similar to what happens with a DAC connected to a Mac.
I also note that when I used some cheapy USB cable it did not work. For some reason it did not like this cable but it plays fine with all the other ones I have tried.
Interesting. Well, I have a Virtua Audio Nirvana shielded USB-cable I can use to connect my iPad to my Pico DAC/Protector. I got the camera kit last week so I'll try it tonight and post a few impressions.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
