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Pure i20 Questions.

post #1 of 9
4/3/11 at 2:04pm
Thread Starter 

I have been reading up on the Pure i20 and kind of understand how it works, but I'm still a little confused. I mainly use my 5th generation iPod (iPod Video 30gb & 60gb) with my FiiO E9 for music listening. So I basically dock my iPod on the Pure i20 and then hook up the i20 to my FiiO E9, but what cable do I use for that? Also, am I able to dock my FiiO E7 on top of the E9 to use the FiiO E7 DAC function along with the amp power of the E9, like when using it with a computer, or would that be pointless? There's a lack of pictures and videos on the Pure i20 so it's kind of hard to see how the setup works. I also read that my iPod would not be compatible with the i20? That means I'll have to buy the new iPod Classic to use the Pure i20, which I won't mind if the sound quality is really night and day compared to just my 5th generation iPod hooked up with the E9, or the E7 and E9 combo hooked up to the computer. Thanks for any help!

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post #2 of 9
4/4/11 at 1:20am

I have the Pure i-20 dock and you basically have two options with it. One is to bypass the iPods internal dac and use the dac that is present in i-20 (which is lot better than the internal dac of the iPod) and pass it to an external amp and the other is to completely bypass both the dacs (iPod/i-20) and pass the digital signal to an external dac and then to an external amp.

 

Option 1:

 

iPod > i-20 > Analog out > External Amp > Headphone/Speakers

 

Option 2:

 

iPod > i-20 > Coaxial/Optical out > External DAC > External Amp > Headphone/Speakers

 

Option 2 is better because your sound quality depends on the external dac which is usually better than the one found in iPod or the i-20 dac.

 

Not sure of the compatibility as I have the iPod Classic and it works fine.

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post #3 of 9
4/4/11 at 2:03am
Thread Starter 

Thanks! So the FiiO E7 DAC would be better than the i-20 DAC? Also, can I go iPod > i-20 > Coaxial/Optical out > FiiO E9 with E7 docked on top > Headphones? I don't think the Coaxial/Optical out cables come with the i-20 right? Where would I buy one that would work with the FiiO E9/E7? Sorry for all the questions, thanks!


 

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post #4 of 9
4/4/11 at 9:27am

Think FiiO E7 has Wolfson WM8740 while the i-20 has the Cirrus 4353. I am not sure which one is better. Pretty sure some one here can help you out with that.

 

As long as FiiO E7 has the ability to accept either Coax or Optical, you are fine. If not you can still use the i-20's DAC and connect it straight to the E9.

 

Finally the i-20 does not come with either Coaxial or Optical cable. Not sure where you live but your best bet is buy it online. I got my Coaxial cable from Superfi.co.uk.

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post #5 of 9
4/4/11 at 11:07am
Thread Starter 

Thanks! I live in the US. Well now I need to know if my 5th generation iPod would work with the i-20. frown.gif

 

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post #6 of 9
8/24/11 at 11:12am

how can the VOLUME be controlled through the PURE i-20 if it simply is a DAC with a Pre-Out????

 

When I look at the remote - it has a vol up and down button?!?!?!

 

khushy

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post #7 of 9
8/25/11 at 3:46am

I think it can control digital volume, like when you set the volume on Windows and Windows Media Player. Or it also has a straight-through analog out. Or it uses the same remote as the i10 which is just a dock to get your iPod upright, ie, volume control works out the LOD.

 

Second, if you're using the i20 with an E9, you need an RCA to 3.5mm cable. RCA ends go on the i20, 3.5mm go into the jack labelled "input" on the back of the E9. Take note one of them is an output jack.

 

Third, you cannot use the E7-E9 combo with the i20 because it doesn't work as a USB host. It doesn't even have a USB jack and the E9-E7 have neither coax or optical input. Best bet would be to add a little bit more and get the Ibasso D12 instead. Will work with the Pure i20 at home as both a DAC and amp, and if you want, you can take it on the road or to another room and use it only as an amp through the analog input.

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post #8 of 9
8/25/11 at 6:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by khushy View Post

how can the VOLUME be controlled through the PURE i-20 if it simply is a DAC with a Pre-Out????

 

When I look at the remote - it has a vol up and down button?!?!?!

 

khushy


It controls the iPod's volume. It doesn't override my iPod volume control like my FiiO L3 LOD does.


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by ProtegeManiac View Post

I think it can control digital volume, like when you set the volume on Windows and Windows Media Player. Or it also has a straight-through analog out. Or it uses the same remote as the i10 which is just a dock to get your iPod upright, ie, volume control works out the LOD.

 

Second, if you're using the i20 with an E9, you need an RCA to 3.5mm cable. RCA ends go on the i20, 3.5mm go into the jack labelled "input" on the back of the E9. Take note one of them is an output jack.

 

Third, you cannot use the E7-E9 combo with the i20 because it doesn't work as a USB host. It doesn't even have a USB jack and the E9-E7 have neither coax or optical input. Best bet would be to add a little bit more and get the Ibasso D12 instead. Will work with the Pure i20 at home as both a DAC and amp, and if you want, you can take it on the road or to another room and use it only as an amp through the analog input.


I use the Audio-gd NFB-12 now with my i20 using an optical cable. Works out great.

 

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post #9 of 9
11/3/11 at 8:43am

I posted this question in another thread, regarding the volume. I figure I'd try on this one too.

I have the Pure i-20 to V-DAC to NAD integrated that I mainly use with speakers. When the volume is set to max on the iPod, per Pure recommendation, the output is so high I can barely use 1/10 of the amplifier volume, which makes it difficult to fine tune.

Is this an issue with NAD? or with all integrated amps? 

If I connected to a power amp instead (no volume or gain control), controlling the volume only on the iPod, would I be losing SQ?

Confused...

 

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