[-=Germania=-]

Hi,

I have been looking for a cheaper priced alternative to the Wadia dock, but haven't found one offering digital out for less money. Sorry, just can't justify spending the price of an iPod on an iPod dock.

Mostly I am looking for something that would make a nice long term travel companion and easy to take to meets.

Reason 1:The Marantz CD5001 digital output IMO is lacking. It isn't even as good as the onboard coax out from my computer motherboard, much less the Auzen optical. Yes, I am using the CD's here, the Auzen has a direct connect to the CD Drive.

Reason 2: 95% of my music is onboard my computer (all 120GB of my music). My iPod can carry about 1300-1500 tunes which is valuable to listen to a variety of music. The other is the 20 CD's and 40 LP's (still need to record the LP's).

I would rather not alter the iPod for digital output personally since other docks seem to get around this.

Thanks!

 

[jude]

To the best of my knowledge, the Wadia iTransport is still the only device of its kind.


Quote:

Originally Posted by -=Germania=- /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, I have been looking for a cheaper priced alternative to the Wadia dock, but haven't found one offering digital out for less money....

 

[vkvedam]

I've got a Creative X-Fi Dock which puts out the signal in digital out through optical out. But the problem is it converts the signal to dts format for which you got to have a dts 96/24 decoder. I am not even sure about the fact that whether it takes the bit perfect out of the iPod or it converts the analog signal to digital. Latter being the case, it would be a waste.

 

[Pale Rider]

I am only aware of the Wadia. I have two and I love them, but I would also like to see some competition in the category. The sound quality is excellent, but the interface leaves something to be desired. The Wadia remote achieves the unexpected by making the Apple remote look better. I am actually a fan of the Apple remote, and if Wadia had replicated Apple remote functionality, we could at least step through menus. At the end of the day, that is my only complaint about the Wadia.

 

[SleepyOne]

OK, this does not has a digital out. But as it is a Meridian and it only cost £190 so maybe worth a look.

http://www.meridian.co.uk/product-mo...-for-ipod.aspx

 

[-=Germania=-]

Yeah, I already make myself an analogue iPod dock and it didn't cost $275 USD.

Thanks for the suggestion though, Meridian makes GREAT stuff and their CDP's are amazing!

The iPod Analogue is decent and plenty for most portable equipment and many common headphone amps and systems. The iPod is just such a low level signal and doesn't sound nearly as good as an external DAC with a decent transport.

At any rate, this is disappointing.

I think I figured out the basic premise of how it works - using an extended apple accessory protocol in either standard remote mode or AiR mode on the serial pins and then uses the USB pins to get the data.

This means that potentially this community could make a portable digital source! *The portable dac would need to take USB input and convert it to SPDIF (which I know works) or potentially I2S* There would need to be an external box with a small PIC controller and connections to the USB pins. It would be nice if you could run it off of the 5V rails of the iPod so there would be no batteries and smallest size.

I have never seen a Wadia dock or internals or really anything, it is just guessing here based on my knowledge of working with the iPod and small microcontroller systems.

one more idea out there......

 

[-=Germania=-]

.

 

[craiglester]

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/diy...al-out-288449/

NOT as easy as it sounds.. I'm pretty sure it would be a common mod if it were that easy.. but I still haven't seen one.

You'd need rockbox or something similar to emulate USB host mode and include drivers for any usb > spdif convertor i think. But as the newer ipod have i2s (g5 onwards Wadia uses this I think) that seems like a lot of work :/

I'd try and find an old H120 or something first.

 

[-=Germania=-]

.

 

[craiglester]

umm what's going on here?

 

[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jude /img/forum/go_quote.gif To the best of my knowledge, the Wadia iTransport is still the only device of its kind.

I have bested your knowledge.

There is another option from MSB called The Digital iLink:

iLink Details

Only 2000 dollars!

 

[-=Germania=-]

I fixed it - apparently when I was refreshing the page - it was re-posting it!

Maybe a bug in the new website design?


At any rate.....I wonder if the Wadia uses just an identification resistor like all of the other accessories do and then that enables the USB Data out. Which they then have a processor, etc.... (I will test out some trimmers/pots going through and see if I get digital out - this would be ideal if it only needs and idenfication resistor)

The serial is what they are using to control the track selection and the serial protocol cannot be what is passing the signal - it is just too slow with a 7 byte 19200 baud. The firewire is disabled on the new ipods, so that only leaves the USB.

Having the USB pins output the audio information is really all I would need. That would enable me to use a mobile DAC (AWESOMENESS!) and then for meets I could just use a USB->SPDIF converter.

Well - I will report back when I have results. In all likelyhood it will be nothing though.

 

[SleepyOne]

 

[patrickjk]

This may be a dumb question, but if my library (the vast majority of which I do not have CDs for) consists entirely of 128mp3 and 160mp3 encoded files, am I wasting my time considering trying to get a digital signal from my iPhone so as to use an external DAC? Is that redundant? Wouldn't I just be "putting nice paint on a rusty car" so to speak? If so, at which point -which encoding level, does utilizing something like the iTransport begin tomean anything?

Thank you for any thoughts.

 

[iriverdude]

Yes it's pointless, 128 & 160kps is not high quality. If I randomize my collection on the Squeezebox I can tell instantly between lossless and lossy.

Personally I don't see the point of Mp3 player for home audio source, I'd just have a Squeezebox or Popcorn Hour into a DAC. Works out cheaper plus you can use desktop storage (higher capacity therefore lossless)

My DAP has optical digital output but I would not go out of my way or spend hundreds to make it a "home" system, it's still only 40GB plus no way of controlling it from settee. I have used it to my DAC & av pre-amp though, but I'd far prefer "unlimited" storage audio streamer.