[shipsupt]

The pieces are coming together! I've got the camera connection kit for the iPad and a Pico Dac/Amp. Tested it and it sounds great. I was listening with an ipod classic earlier today and noticed a great improvement when switching to the digital out from the ipad.

I've got a few questions...

My understanding is that the Dac is powered by the USB... Is that right with the pico? If so...
1. Do I need to unplug it when the iPad is powered down to avoid draining the iPad battery?
2. Is there a best practice for unplugging? Only with iPad powered off?
3. Will I notice a big drain on the iPad battery with the Dac running?

Any other tips?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

The pieces are coming together! I've got the camera connection kit for the iPad and a Pico Dac/Amp. Tested it and it sounds great. I was listening with an ipod classic earlier today and noticed a great improvement when switching to the digital out from the ipad.

I've got a few questions...

My understanding is that the Dac is powered by the USB... Is that right with the pico? If so...
1. Do I need to unplug it when the iPad is powered down to avoid draining the iPad battery?
2. Is there a best practice for unplugging? Only with iPad powered off?
3. Will I notice a big drain on the iPad battery with the Dac running?

Any other tips?

Thanks,
Chris

Yes, the DAC is powered by USB.  The Pico DAC will shut down when the USB goes into Suspend mode.  In Suspend mode, the USB device is not allowed to draw more than 0.5mA of current.  NOTE: I've seen a few commercial USB DACs completely ignore this because they copied a DIY schematic that floats around the internet that didn't understand what the Suspend was for.  If the iPad is working like a computer, USB will go into suspend when the iPad sleeps/hibernates.
 
I doubt it would matter when you unplug the DAC.
 
The iPad has a 6500mah battery and lasts ~10 hours, so that would be a 650ma current draw.  The Pico USB DAC uses 100ma.  I would estimate it would drop the battery life to about 8.5 hours.

 

[shipsupt]

First, thanks for replying! Nothing like getting the info right from the source.

I know you've seen all the raves about your products, but I'll say it again, you make an awesome product. This little thing is put together so well, I can't help showing it off to everyone. But the real magic starts when I let them listen. Jaws drop.

There is a lot of debate about using the iPad as a source, but for my plebe ears playing FLAC through the camera kit and your DAC/AMP is sounding really good to me. I think it's a great combo. In the end its still about enjoying listening to music for me, and this set up has improved that experience for me!

Cheers,
Chris

 

[codeninja]

Glad to see someone happy with my target setup. Any additional findings?

 

[shipsupt]

All good. The iPad - Pico DAC/Amp combination is my go to transportable set up. I use it at work and when traveling with several IEMs and occasionally my full size headphones. As far as the original post question, i have had no issues with connections, the iPad always recognizes the DAC with no issues, and I've unplugged it on accident during playback with no issues.

If I had any complaint about the set up it's with the iPad... The camera connection kit provides a pretty weak connection at the plug. It's easy to dislodge and I'd be afraid to have it connected in a bag or something because of how it protrudes. I really wish there was a direct USB connection on the iPad, it would make this set up even better.