[ZackT]

Can anyone help?

I'm new to all this kind of thing but wanted to get the best possible sound from my portable set-up. So I bought a headphone amp (Bithead) and the Sik Din l/o connecter. I've also splurged out and ordered the earcandy mini to mini.

My question (after reading the threads in this site for a month or so) is...

Can anyone say whether it would be better to connect the amp to the iPod through the headphone jack as surely the quality of the Sik Din is a weak link in the chain?

There has been a lot of discussion on the relative merits of line-out over headphone out and I'm not sure how I'll use my mini - mini.

Thanks for your help.

 

[bahamaman]

Welcome to head-fi! To your question, I think the overwhelming consensus would be to use the line out over the headphone jack. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing an argument in favor of using the headphone jack.

 

[bigshot]

The Sik Din is just a connector. It doesn't modify the signal at all. Line out is always cleaner than through a headphone amp.

See ya
Steve

 

[c-money]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot The Sik Din is just a connector. It doesn't modify the signal at all. Line out is always cleaner than through a headphone amp.

yes, but you need an amp to use the line out since line out bypasses the source's bulit in amp and therefore has no volume control.

 

[ZackT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-money yes, but you need an amp to use the line out since line out bypasses the source's bulit in amp and therefore has no volume control.

Yup, thanks guys. I've got an amp and it came with a cheap mini - mini.

I’m just wondering the sense of using a thick cable to connect to the amp. If there is no change to the quality of the sound coming through the relatively thin wire of the Sik Din then wouldn't a straight connection to the amp be better?

When Sik bring out their new connecter that finishes with a mini jack wouldn't that eliminate the need for a mini-min like the earcandy?

What about the mini-mini angle connecter without the cable in-between?

I'm thinking that the mini-mini cable I've bought was a waste of money as unless it is a connection from the headphone socket (which I'm sure is inferior) then it is a useless extra to stick in the between source and amp?

Bear with me, I'm new to this.

ZT

 

[Oski]

Well, you would definitely want to use the line out from your iPod to the amp. The point is to bypass the internal volume circuitry of the iPod in favor of the external amp. While the Sik Din cable might not appear to be the nicest...the combination of line out to external amp will still sound much better than going from the iPod headphone jack to the amp.

You can just get a mini-to-mini converter for the Sik Din:

http://www.fixup.net/products/whitemini.htm

Or you can get the Sendstation PocketDock and run your mini-to-mini Ear Candy from the PocketDock to the amp:

http://www.sendstation.com/us/products/pd_lineout.html

 

[yyoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZackT I'm thinking that the mini-mini cable I've bought was a waste of money as unless it is a connection from the headphone socket (which I'm sure is inferior) then it is a useless extra to stick in the between source and amp?

Generally, yes, you want to reduce the amount of cabling. However, since all components "flavor" the signal it's always possible you'll like the sound with the mini-mini better than the sound through something more direct. Personally, though, I'd ditch the mini-mini for the new SiK when it's available.

 

[jpr703]

The wire from the Sik Din is a weak link in the chain. However, it's not as weak a link as the headphone jack would be. Also, my personal experience tells me that despite the weakness of the Sik, the cable connecting it to the amp still affects sound quality.

Too bad someone doesn't make a device that has an Apple Dock Connector on one end and RCA jacks on the other!

 

[ZackT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpr703 The wire from the Sik Din is a weak link in the chain. However, it's not as weak a link as the headphone jack would be. Also, my personal experience tells me that despite the weakness of the Sik, the cable connecting it to the amp still affects sound quality. Too bad someone doesn't make a device that has an Apple Dock Connector on one end and RCA jacks on the other!

Phew! Thanks everyone. Looks like I'm on the right track.