[EskimoRandy]

Sorry if this topic has been beaten to death, I searched and couldn't find the exact answer I was looking for..
 
I own an E17 and some iDevices..I'm open to purchasing other players that would fit my needs..but with the E17 is there a truly portable (as in just E17, portable media device, and headphones) way to take advantage of both the DAC and the amp? Are there any players capable of this? My reading on this site has told me the iDevices' DAC can't be bypassed with the L9 (just the amp) and the Sansa clip is out as well.

 

[ijchan223]

No there aren't really any way to use the FIIO DAC on devices other than a computer. If you really want to bypass the Ipod dac get ready to spend at least $500

 

[SV_huMMer]

Quote:

No there aren't really any way to use the FIIO DAC on devices other than a computer. If you really want to bypass the Ipod dac get ready to spend at least $500

Well... That's a little of an overstatement here, or, at least, a too wide generalization.
 
Technically speaking, you can bypass an iDevice DAC at much lower cost, however, it's a hit and miss. The key is Apple CCK (Camera Connection Kit), namely, the USB part of it. I was successfully able to get digital audio stream from my iPad2 via a 5-years old cheapo Audiotrak OptoPlay http://ww.esi-audio.com/products/optoplay/. I am not implying that the result was necessarily much better than the iPad DAC )) (although it may have been), but I did it. Dunno exactly about FiiOs, never owned one. 
 
The general rule is: to bypass an iDevice DAC, the iDevice must be known to be able to provide digital sound output (AFAIK, not all of them do), and your other device must have the USB DAC functionnality. Strictly speaking, it is not required to have the AMP functionnality at all, although I understand that ultimately the whole purpose is to drive decent cans with better-than-iDevice quality.
 
The tricky part is that the compatibility is a bit of a roulette. If your USB DAC/Soundcard/Amp is bus-powered, then, depending on its power requirements, your iDevice may or may not have enough juice in its connector cirquit to drive your device. But even with powered devices the compatibility is not guaranteed. 
 
The safest way would be to come to a retail store that carries what you're aiming at, with your iDevice, CCK and your cans, and run simple tests: plug the CCK USB module  into your iDevice doc connector, plug the target device into USB, plug your cans into the targed device, launch some music files and see where it takes you