[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjg Still haven't seen it, thanks tho ; )

Haha. What a poseur. Wait a minute, I haven't seen it either.

Did you get this from Boiler Room then?

 

[markopolo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannonfodder Nico, Plugging your 'phones into the dock's line-out won't work since there is no amplification. You'll need to work an amp into the equation if you expect sound.

I don't know about the dock since I don't have one, but patching your phones directly into the lineout via an adapter most certainly does work, and sounds much better than the headphone out. There's definitely an amplification stage there -- about 80% of the headphone's max output someone stated IIRC. You just need the in-line attenuator to control the volume, since it bypasses the iPod's internal volume control.

 

[Nicolaij R.]

There is a bit of indecision about the line out question...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannonfodder Nico, Plugging your 'phones into the dock's line-out won't work since there is no amplification. You'll need to work an amp into the equation if you expect sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by markopolo I don't know about the dock since I don't have one, but patching your phones directly into the lineout via an adapter most certainly does work, and sounds much better than the headphone out. There's definitely an amplification stage there -- about 80% of the headphone's max output someone stated IIRC. You just need the in-line attenuator to control the volume, since it bypasses the iPod's internal volume control.

I am with markopolo, basing on the fact that when I tried to plug an headphone (expecially efficient type as E4c) it generally has worked...
I hoped someone tried to do it with its iPod (after all iPod is popular, someone that has tried should have been...)

Obviously I don't know if this this may solve the bass weakness problem: it depends if the line out bypasses the stage that creates it...

 

[Cannonfodder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markopolo I don't know about the dock since I don't have one, but patching your phones directly into the lineout via an adapter most certainly does work, and sounds much better than the headphone out. There's definitely an amplification stage there -- about 80% of the headphone's max output someone stated IIRC. You just need the in-line attenuator to control the volume, since it bypasses the iPod's internal volume control.

My bad. Just tried patching a set of phones into the line-out and, yeap, it works.

Sorry for the misinformation!

 

[Nicolaij R.]

Quote:

My bad. Just tried patching a set of phones into the line-out and, yeap, it works.

The question is: is the overall sound quality improved plugging direclty into the line out? And, most important, is the bass weakness still there? However (Cannonfodder correct me if I am mistanking) your headphones shouldn't suffer the bass weakness problem, so maybe you won't be able to answer this last question...

(I'm starting to think we're going out of topics...)

 

[Duncan]

It's never that great an idea to plug headphones in to line out jacks... the jacks are trying to push out the 'information' (IIRC) at 47K ohms - 2V... and you are then putting your 32ohm or whatever headphones in there... if the strain doesn't kill the line output, the voltage will kill the headphones (in time)

Plus, in my experience, it tends to sound quite thin when you do that... definetly better, if you must go on the "line out" route, to get / build a cheap DIY amp to act as an go-between.

 

[Nicolaij R.]

Quote:

It's never that great an idea to plug headphones in to line out jacks... the jacks are trying to push out the 'information' (IIRC) at 47K ohms - 2V... and you are then putting your 32ohm or whatever headphones in there... if the strain doesn't kill the line output, the voltage will kill the headphones (in time)

Here's what I think:
Let's consider this setup:
iPod dock connector > SendStation Line Out > E4c.
In this case the fact that the E4 has a low impedence would cause the 2V signal coming out from the line out to be delivered almost with the same amplitude to the phones. I agree that this level of amplitude is too high for an headphone. Off course even the current in the headphone may reach high levels. On the other hand the signal (voltage) in the line out is extremely low, and so the surrent circulating in it, so: what do you mean when you say "if the strain doesn't kill the line output"?

My original idea consisted however of a slightly different setup:
iPod dock connector > SendStation Line Out > Shure attenuator > E4c.
In this case the attenuator is an additional impedence (pratically it is just a resistance) on the signal path and it may reduce the level "delivered" to the headphones.

Remember this is just an idea (I have made no calculations) so all this theory may be totally wrong.

As regards sound quality, your experience certanly is more trustable than my suppositions... In any case go here: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=133316
and look at the comments by jonnywolfet...

 

[Spad]

As I sit here listening to Rubinstein's rendition of Chopin's Nocturnes on my iPod photo 60 I get the feeling that something must be terribly wrong with my hearing.

At the moment I'm feeding the headphone output at max volume to an SM3 and listening to SA5Ks. There is no distortion whatever. None. I can reverse the process by turning the SM3 to max and controlling the volume with the iPod. There is still no distortion. Using the line-out produces the same distortion-free result. And these are simply 192kbps AAC rips!

In case you're wondering--and some probably are--I've been listening to live solo piano for more than half a century and am as intolerant of distortion as any serious music lover is likely to be. Not only would I not tolerate it, but I would rid myself of any distorting source at once. IMO, the iPod--at least with an external amp--is a total delight.