[estreeter]

Hi All,

I posted that I wasnt entirely happy with the results of taking the headphone out from my 6.5 Classic into the line-in on my CA integrated. It might have 45W per channel and work well in that configuration with my other DAPs, but it just didnt scale very well with the iPod. Increasing the volume on the amp degraded SQ pretty rapidly, and I went off in hope of finding a cheap LOD to dip my toes into the water. For those who have numerous custom LOD cables, this will seem pretty basic, but for me it was a new adventure - sadly, it took me over an hour to find someone who know what I was talking about.

If I mention the name 'Belkin', I expect that many of the more serious will cringe, but I accept that you get what you pay for, and I'm not ready for a $200 cable right now, hence this device:

Belkin AV Cable for iPod and iPhone - Apple Store (U.K.)

Mine was boxed as the 'EasySharePlay', but its the same thing. The USB connection is fixed, but the other side of the main unit has the line-out jack and I have two choices:

- plug my $20 cable into the jack and then into the line-in on my amp
- plug the supplied RCA cable into the line-out jack and then into the RCA in on my amp
(it has a third connector if I want to take video from the iPod to my TV - might be nice if you have some family holiday vids you want to look at while listening to Cannibal Corpse and Slayer)

Clearly, option 1 is the only option on most portable amps, but thus far I dont notice a big difference between one and the other - ymmv. What I do notice is how much more presence my Lossless rips have through the amp, and how much more readily I can crank up the volume without impacting SQ. The 128K AAC downloads I have from the Apple Store (I know, but I was young and stupid then

) arent quite as successful, but I think that reflects the fact that we are closer to GIGO from the line-out.

I'm not about to pretend that this is 'hi-fi', but I find it significantly more enjoyable than listening to the iPod straight from the headphone out, particularly when I can drive my bookshelf speakers and free myself from the headphone entirely. Is it better than something like the B&W Zeppelin or the Wadia iTransport - of course not, but we arent talking cubic dollars here. For such a modest investment, I am very happy with the improvement.

Is it 100% better than the headphone out ? At this stage, I'm not prepared to put a number on it, and this post has to be run through the filter we should all apply to someone who gets a new piece of kit and begins waxing lyrical, but if you can find a similar, reasonably inexpensive cable, it may give you an idea of what you can expect if you decide to pursue the whole DAP to amp thing. I have no doubt that there are better cables, but this meets my needs for now - will re-evaluate when I get the D10 early next year.

Good luck.

estreeter

 

[Shane D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi All, I posted that I wasnt entirely happy with the results of taking the headphone out from my 6.5 Classic into the line-in on my CA integrated. It might have 45W per channel and work well in that configuration with my other DAPs, but it just didnt scale very well with the iPod. Increasing the volume on the amp degraded SQ pretty rapidly, and I went off in hope of finding a cheap LOD to dip my toes into the water. For those who have numerous custom LOD cables, this will seem pretty basic, but for me it was a new adventure - sadly, it took me over an hour to find someone who know what I was talking about. If I mention the name 'Belkin', I expect that many of the more serious will cringe, but I accept that you get what you pay for, and I'm not ready for a $200 cable right now, hence this device: Belkin AV Cable for iPod and iPhone - Apple Store (U.K.) Mine was boxed as the 'EasySharePlay', but its the same thing. The USB connection is fixed, but the other side of the main unit has the line-out jack and I have two choices: - plug my $20 cable into the jack and then into the line-in on my amp - plug the supplied RCA cable into the line-out jack and then into the RCA in on my amp (it has a third connector if I want to take video from the iPod to my TV - might be nice if you have some family holiday vids you want to look at while listening to Cannibal Corpse and Slayer) Clearly, option 1 is the only option on most portable amps, but thus far I dont notice a big difference between one and the other - ymmv. What I do notice is how much more presence my Lossless rips have through the amp, and how much more readily I can crank up the volume without impacting SQ. The 128K AAC downloads I have from the Apple Store (I know, but I was young and stupid then ) arent quite as successful, but I think that reflects the fact that we are closer to GIGO from the line-out. I'm not about to pretend that this is 'hi-fi', but I find it significantly more enjoyable than listening to the iPod straight from the headphone out, particularly when I can drive my bookshelf speakers and free myself from the headphone entirely. Is it better than something like the B&W Zeppelin or the Wadia iTransport - of course not, but we arent talking cubic dollars here. For such a modest investment, I am very happy with the improvement. Is it 100% better than the headphone out ? At this stage, I'm not prepared to put a number on it, and this post has to be run through the filter we should all apply to someone who gets a new piece of kit and begins waxing lyrical, but if you can find a similar, reasonably inexpensive cable, it may give you an idea of what you can expect if you decide to pursue the whole DAP to amp thing. I have no doubt that there are better cables, but this meets my needs for now - will re-evaluate when I get the D10 early next year. Good luck. estreeter

Wouldn't this be the same as using the Apple composite cable?
Apple Composite AV Cable - Apple Store (U.K.)
If so, it doesn't really use the LOD does it? You are using the dock connector port right?
I am so

Shane D

 

[estreeter]

ALO Audio

Shane, as I said, this was my introduction to the capabilities of the iPod line-out : whether its composite or not, I'm now prepared to splash out on a LOD cable like the one above. Whats holding you back ?

 

[estreeter]

Reading your post in the other thread, I think I may have a better idea as to why one or more of us might be confused.

Although LOD stands for 'Line-Out Dock', its usually used here to describe with the connector at the bottom of the iPod or, more commonly, the cable that will take the signal from said connector to a portable amp. You dont need an actual 'dock', at least to the best of my knowledge - the internal of the cables made by ALO and others are a mystery to me.

 

[Shane D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter /img/forum/go_quote.gif ALO Audio Shane, as I said, this was my introduction to the capabilities of the iPod line-out : whether its composite or not, I'm now prepared to splash out on a LOD cable like the one above. Whats holding you back ?

I have already bought the composite Apple cable with my dock.

I guess what has been confusing me is Apple itself. In its' users manual it refers to two rear rear outputs:
1) Dock Connector Port which we are both using.
2) Line out port for Y cable. Does this work the same as a y cable from HP port on ipod?

So I guess they are both LOD's?

Shane D

 

[estreeter]

I dont know what Apple are on about, but I believe that what we are doing is taking a 'line level' signal from the iPod into our respective amps : I believe that the ALO cable I liked to above does exactly the same thing - happy to hear from someone with more technical understanding, but the important thing is that its got me enthused about proceeding to the next stage.

 

[Shane D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I dont know what Apple are on about, but I believe that what we are doing is taking a 'line level' signal from the iPod into our respective amps : I believe that the ALO cable I liked to above does exactly the same thing - happy to hear from someone with more technical understanding, but the important thing is that its got me enthused about proceeding to the next stage.

Well I am one hour unto my testing. Classic through Apple dock with composite cable via dock connector output. Sounds GREAT to me! Every bit as good as my cd player (old Onkyo).

Shane D

 

[labrat]

Delete

 

[Shane D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by labrat /img/forum/go_quote.gif If this is what you are using: then you are using the RCA Audio connectors (Left and Right). Is this correct?

Yes sir! And I am very impressed! I see no reason to play CD's any more except to test for my choice of tracks, which I will then rip.
This is awesome!!!

Shane D