[franklyshankly]

Well, all I know is that the Pure with the KICAS/HD650 was a joke ... the KICAS with the CD player was better ... but the Pure with my Rotel receiver is the best. It would be really helpful if someone could test the Pure DAC sound quality against a DAC like the HDP, NFB2,3,11,12, etc ... I have a feeling that an external DAC, regardless of the numbers, will outperform the DAC in the Pure. I don't think this is really knocking the Pure because its main function seems to be extracting a clean signal (something that competitors charge 5-10x more for), the DAC seems like a nice afterthought.

 

[grokit]

I think 2 volt is "line" level and 5 volt is "preamp" level, maybe someone else could weigh in on that.

 

[roggae]

Quote:

Only newer Apple devices with authentication chips work properly with any of these IS2 USB connection devices. It is the same for the Wadia, Solo, Fostex etc., not just the Pure.
 
roggae, we have seen this before. Someone has a one-on-one return issue with a product manufacturer and then hangs around a thread criticising the product.
 
Your complaint has been noted. Please stop thread crapping.

 
this is terrible.  for real.  you cannot deter me for exercising my right to complain on the internet.  i've had not one, not two, but many bad interfaces with the folks at PURE.  what i can report (hopefully without getting moderated by pseudo mods) is that it sounds good.  the interference is still there but with some maneuvering it can be disposed of.  it doesn't work with older docks and that is strange and kind of sucks.  i cannot believe someone dropped into the thread to ask me to stop posting about my personal experience with both the company and the product.  as a consumer i appreciate the fact i can check a thread and see on pages 7-11 someone poo-poo'd a product. 
 
do you work for pure?  seriously?
 
 

 

[cooperpwc]

No, I do not work for Pure.

 

[BmWr75]

To summarize your complaints:
 

• You ordered two i20s by mistake and are unhappy because Pure wants you to pay return shipping for one of them.  
  How is your mistake Pure's problem?  The buyer paying return shipping for this situation is standard practice
  
   
• You are getting RF interference when streaming music to your iPod.  
  This problem has nothing to do with the i20's functioning, but rather your streaming source and iPod.
  
   
• You are unhappy because the i20 doesn't work with older iPods.  
  Pure's web site explains compatibility at this link http://www.pure.com/products/ipod-compatibility/

 
The $99 Pure i20 is a screaming deal compared to the $380 Wadia 170iTransport and delivers the exact same digital signal extraction functionality, plus the i20 includes a 24 bit 192 kHz DAC.
 
Quote:

 
this is terrible.  for real.  you cannot deter me for exercising my right to complain on the internet.  i've had not one, not two, but many bad interfaces with the folks at PURE.  what i can report (hopefully without getting moderated by pseudo mods) is that it sounds good.  the interference is still there but with some maneuvering it can be disposed of.  it doesn't work with older docks and that is strange and kind of sucks.  i cannot believe someone dropped into the thread to ask me to stop posting about my personal experience with both the company and the product.  as a consumer i appreciate the fact i can check a thread and see on pages 7-11 someone poo-poo'd a product. 
 
do you work for pure?  seriously?
 
 

 

 

[roggae]

Quote:

To summarize your complaints:
 

• You ordered two i20s by mistake and are unhappy because Pure wants you to pay return shipping for one of them.  
  How is your mistake Pure's problem?  The buyer paying return shipping for this situation is standard practice
  
   
• You are getting RF interference when streaming music to your iPod.  
  This problem has nothing to do with the i20's functioning, but rather your streaming source and iPod.
  
   
• You are unhappy because the i20 doesn't work with older iPods.  
  Pure's web site explains compatibility at this link http://www.pure.com/products/ipod-compatibility/

 
The $99 Pure i20 is a screaming deal compared to the $380 Wadia 170iTransport and delivers the exact same digital signal extraction functionality, plus the i20 includes a 24 bit 192 kHz DAC.
 


 

i guess i should be thankful.  i wasn't unaware of it's inability to work with my older ipod.  i guess i was just comparing it to the exact setup with the stock apple ipod dock.  perhaps i have not stated this clearly.  in comparison to the stock old school apple ipod dock the pure has not reveled itself to be marked superior.  the customer service issue is too complex to discuss here.  it involves their handling of returns.  we can discuss that privately.  i think the RF interference is an issue with anything that purports to be compatible with the iphone.  just my honest opinion.  i'll bow out now as i don't wish to spread any negative vibes.  for $99 i just felt like the i20 could have been better.  again, i'm still breaking it in and will happily retract anything i have said should it change.  i mean i did buy this guy after all.  

 

[sysfail]

Does the i20 need burn-in? How would you go about doing that?
 
Well I spent some time critically listening with the i20 + RCA Cable + my FiiO E9 and the iPod Classic + LOD: FiiO L3 + E9, and to me the i20's DAC is clearly better than the iPod's DAC. I didn't do a side by side comparison with the E7 DAC vs. the i20 DAC because the E7 is with my PC and the i20 + E9 setup is not, but I've heard both of them recently and from recent memory I'll even say the i20's DAC is better than the E7's DAC. There's much better imaging, soundstage, separation, and clarity in the sound coming from the i20. I'm definitely no expert with DACs so I hope someone would give an extensive comparison between the i20's DAC and other varieties of DACs out there so we can get an idea of how well the i20 scales compared to other DACs.

 

[franklyshankly]

Quote:

I hope someone would give an extensive comparison between the i20's DAC and other varieties of DACs out there so we can get an idea of how well the i20 scales compared to other DACs.

Bump on this ... this is all I really want to know! I don't want to spend $300 on a DAC that isn't much better than the i-20
 

 

[BmWr75]

Quote:

Bump on this ... this is all I really want to know! I don't want to spend $300 on a DAC that isn't much better than the i-20
 

Read here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/536225/hrt-istreamer-the-cheapest-way-to-an-audiophile-signal-from-ipod-to-your-amp/15#post_7259238
 
And here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=4376602&postcount=6
 
 
 

 

[roggae]

I'd suggest checking out the VDAC with the iPod dock. I think it sounds great together. I will admit that I'm liking the i20 more and more. For $99 it is a pretty good value. I'm glad a couple of folks challenged me to listen a little more critically. I'm not sure why I'm getting what sounds like interference even when I'm not streaming. Now I've got to figure out a use for my 5.5g iPod video.

 

[grokit]

The i20 would be a good value even without the DAC, it's the cheapest digital output dock by a mile plus it has a remote control.

 

[sysfail]

Quote:

Read here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/536225/hrt-istreamer-the-cheapest-way-to-an-audiophile-signal-from-ipod-to-your-amp/15#post_7259238
 
And here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=4376602&postcount=6
 
 
 

Thanks for this. So according to you the i20's DAC is pretty much as good as your DACMagic which is about 4x as much and kind of on par with the iStreamer. That's quite a value for these things, glad I got it!

 

 

[roggae]

So im getting more oug of the pure and am begining to see its value. Im still getting a lot of interference using the iphone. Streaming or not. Anyway has there been any discussion of upgrading the power supply?

 

[BmWr75]

Somebody was complaining about clicking sounds earlier in this thread (I think it was this thread) and a factory reset or two fixed the problem.  Give it a try.

 

[Audioexcels]

Ok.  So we know what this thing can do in terms of the soundquality of its built in DAC.  How would it do as a digital source only, to supply a solid digital out to an external dac???  Lets take your typical other solutions:
 
-Squeezebox Transporter/Touch/etc. with or without extensive modifications
-PC system using a high end soundcard that is modded to give as clean/jitter free a signal possible for the external dac
-DVD players known for being good transports
-CD players known for being good transports
 
Anything else the market has to offer as a transport, cost is no option...how does this i-20 perform compared to the others when connected to your favorite external dac???


Thanks!