[justanut]

Quote:

To clear up my Ipad statement above: I had heard that via an SW update Apple had blocked the USB digital output capability that had been previously possible via the camera kit on Gen1's.
 
Comparison to Apple Airport Express which to my understanding is limited to 44.1/16 due to its architecture does not impress me that much.
The Pure I20 had best be sounding quite a bit better to justify its existence.

There's an article here that might make you more impressed with 16-bit music rather than be bought into all the marketing claims about 24-bit music for consumers. Just sharing...
 

 

[BenAdamson]

Looks interesting for if I want to get an iPod...

 

[sysfail]

What kind of cable would I use to connect the Pure i20 to the FiiO E9 for best sound quality? The set up will basically look like this: iPod > Pure i20 > FiiO E9 > Headphones. One more question, do you guys think the FiiO E7 DAC is better than the one built in to the Pure i20? Maybe I could have a similar setup but with the FiiO E7 included as well, not sure how that would work though.
 
iPod > Pure i20 > FiiO E9 + FiiO E7 docked on top > Headphones...?

 

[grokit]

Does the E7 accept any other digital audio besides USB? Does the i-20 output USB? If no to both questions you will have to bypass the E7 and use the i20's DAC to feed the E9 with an analog rca cable.

 

[franklyshankly]

Sysfail - I'm just curious but aren't the i-20 and the E9 basically the same thing? I'm just curious why you chose the E9 as an amp when it's main purpose it to be a dock like the Pure. How do you find the sound quality with the Pure compared to just using an LOD?
 
Also, this question is for anyone who knows, because I know very little about which DACs sound best and why ... so how would the Pure DAC compare to, say, a NuForce uDAC? Would it even be an upgrade, or would it be better to save for a bigger step up?

 

[sysfail]

I guess I'll just stick with the i20 with the E9 without the E7 involved. The i-20 and the E9 are not the same thing, the E9 is an amp only and the i-20 is a DAC only, but what's special about it is that it will override iPod's DAC to use the i-20's DAC. The E9 can only dock the E7, not an iPod. I'm basically going to use the i-20 DAC with the E9 amp power.

 

[grokit]

The E9 won't dock an iPod, just the E7 for use as a DAC. It would be interesting to compare the E7's DAC to the one in the i20 but the i20 doesn't have a usb output, and the E7 doesn't have an spdif input.

 

[franklyshankly]

hahaha, how strange ... when I looked at the pics i thought the e7 was an iphone. So you dock an amp into another amp? Does the ampage combine when they're docked? Interesting.
 
I want to bump my other question: does anyone know how good the i20 DAC is? I'm getting an amp (KICAS) but I'm wondering if I need a good external DAC or if the Pure is good enough. I'm going to be running HD650s.
 
Anyone know?

 

[grokit]

Quote:

hahaha, how strange ... when I looked at the pics i thought the e7 was an iphone. So you dock an amp into another amp? Does the ampage combine when they're docked? Interesting.
 
I want to bump my other question: does anyone know how good the i20 DAC is? I'm getting an amp (KICAS) but I'm wondering if I need a good external DAC or if the Pure is good enough. I'm going to be running HD650s.
 
Anyone know?

That's the $100 question, but the fact that the i20 has a digital out makes it worth it even if its dac sucks. With the E7 you are giving the E9 a dac option, but it does double duty as a portable dac/amp. Kind of a cool concept, as it charges while docked and the E9 is more powerful for desktop use.

 

[sysfail]

I really want to know how good the i20 DAC is as well. Hopefully someone can give some kind of comparison/review of some sort.

 

[Dan S]

I just ordered an i-20. I already have an HRT iStreamer, which sounds fantastic. So I'll write up a comparison between the two iPod DACs.

 

[sysfail]

Quote:

I just ordered an i-20. I already have an HRT iStreamer, which sounds fantastic. So I'll write up a comparison between the two iPod DACs.

Great! I'm definitely looking forward to that comparison.

 

 

[franklyshankly]

My first mid-fi set up! Damn sleek! One big problem, though! There is a terribly annoying clicking sound when I listen to it! UGH! Damn, it's SOOO annoying because otherwise the thing sounds incredible. Background is utterly completely black, sounds good even out of my crappy gym earbuds. Huge clear sound. Really I'm excited but I'm worried about this clicking!
 
Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing this?
I'm hoping that since I'm new to this that I'm making some stupid mistake.
 
Possible obvious problems:
    1) REALLY crappy RCA cables between Pure and amp, old things that probably cost a dollar or two.
    2) The amp has a HUGE wall wart power supply and it's plugged into powerstrip with tons of other appliances, maybe power supply problem?
    3) These earbuds are really sensitive, maybe clipping from too much power? Although the clicking is quite faint, can only hear it on quiet passages.
    4) Maybe the Pure is defective? Maybe amp is defective?
Help!
 
 

 

[grokit]

Do you have another DAC to try it with?

 

[franklyshankly]

No, but maybe I should pick up a super cheap one just for testing purposes?