[Kajisan]

Hi, I'm fairly new to all this portable music business, but i love my music thus i ended up buying upgrades from my stock ibud.

In a few month span, i went from stock ibud to MDR-EX90LP, super.fi 5.pro, ad700, and the se530. As a student money is limited, but so far I am pleased with all my purchases.

All of a sudden I hear about portable amps and how they make music sound much better and more bassy (I love bass). So i did some research and I have the fiio e5 ordered to check out this whole amp business (i know fiio is not a great amp, but at its price i really want to check it out).

Everything is going smoothly then all of a sudden people are talking about custom ipod line out docks (Ipod touch 2nd gen is my main portable dap). Then i started reading about how music connected from the usb to the amp sounds much better then from the line out.

How true is this? If so is there any website that dedicates on making and selling decent ipod line out docks?

So far i found this

ALO Audio

cheapest is about 120$

But also this guy on ebay is selling some

HIGH-QUALITY iPod Line-Out-Dock for Headphone Amp - (eBay.ca item 110315763191 end time 20-Jan-09 19:17:02 EST)

WORLD-CLASS iPod Line-Out-Dock for Headphone Amp - (eBay.ca item 110315764069 end time 20-Jan-09 19:20:48 EST)


Bottom line does ipod interconnector really help the sound? Is it worth investing on? If so is there anyone on head fi that can make some budget ones, or willing to part with a used one? I would be using it with the e5, but later on I am hoping on getting a better portable amp (around 200-300$ canadian) and a Denon D2000 (after paying tuition and such lol).

Thanks,
James

 

[TheMarchingMule]

IIRC, the iPod Touch 2nd gen has a different pin layout than any other iPod, so regular LODs won't work with it.

 

[Currawong]

Once you've reached the status of being able to post in the trading forums, I suggest posting a WTB thread. I personally wouldn't put too much value in a few cm of cables, and if one does, see if someone can't make you a low-profile cable, as a big chunky one becomes ridiculously bulky when you have to carry it around.

 

[Kajisan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif IIRC, the iPod Touch 2nd gen has a different pin layout than any other iPod, so regular LODs won't work with it.

Yeah i was just reading the description on the ALO website and the ebay item, some of the LODS (so that's the acronym for this small piece of wire that got me all confused) don't work with the itouch 2nd gen.

Do you guys use LODS on ur portable setup (if you got one)? If so, did you notice a quality increase?

 

[swayne]

I use the LOD from iBasso, and yes there is a difference.

Regards,
Steven Wayne

 

[billybob_jcv]

I got my LOD from Qables.com*»*WHAT'S NEW - but that was before the lower cost units started showing up on ebay and elsewhere. I do think there is a difference between the line-out and the headphone jack on my ipod video. It's not a huge difference, but I do prefer the LOD with the amp. YMMV.

 

[Luckyleo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif IIRC, the iPod Touch 2nd gen has a different pin layout than any other iPod, so regular LODs won't work with it.

Germania's company makes LOD that work with both the touch (well at least the Iphone so I assume the Touch also) and all other Ipods. The link to the website is below:

SARN-Industries | Welcome

 

[Kajisan]

Thanks for the replies, i think i'm going for the ibasso or the WORLD-CLASS iPod Line-Out-Dock for Headphone Amp - (eBay.ca item 110315764069 end time 20-Jan-09 19:20:48 EST)

It probably won't make a huge a difference with a e5, but thats a start

 

[Sideman7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kajisan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the replies, i think i'm going for the ibasso or the WORLD-CLASS iPod Line-Out-Dock for Headphone Amp - (eBay.ca item 110315764069 end time 20-Jan-09 19:20:48 EST) It probably won't make a huge a difference with a e5, but thats a start

Just so you know, that cable is made by Lil' Knight on this forum. you can either get it through the auction or contact him here. I bought that exact cable from him and have been very pleased with it. There was a surprisingly large improvement in sound over using a cheap 1/8"-1/8" out the headphone jack to my amp...

 

[SpjonesKSU]

These cables seem to cost an absolutely ridiculous amount! I don't want to get into the cable debate shenanigins, but up to $200 for a 3 inch cable?!
Wow, I think I need to get into the business side of this!

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpjonesKSU /img/forum/go_quote.gif These cables seem to cost an absolutely ridiculous amount! I don't want to get into the cable debate shenanigins, but up to $200 for a 3 inch cable?! Wow, I think I need to get into the business side of this!

May I ask you where you saw the $200 price tag?

 

[billybob_jcv]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif May I ask you where you saw the $200 price tag?

I'm surprised that someone that sells ipod LODs wouldn't already know about ALO, but OK, I'll bite - this one is $195:
ALO Audio

 

[Juaquin]

I built my own LOD for a fraction of what those other ones cost. It may not be cryogenically-treated silver cable (ha), but it is high quality, well built and work great. I would definitely suggest PMing some of the cable builders and ask for a 2G cable, see what they can do.