[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilency /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really don't har much of a difference between phone out and LOD sound from any of my iPods. Sorry.

Nothing to be sorry about. Your experience is valid, even if someone else's may be different. I hear one, so I guess it makes my experience valid as well.

 

[shoooze]

My question is a little off topic, in regards to the line out. I have a ipod 160gb LoD connected to my hornet amp. the hornet amp controls the volume, but if I change the equalizer setting on my ipod the sound changes. Is that natural for a true line out?

 

[ZoNtO]

Why wouldn't it be? Your ipod is still decoding and processing the music files, just not using it's headphone amplifier stage.

 

[abitdeef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoooze /img/forum/go_quote.gif My question is a little off topic, in regards to the line out. I have a ipod 160gb LoD connected to my hornet amp. the hornet amp controls the volume, but if I change the equalizer setting on my ipod the sound changes. Is that natural for a true line out?

Yes the ipods crappy eq is software based and will still be applied to the LO signal. Unless you turn it off

And a purer alloy is a better conductor and sound is traveling electrically through the cable so you could have a slightly better signal with a better conductor. You can readily hear the difference of re cabled headphones so why not interconnects? Don't know never really used a cheap cable, maybe I should try one

 

[DunninLA]

Here's the question that doesn't seem to have a good answer:

Most people prefer to pay less money than more to achieve a satisfactory sound. Why then would misers (me included) choose to pay more for say a $30 cable vs. a $2 cable if they sound the same?

I would *LOVE* even more for $25 RCA interconnects to sound the same as $125 or $300 interconnects, but they don't

And sometimes I choose to pay more, and other times I choose to live with the slightly less satisfying sound.

So assuming all these connective wires sound the same, you've got to tell us why most of us would irrationally choose to believe a fiction that costs us money we would prefer not to spend!!

 

[shigzeo]

well: volume control has nothing to do with being a true line out or not but the unit has its own opamps that also has been discussed to death here.

depending on the use of the setup, it can sound very good even from that rubbish universal dock

 

[shoooze]

Thanks for the responses.

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif well: volume control has nothing to do with being a true line out or not but the unit has its own opamps that also has been discussed to death here. depending on the use of the setup, it can sound very good even from that rubbish universal dock

Can you explain why volume control has nothing to do with true line out? Seems there are many people who believe that if the volume control is neutralized (doesn't function) via a LOD, the signal is bypassing the HP out, so it is a line out. Please explain why that's not the case. And how does one really know if there is a true line out in play or not?

In short, why does the volume control not work when using the LOD cable vs. the HP out and a mini-to-mini cable, when it does?

 

[shigzeo]

the lod cable has no circuitry in it at all whilst the click wheel on certain ipods can be re-wired to provide gains and losses in voltage to support the overal attenuation of the line out.

all daps that are equipped with the line out are equipped somewhat similarly and the ipod tends to have one of the best line outs. whether you use the lod or not is up to you. the lod will be the cleanest of the lineouts as it does not have any extra circuitry.

the universal doc has its own dac in it and extra op amps. it is however not a bad sounding line out. it has been used in that setup in several dance parties ive been to and one audiophile meet and no one thought it was anything else than the cd player from the amp.

 

[tstarn06]

Sounds good. All I know is when I hook up the LOD cable to my iPod 5.5g and MiniboxE+, it sounds truly amazing. I never use the HP out, since it's broken (one channel out). But I have other DAPs for HP out. I use the iPod for sitting around and listening at home. Awesome sound via LOD.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

...there have been not one, but two different versions of the Universal Dock that Apple has made since 2005.

The original Universal Dock ($40) had a mini-jack which also output composite video, plus an S-Video out. A remote sensor was built into the front of the dock, but a remote was an extra-cost ($20) option.

The current version of the Universal Dock ($50), which was introduced just last year, cuts a few corners by not including an S-Video out, and reverting to an audio-out-only mini-jack (that jack no longer outputs video). The newer Universal Dock now requires a dock connector cable just to output video (but at least the dock connector is capable of component video out with the correct cable). But the newer Universal Dock now includes a remote (which previously cost extra for the original Universal Dock).

Both of the Universal Docks do add audio processing and op-amp circuitry to the iPod's line out. And while the output from the Universal Docks is not clean like a normal line-out would have been, it sounds good enough if you're not listening critically.