[Bon]

I do realise you can easily bottleneck with your source, but out of curiosity what would be the lowest level source you would run a pair of akg's with a darkvoice 336i amp or something similar. (after a general consensus on the idea)

As in would running FLAC or 320kb music files through an ipod and 336i make the akg's sing or would more be needed?

I ask due to my bank account taking a huge hit after the recent purchase of said items and do be gentle as i have very limited understanding when it comes to amps and sources and could well be misunderstanding the general concepts involved,

in which case feel free to boast with your vast array of knowledge.

 

[bigshot]

Your iPod through the line out and 320kb should be more than adequate.

See ya
Steve

 

[Bon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your iPod through the line out and 320kb should be more than adequate. See ya Steve

Ahh rad, good to know. thanks steve

 

[sejarzo]

What sound card do you have in your PC? Playing FLAC's via Foobar and a decent sound card should also provide you with quality comparable to a decent CD player.

 

[Bon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sejarzo /img/forum/go_quote.gif What sound card do you have in your PC? Playing FLAC's via Foobar and a decent sound card should also provide you with quality comparable to a decent CD player.

Oh ok, na my sound card is nothing worth its name but i may keep an eye out for one lying around. Problem there is the 701's and the 336i wont be joining the communal pc in the living room, but thanks for the advice, could make the situation work

 

[Jingo Lingo]

Your source is only going to be a "bottleneck" if you deem it to be unsatisfactory. It doesn't have anything to do with what else is in your system. (except for synergy, if your a believer in that). Putting together an audio set-up isn't like building a gaming pc... Lots of people cant tell the difference between an ipod and an expensive CD player.

 

[Bon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jingo Lingo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your source is only going to be a "bottleneck" if you deem it to be unsatisfactory. It doesn't have anything to do with what else is in your system. (except for synergy, if your a believer in that). Putting together an audio set-up isn't like building a gaming pc... Lots of people cant tell the difference between an ipod and an expensive CD player.

Is an ipod not considered 'unsatisfactory'?? I don't hold it in too high regard compared with other sources out there. cheers

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jingo Lingo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your source is only going to be a "bottleneck" if you deem it to be unsatisfactory. It doesn't have anything to do with what else is in your system. (except for synergy, if your a believer in that). Putting together an audio set-up isn't like building a gaming pc... Lots of people cant tell the difference between an ipod and an expensive CD player.

Hm...I'd flame you right now on the basis of generalizing...but too tired.

Buying Singlepower Supra-XLR and feeding it from an iPod in a home setup is going to be a great demo of bottlenecking, strictly because you can distribute your money better. Nothing to do with you finding it acceptable, it is pretty much guaranteed that if you are not ignorant and not def, and in this hobby, you will enjoy a more even monetary distribution on equipment.

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is an ipod not considered 'unsatisfactory'?? I don't hold it in too high regard compared with other sources out there. cheers

iPod dock/line-out is fine. iMod - better. Dedicated DAC better...but then you enter head-fi mentality and overspend =] You can do just fine with an iPod for a while, just grab a decent line0out dock.

 

[22906]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hm...I'd flame you right now on the basis of generalizing...but too tired. Buying Singlepower Supra-XLR and feeding it from an iPod in a home setup is going to be a great demo of bottlenecking, strictly because you can distribute your money better. Nothing to do with you finding it acceptable, it is pretty much guaranteed that if you are not ignorant and not def, and in this hobby, you will enjoy a more even monetary distribution on equipment.

I don't agree with this. Bottlenecking has nothing to do with how much your stuff costs, it has to do with how well your stuff performs. Two types of performance are relevant: first, how it performs in an ideal system, for when you want to upgrade your stuff, and second, how it performs together with the stuff you have now.

An expensive upgrade is only worth it if there is a substantial increase in sound quality. So, now that you have a nice amp, don't be afraid to test it out in all possible ways. Then of course you can upgrade your source later on if you realize that a source upgrade would change your sound significantly.

One example that supports my point is the craze over the t-amp. Many people with sources that cost several times the cost of the amp were thinking about upgrading their source, not their amp, after listening to how it sounded in their systems, because at that point a source upgrade would have brought more sonic benefits, while upgrading their amp would have cost a lot of money and would not have brought the same level of sound quality increase (due to the extremely high value of the t-amp's performance).

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

Quote:

An expensive upgrade is only worth it if there is a substantial increase in sound quality. So, now that you have a nice amp, don't be afraid to test it out in all possible ways. Then of course you can upgrade your source later on if you realize that a source upgrade would change your sound significantly.

The whole logic is screwed up. First of all how much an upgrade is worth depends on the individual. Just because you feel an expensive upgrade is worth it ONLY if there is a SIGNIFICANT increase in SQ, doesnt mean everyone is like that. There are several ppl who will be very happy with shelling out thousands of $ for better extension in treble or just a marginal improvement.

Secondly, what do you mean by "don't be afraid to test it out in all possible ways", that doesnt even make any sense, the amp has one single purpose is to take the signal from the source and feed it to the headphone, thats it, there are no other ways in which to use it. And if you already have a decent amp, then your source IS the bottleneck in your setup if you are still using an IPOD. Its just simple logic.

Edit:And if you meant tube rolling, then its still just going to modify the sound fed into it by the source, Garbage in = Garbage out. The Ipod with line out might be satisfactory for the OP, but just don't generalize, everyone has priorities.

Source should have the highest priority in the Audio chain. If you have a **** sounding source and a several thousand $ amp, its gonna sound like crap and it does boil down to money, there can be a cheap T-amp equivalent that can perform close to its bigger counterparts, but if you use it with a several thousand dollar source, then the T-amp is the bottleneck, so unfortunately, in the audio world, it does come back to money.

 

[bigshot]

Why do simple questions get turned into complicated answers? The question was, is an iPod a good source. With a decent line out cable and well encoded files, the answer is an obvious yes.

Someone who wants to spend thousands of dollars for marginal improvements in sound has more dollars than sense in my opinion.

See ya
Steve

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

I agree completely bigshot, I was only pointing out unnecessary generalization and comments that might mislead the OP. While the Ipod with line out is definitely a decent source, its still the weakest link in the chain if the amp is a DV336i and the headphones are say AKG701's. I just wanted to clarify that source is indeed one of the most important factors in how the final output sounds.

 

[Bon]

Thats a good point, it has been a bit off topic but its all quite interesting. I was wondering if the ipod was a half decent source which it seems to be, obviously it is the weak point when set up with the dv336i and the 701's, but from the general consensus it seems to be.

The source is definitely a key in the line up without a doubt, but its far too easy to go spend a fair few hundred or thousand even on a well known source.

From this thread ive found the ipod is a sufficient source with decent 320kb music files and good cables etc it can work, but the chain is only as strong as the weakest link,

I must say im surprised the ipod is held in such high regard in these forums. I really didnt have high hopes for it to continue as my intermediate source, but cheers for your advice all, its a real help

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jilgiljongiljing /img/forum/go_quote.gif While the Ipod with line out is definitely a decent source, its still the weakest link in the chain if the amp is a DV336i and the headphones are say AKG701's. I just wanted to clarify that source is indeed one of the most important factors in how the final output sounds.

Weaker compared to what? You can certainly spend more, but how much better sound are you going to get than lossless files through the line out of an iPod? It's comparable to standalone CD players that cost many times as much.

The most important factor in how the final output sounds is the quality of the recording itself. Next comes the quality of the encoding. Then the quality of the headphones. The amp would be next after that. By the time you get down to the iPod, the only thing more insignificant would be the cables you use to connect it.

See ya
Steve