anyone got/used pro ject dock box fi

[celsius]

hi i need a new dock as my kensington is on its last legs.i have a marantz m-cr603 and ma radius r90hd speakers,i can spend upto £150

 

[John Duncan]

Firstly, why don't you use Airplay (since your Marantz has it). You can transmit music from your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad without having a dock.

Secondly, haven't tried the Pro-ject but I tested a pre-production Cambridge id100 with very good results. Note that it only has a digital output so would have to go into the optical digital in on the Marantz (ie it wouldn't work with anything else that only has analogue inputs).

 

[John Duncan]

Good point, well made.

 

[Deliriumbassist]

Or you could always download the iMediashare app for free, rather than get Airplay. Works with the wifi enabled iThings, as well as android phones. It streams to the Denon RC-DN7, so I'd imagine it would work with the CR603, as long as it's networked, obviously.

 

[chebby]

Firstly, why don't you use Airplay (since your Marantz has it). You can transmit music from your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad without having a dock.

It's possible the OP is using an iPod Classic or Nano rather than a Touch (or iPhone).

If so, I would just use the little iPod support that comes in the Marantz box and plug the iPod into the front of the Marantz. (No cost at all). I don't see the benefit of spending £150 on a dock when it can be plugged straight into the Marantz's own DAC this way.

Plus the Marantz only has AirPlay if it is downloaded for £39. It doesn't come as standard.

 

[celsius]

thanks for the advice.btw i do have a classic ipod and have used the marantz ipod connection but found that when i have played tracks from a playlist then remove the ipod to go out then replace it,it resets losing the track i was playing i find this really annoying and frustrating,likewise i find the media streaming very slow as i have over 90gig to scroll through.thinking of selling it and getting an intergrated amp as i don't use the tuner or the cd much

 

[BenLaw]

I have the dockbox vi. That is 'variable' rather than 'fixed', so it could be the basis of, say, a very simple headphone setup. I only got the vi as the shop I bought from had sold out of the fi in black so gave me the vi for the same price.

It's a decent bit of kit, good build quality and so on. SQ is fine but relies on the iPod's internal DAC. If I were buying now at this price I would get the pure i-20 (see WHF review). It bypasses the iPod's DAC and also has a digital output so you can upgrade with an external DAC at a later date.