Docks / Streaming - Suggestions Please!

[admin_exported]

Hi All

I have recently ripped all my music in lossless format and I want to play it through my stereo set-up. I was about to buy a squeezebox but the fiance has decided she'd like an ipod so I'm beginning to think 2 birds 1 stone etc....

My stereo set up is:

CD - Marantz CD5001 OSE, AMP - Marantz PM6010 OSE, Speakers - Monitor Audio BR2.

I appreciate this isn't particularly high end kit but to me it sounds pretty good and I wondered whether an ipod & dock connected to my amp would be significantly worse than from my CD (I've heard people saying music direct from an ipod isn't great). Any suggestions for what dock is best and whether the sound quality would be comparable to the CD setup would be greatly appreciated.

A free lollypop to the best suggestions (collection only!)

Cheers

S

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

Apple Airport Express + digital cable to your amp and stream the music from your computer to the stereo.

Otherwise, the docks all depend on how much you want to spend. The £150 Onkyo dock gets good press, as does the Russ Andrews GQ-24 cable.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I'll take a little look at the cable, I'd not heard of that.

I'm not sure about the Airport Express, isn't it wireless? My house doesn't cope very well with wifi so everything is best wired. Also, is there anyway of controlling what you listen to with it other than on the PC? (please excuse my naivety!)

 

[idc]

The review of the GQ-24 is here;

http://whathifi.com/Review/Russ-Andrews-GQ-24/.

It is available from Russ Andrews, I use one and it is excellent. It bypasses the ipods internal amp and uses its internal DAC. Outwith a rubbish dock it is the cheapest option.

The Onkyo review is here

http://whathifi.com/Review/Onkyo-ND-S1/

and it also bypasses the ipods DAC, so with your kit you would need to add a DAC and by then you may as well use a USB cable to connect your PC, with itunes on it to the DAC to connect to the amp.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi idc

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm a little confused about the Russ Andrews cable. How can it be so good if everyone says it's the ipods dac which lets it down? Seems a very simple solution if it works well though

 

[idc]

The latest ipod classics DAC is reputedly not as good as the older generations. But the comparisons that I have read do not convince me that the difference is significant. There seems to less disagreement on the Nano's DAC. I have also had a listen to various ipods in my local Apple store and whilst it is not the best place to audition kit, I can't hear any differences. Put it another way, changing the EQ setting on the ipod has a far bigger impact on the sound.

If you dont like the GQ-24 you can always return it to Russ Andrews.