iPod to Wadia 170 to Marantz PM6003

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I'm planning to acquire a set of Wharfedale 9.5 speakers and pair this to a Marantz PM6003 amp. I want to avoid using a CD player and would rather manage my music through my iPod (where I have stored the files in Apple Lossless format). I'm thinking of buying the Wadia 170i dock for the iPod. My questions:

1. With the Wadia, how do I connect to the Marantz PM6003 for optimum sound quality?RCA? Would I be able to connect through an optical link?

2. Other than the Wadia, I have heard good things about the Onkyo ipod docks. Would these be as good if connected to the Marantz?

I'm a newbie, and I haven't fully grasped the whole DAC thing yet....Would be glad if someone could put things into perspective.

Many thanks!

Bob

 

[Jason36]

Hi Bob,

There are a couple of ways of doing this dependent on price and sound quality required....

I have an Onkyo DS-A3 connected to my amplifier via RCA and play Apple Lossless files from my iPod....to me the sound quality is adequate and good enough when I want to listen to music. At the moment I have the dock connected directly into a Musical Fidelity Headphone amplifier and listen via Grado SR80i's.

If you went for a Digital Dock, such as the Wadia or Onyo ND-S1 you will get the best out of these by connecting them to a DAC and then connecting the DAC to the Marantz....I'm afraid I'm not sure if you can connect the Wadia or Onkyo directly into an RCA input on your Amp...however if you can....you would be using the iPods internal DAC and wouldnt be getting the full benefit of a digital dock.

I believe the Pure Digital i20 dock (approximately £75.00) does have a built in DAC which would bypass the iPod's, but obviously isnt to the same standard as a standalone DAC between the Dock and Amplifier.

Depends on budget and what you want to achieve.....I'm very happy with the sound I get from the DS-A3 but thats just me

 

[manicm]

The Pure digital dock + a decent dac like a Dacmagic will come in at under 400 quid - less than midrange CD player. This should be good value.

The Pure dock has got excellent reviews with an external DAC.

What I would suggest, if you're on a limited budget, is to audition the Pure alone. If it sounds good to you, buy it, and you can add an external DAC later when funds allow.