Am I doing something wrong- but the sound I get out of the 3.5mm stereo jack from my I Touch into the rca phonos on the nait amp is pants !
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Nait 5i rubbish with I touch
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Depends on a number of factors: what format and level of compression are you using on the music stored on your Touch, and which make of 3.5mm to phono cable are you using?
I would make sure you are ripping losslessly, and that you obtain a line-out from the iTouch.
They don't sound too bad when implemented properly.
They don't sound too bad when implemented properly.
profigold - not great but not rubbish
compression - comprehendez ! ?
Line out ? is that a single input / output
Ripping lossessly , now I am lost !
mystery is that it works fine/ sounds good on my Denon 2309 amp which is hooked up to the aux 2 on my Teac DAB 300 HR
compression - comprehendez ! ?
Line out ? is that a single input / output
Ripping lossessly , now I am lost !
mystery is that it works fine/ sounds good on my Denon 2309 amp which is hooked up to the aux 2 on my Teac DAB 300 HR
matthewpiano
Well-known member
- Nov 23, 2007
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No mystery there. The Nait is in a different league to the Denon and Teac amps and is much more revealing.
It seems to me that you are probably using fairly poor quality files, so your first thing would be to rip your CDs again, changing the CD Import setting in iTunes to Apple Lossless. This in itself will make a huge difference. You see, the setting that your likely using at the moment is taking chunks of information out of the music so that it takes up less storage space. The Naim is exposing the poor quality.
Your Nait is, however, really deserving of a better source than an iPod sending its signal from the headphone output. I'd be looking at a Squeezebox used in conjunction with your computer, again using Apple Lossless files.
It seems to me that you are probably using fairly poor quality files, so your first thing would be to rip your CDs again, changing the CD Import setting in iTunes to Apple Lossless. This in itself will make a huge difference. You see, the setting that your likely using at the moment is taking chunks of information out of the music so that it takes up less storage space. The Naim is exposing the poor quality.
Your Nait is, however, really deserving of a better source than an iPod sending its signal from the headphone output. I'd be looking at a Squeezebox used in conjunction with your computer, again using Apple Lossless files.
Perhaps use a dock? using the headphone jack results in a sound which strangles every aspect of the music.
I've just tried my flatmates iPod Nano (320 kbps tracks) with a 3.5mm/RCA lead into my Nait. The sound was, erm... pants.
I think the OP might have more sucess using a dock to connect to the amp but i don't know which dock does a good job. All I know is that without question an mp3 player sounds god awful when it's connected via it's headphone jack.
Just to warn you, if you think of opting for an Arcam rDock, which undoubtedly does deliver superior sound to an RCA lead in conjunction with most amps, when I connected mine to the Naim it created a lot of residual hum and was effectively incompatible because of the hum which corresponded to the Nait's volume control.
Audioholic:Just to warn you, if you think of opting for an Arcam rDock, which undoubtedly does deliver superior sound to an RCA lead in conjunction with most amps, when I connected mine to the Naim it created a lot of residual hum and was effectively incompatible because of the hum which corresponded to the Nait's volume control.
Ah, just buy an Arcam amp or two
ÿ
Ah, just buy an Arcam amp or two
ÿ
JoelSim:
They also sound pretty dire through a dock
Joel,
iPods certainly aren't dire.
When used correctly (lossless, line-out, etc) they can sound quite fine.
Something worth noting is that they are quieter than a CD separate, so may appear worse if not level-matched because on a quick listen loudness can be perceived as better.
They also sound pretty dire through a dock
Joel,
iPods certainly aren't dire.
When used correctly (lossless, line-out, etc) they can sound quite fine.
Something worth noting is that they are quieter than a CD separate, so may appear worse if not level-matched because on a quick listen loudness can be perceived as better.
chebby
Well-known member
- Jun 2, 2008
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So what about the Russ Andrews/Kimber GQ-24 lead?
Phono and 3.5mm variants of different lengths costing from about £25 that all bypass the volume control in the iPod.
Seen them highly recommended here on this forum before...
http://www.russandrews.com/product-GQ-24-interconnect-for-iPod-2204.htm
http://whathifi.com/Review/Russ-Andrews-GQ-24/
(The WHF review is of the more expensive 'nickel phono' version but the 3.5mm ones start at £26)
Phono and 3.5mm variants of different lengths costing from about £25 that all bypass the volume control in the iPod.
Seen them highly recommended here on this forum before...
http://www.russandrews.com/product-GQ-24-interconnect-for-iPod-2204.htm
http://whathifi.com/Review/Russ-Andrews-GQ-24/
(The WHF review is of the more expensive 'nickel phono' version but the 3.5mm ones start at £26)
It needn't be Russ Andrews.
I found one on eBay that was simply an iPod dock connector on one end, and a couple of RCA leads at the other end.
Don't pay more than a tenner.
I found one on eBay that was simply an iPod dock connector on one end, and a couple of RCA leads at the other end.
Don't pay more than a tenner.
Chebby,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Stereo-Audio-Dock-to-2-RCA-Cable-Lead-for-iPod-Nano-UK_W0QQitemZ250391986215QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CE_MP3Access_RL?hash=item250391986215&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1690|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RCA-AV-Audio-Video-Cable-for-iPhone-iPod-Nano-Touch_W0QQitemZ290302841196QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CE_MP3Access_RL?hash=item290302841196&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1690|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Audio-S-Video-AV-Cable-for-Ipod-Video-Photo-Vision-RCA_W0QQitemZ400036726975QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CE_MP3Access_RL?hash=item400036726975&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1690|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Stereo-Audio-Dock-to-2-RCA-Cable-Lead-for-iPod-Nano-UK_W0QQitemZ250391986215QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CE_MP3Access_RL?hash=item250391986215&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1690|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RCA-AV-Audio-Video-Cable-for-iPhone-iPod-Nano-Touch_W0QQitemZ290302841196QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CE_MP3Access_RL?hash=item290302841196&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1690|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Audio-S-Video-AV-Cable-for-Ipod-Video-Photo-Vision-RCA_W0QQitemZ400036726975QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CE_MP3Access_RL?hash=item400036726975&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1690|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
Playing music through an iPod (via RCA leads into amplifier) will always be a compromise between sound quality and convenience but that is okay as long as one doesn't expect "CD quality" sound.
What comes out of the iPod headphone socket or dock connector is an analogue signal from the iPod's internal DAC (digital to analogue converter) which is of decent quality for earphone listening etc.
But to achieve CD-comparable sound quality in a Hi Fi system, I believe you need to bypass the iPod's own DAC and feed the raw digital signal into an external DAC by using lossless files. The only way you can do that at the moment is via the Wadia Dock which bypasses the internal DAC and sends out a digital signal, which can be fed into a good quality external DAC like the new Beresford DAC, or DACMagic, or even more expensive DACs. Besides Wadia, other current docks accept and send out only the analogue signal, ie after iPod's internal DAC has been used.
Another way, using Apple equipment, to feed digital signal to the Hi Fi is via a PC/Mac playing iTunes and connecting the PC/Mac to an external DAC either via USB, or wirelessly via Airport Express if one has a wireless network at home.
The thing to bear in mind is that no matter how you feed the digital signal to the hi fi, the higher the bit rate the better. I can hardly tell the difference between my lossless iTunes digital setup and a decent quality CD player costing £750 to £1000 or so.
Hope this helps the OP.
What comes out of the iPod headphone socket or dock connector is an analogue signal from the iPod's internal DAC (digital to analogue converter) which is of decent quality for earphone listening etc.
But to achieve CD-comparable sound quality in a Hi Fi system, I believe you need to bypass the iPod's own DAC and feed the raw digital signal into an external DAC by using lossless files. The only way you can do that at the moment is via the Wadia Dock which bypasses the internal DAC and sends out a digital signal, which can be fed into a good quality external DAC like the new Beresford DAC, or DACMagic, or even more expensive DACs. Besides Wadia, other current docks accept and send out only the analogue signal, ie after iPod's internal DAC has been used.
Another way, using Apple equipment, to feed digital signal to the Hi Fi is via a PC/Mac playing iTunes and connecting the PC/Mac to an external DAC either via USB, or wirelessly via Airport Express if one has a wireless network at home.
The thing to bear in mind is that no matter how you feed the digital signal to the hi fi, the higher the bit rate the better. I can hardly tell the difference between my lossless iTunes digital setup and a decent quality CD player costing £750 to £1000 or so.
Hope this helps the OP.
If the opening poster has a ps3, he could connect the ipod to that via the usb and would certainly result in something more comparable to hi fi than the horrible headphone jack connection.
An iPod is "CD quality" so long as the files are lossless. The compromise can be in the DAC and subsequent analogue circuitry will not be as good as the best CD players, although I still believe they are quite listenable.
Some iPods include Wolfson DACs, and I find the solid-state players to sound better. For instance, my old Nano and Touch sound good, whereas a new Classic sounds a bit more fizzy in the treble.
Be sure that the iPod volume is at maximum because i assume the volume control is digital, and any reduction is throwing away data.
The reason I am sticking up for them as that I think they sound fine, especially considering the price tag. What would a £100 CD player sound like?
There are people like Joel Sim who will just say "I plugged in an iPod and it's rubbish", without fully-exploring a few simple variables.
If anybody who thinks they sound dire could give detail of their implementation and HiFi system it could be helpful.
Some iPods include Wolfson DACs, and I find the solid-state players to sound better. For instance, my old Nano and Touch sound good, whereas a new Classic sounds a bit more fizzy in the treble.
Be sure that the iPod volume is at maximum because i assume the volume control is digital, and any reduction is throwing away data.
The reason I am sticking up for them as that I think they sound fine, especially considering the price tag. What would a £100 CD player sound like?
There are people like Joel Sim who will just say "I plugged in an iPod and it's rubbish", without fully-exploring a few simple variables.
If anybody who thinks they sound dire could give detail of their implementation and HiFi system it could be helpful.
Eddie Pound:
If anybody who thinks they sound dire could give detail of their implementation and HiFi system it could be helpful.
I will admit that I did not spend time trying to improve my implementation, but I did try using an iPOD classic with my Hi Fi and was very dissapointed in the sound. Two problems that made it a no go for me.
1. The volume level was disturbingly low. Had to turn amp up to 11 or 12 o'clock to get reasonable listening levels (not super loud at all). And yes, I did have the iPOD volume way up.
2. The clarity and detail I was use to with CD playback was absent. The excitement was missing. Didn't make me want to sit and listen.
I used apple lossless for all the music I had on my iPOD classic. I connected to my amp with an Apple iPOD Hi Fi dock. The dock was connected to my amp using the RCA cables supplied with the Apple dock (didn't seem like super cheap cables either).
If anybody who thinks they sound dire could give detail of their implementation and HiFi system it could be helpful.
I will admit that I did not spend time trying to improve my implementation, but I did try using an iPOD classic with my Hi Fi and was very dissapointed in the sound. Two problems that made it a no go for me.
1. The volume level was disturbingly low. Had to turn amp up to 11 or 12 o'clock to get reasonable listening levels (not super loud at all). And yes, I did have the iPOD volume way up.
2. The clarity and detail I was use to with CD playback was absent. The excitement was missing. Didn't make me want to sit and listen.
I used apple lossless for all the music I had on my iPOD classic. I connected to my amp with an Apple iPOD Hi Fi dock. The dock was connected to my amp using the RCA cables supplied with the Apple dock (didn't seem like super cheap cables either).
Excellent.
We'll wait and see if the Classic is the model that others are experiencing poor sound quality with too, and if they use a dock or a line-out cable.
We'll wait and see if the Classic is the model that others are experiencing poor sound quality with too, and if they use a dock or a line-out cable.
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