Switching to iPod but with HIFI sound? (near)

[admin_exported]

Okay, this is my situation, i had seperates for years and years, however my new 160GIG iPod is too good to be used as a travel companion, therefor i'm going to use this as my hi-fi unit. I need to know what the best speakers are, and whether its better to just buy seperates and plugging the iPod into a dock? I bought the Intempo IFI01 Tower and am pleased with it so much that i want to buy a better unit, therefor im pretty much tied between a Roth Audio MC4 or B&W Zeppelin? Or am i better buying seperates? How to the speakers compare to hi-fi? most of my stuff is at 320kbps!

 

[Anonymous]

If you never, ever compare the sound to decent seperates again then you will be satisfied...

 

[fatboyslimfast]

True. The Zep is a nice bit of kit, but is nowhere near a decent budget seperates system when it comes to sound. Think NAD C315BEE or Marantz PM6002 and some Tannoy Mercury F1 Customs or Wharfdale Diamond 9.1s and you have a system that will blow away the all-in-ones.

The NAD also has a line input on the front as well...

 

[Anonymous]

that's what i was wondering, what the best way of connecting the ipod to seperates? and isn't the roth kit seperates?

 

[fatboyslimfast]

A standard ipod dock will do the job fine with either of the amps mentioned.

The Roth has had good reviews but the feeling is that for the money, if style isn't paramount, you can get better...

[quote user="Clare Newsome"]Yes, the Roth is (ish) separates - essentially a valve amp with a dock. But again, you're paying a slight premium for the design element. If you're fine with that, great!

Re connecting an iPod to a separates system - all the main manufacturers offer dedicated hi-fi docks that give you full control and charging of your player via the amp/system remote control.
[/quote]

I would try to get a listen at a dealer and see what you prefer...

 

[matengawhat]

I have the B&W Zep in my gym and its a very very good one box solution and takes up very little spacew conpared to seperates and looks very neat - that said i would never use it as my main hi fi - i have a full setup in my lounge and the ipod with Arcam rdock and good aplification and speakers destroys it in all areas - in fact its no contest

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for that, i think rather than the Roth System im gonna go for the NAD/Marantz setup, both amps seem to be under £200, and the speakers you recommended, they're good too?

One last thing, what kind of 'dock' do i get to connect it to the hifi, i would rather use something rather than a cable, and can you get one with a remote control? & will MP3's at 320kbps give me good sound through the system too or does everything have to be Lossless?

cheers all

 

[Anonymous]

Richer Sounds do a Cambridge Audio iPod dock for £20, which is sturdy, looks good and represents good value for money imo...

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="rabyburns"]Okay, this is my situation, i had seperates for years and years, however my new 160GIG iPod is too good to be used as a travel companion, therefor i'm going to use this as my hi-fi unit. I need to know what the best speakers are, and whether its better to just buy seperates and plugging the iPod into a dock? I bought the Intempo IFI01 Tower and am pleased with it so much that i want to buy a better unit, therefor im pretty much tied between a Roth Audio MC4 or B&W Zeppelin? Or am i better buying seperates? How to the speakers compare to hi-fi? most of my stuff is at 320kbps![/quote]

Well, I came across this during a similar quest of my own.
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/budgetrig/budget.html
Looks pretty impressive!
Best Regards

 

[Blainetoner]

I agree with many of the other people, in that you'd be better with a standard amp and set of speakers, certainly if you have 400 to play with. Also, see the other Threads about lossless compression. I use apple lossless and have mightly impresed compared to the 320kbps I used to use, has a fuller, richer, more open sound. It,a worth re doing your CDs, ESP if it will be your main source and you have 160gb to play with.

 

[Anonymous]

listen, thanks for all this help guys, it's around £400 max i wanna spend + a little extra for cables etc.

Interesting that someone posted a link to the fatboy system, i was thinking about that too but didn't know if the sound was any good ....

 

[fatboyslimfast]

There have been some issues regarding the reliability of the Fatboy system - they do sound good, but I believe only got awarded 4 stars rather than 5 due to them failing...

I would probably go for the Marantz / Wharfdale combo, with a Cambridge iPod dock (which can be remote controlled)... that will then leave you around £50 for speaker cables (maybe something like the Chord Silverscreen).

Regarding the bitrate, it might be an idea to rip a cd at 320, listen to it, then re-rip it using apple lossless and see if you can tell any difference. If not, use the 320. Personally I can hear a greater depth to the sound and the instruments tend to be more separate (rather than muddled together) with lossless, but it's down to your own ears really...

 

[John Duncan]

[quote user="rabyburns"]too good to be used as a travel companion[/quote]

Too good as in too precious, or too good as in sound quality-wise?

 

[Anonymous]

precious + good sound, but most importantly it holds all my music so i'll just use my iPod Nano for travelling. I find the hard discs tend to fail after a while anyway when used continuously. (trolling alert! lol)

 

[Anonymous]

hey, so is the fatboy system any good then compated to seperates, i thought the roth would have been better?

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Similar I think maybe the Roth has the edge, so that should give you an idea re fatboy / separates...