Do i need a DAC?

[MrBig]

Hi All

I am new to the world of hi-fi audio. I am in the process of auditioning to put together my first 2 Channel Stereo System.

I have a couple of queries and would like some help from the experts here.

1. My main source is going to be a Apple iPod Touch, does this mean i need an external DAC.
2. Also if am using an external DAC do i still need to store my music in lossless format.

Thanks and Regards
MrBig

 

[marsilians]

Wadia i170 if you want good quality sound. Apple lossless preferred over mp3. a good integrated and a pair of speakers and you are set.

Hi All

I am new to the world of hi-fi audio. I am in the process of auditioning to put together my first 2 Channel Stereo System.

I have a couple of queries and would like some help from the experts here.

1. My main source is going to be a Apple iPod Touch, does this mean i need an external DAC.
2. Also if am using an external DAC do i still need to store my music in lossless format.

Thanks and Regards
MrBig

 

[venkatcr]

What you need at the minimum is an iPod dock. This will allow you to play songs that are store on the iPod.

Whether you should have an external DAC or not has nothing to do with lossless files. Lossy and lossless are compression formats used to store songs. Irrespective of what external DAC and amplification you use, lossy MP3 files can only be improved marginally. Lossless, on the other hand, with proper equipment will bring your songs to near CD quality.

Whether you have an external DAC or not depends upon two things. One; are you happy with the quality of sound you get from your iPod now? Two how much are you ready to spend to improve the quality.

If you want to connect an external DAC, remember you must get a dock that is capably of sending untouched digital data out from the iPod. Wadia, for example, has a dock that does this (as shown by Mars above)

Cheers

 

[unleash_me]

With out knowing your budget, the first thing that came to my mind is the all-in-one swiss army knife iDecco plus, if its still available, get the S-520 from psychotropic as well.

You can read about it in detail here.

Cheers.

 

[AMITNOIDA]

With out knowing your budget, the first thing that came to my mind is the all-in-one swiss army knife iDecco plus, if its still available, get the S-520 from psychotropic as well.

You can read about it in detail here.

Cheers.

Hi Unleash, What's the price of Idecco? Have you listened to it with Usher S-520?

 

[prash2k01]

Hi Unleash, What's the price of Idecco? Have you listened to it with Usher S-520?

US price for idecco is $999

Signal Path International - Era Speakers & Peachtree Audio - Buy Online Landing Page

 

[MrBig]

Thanks for the prompt replies.
How does the DACMagic from CA compare with the Wadia i170. And what are the costs of both of them.

 

[psychotropic]

somebody mentioned my S520s?

 

[ashishkesarwani]

Thanks for the prompt replies.
How does the DACMagic from CA compare with the Wadia i170. And what are the costs of both of them.

There is absolutely no comparison between the two as CA Dac Magic is an outboard DAC whereas the Wadia is a Digital Transport Dock for your Ipod as this extracts signal digitally froom your Ipod in the form of Digital Co-axial or Toshlink which gets connected with a Digital Pre amp or an outboard DAC like the CA's.

CA and Wadia both costs around 25K respectively.

 

[unleash_me]

Hi Unleash, What's the price of Idecco? Have you listened to it with Usher S-520?

Hi Amit, I haven't listened to the iDecco yet, but with Nova I have listed to the ushers many times. With my experience with Decco and Nova, I'm assuming that it will be a safe bet to trust iDecco's capabilities. I should be able to listen to it soon. Knowing Nova, I guess I'm becoming a fanboy of peachtree products. If I were to start afresh on a budget, my system will be based around this for sure!

 

[magma]

this is not a bad pc of equipment to
especially if you have an AVR
it delivers bit perfecr digital outs just like the wadia and is probably half price

RI Dock : ND-S1 | ONKYO Asia and Oceania Website

 

[ashishkesarwani]

this is not a bad pc of equipment to
especially if you have an AVR
it delivers bit perfecr digital outs just like the wadia and is probably half price

RI Dock : ND-S1 | ONKYO Asia and Oceania Website

I happen to own this one and it is as good as Wadia or any other transport as all it does is that it extracts the digital out from an Ipod and you can also connect your PC through it via USB and in that case it shows up as an outboard DAC on your PC.

 

[hemantwaghe]

this is not a bad pc of equipment to
especially if you have an AVR
it delivers bit perfecr digital outs just like the wadia and is probably half price

RI Dock : ND-S1 | ONKYO Asia and Oceania Website

availble in india

 

[magma]

dont know
but it should be since its availble in dubai and china

 

[hemantwaghe]

availble in india

Called Onkyo

NOT available in India

NO LAUNCH PLANS too

 

[iaudio]

I happen to own this one and it is as good as Wadia or any other transport as all it does is that it extracts the digital out from an Ipod and you can also connect your PC through it via USB and in that case it shows up as an outboard DAC on your PC.

How much does it cost?