[bside123]

Okay, so I'm new to the use of an iPod...

I have a iPod Classic. I've ripped my music to it using Apple's Lossless format from iTunes. I run a cable out from the bottom of the iPod (not the head phone jack) to my preamp - iPod > RCA. What's the quality of my music?

Am I correct to assume that the next step toward hi-fi would be a dock such as a Wadia i170 to a DAC? I'm trying to stay as portable as possible, whereas I can take my music library on the go and still be able to interface the iPod to an audio system where ever I am, i.e., office, vacation home, friends, etc.

[srb]

The quality of your sound is medium-fi.  I have compared the line out of the iPod Classic with various digital sources, including a mid-priced CD player, a mid-priced DVD player and a PC with iTunes.  The players were auditioned with their internal DACs, a mid-priced receiver's DAC and several mid-priced external DACs.  The PC was auditioned with the receiver and the external DACs as well.
 
As might be expected, the iPod came in last in all comparisons, with reduced detail, high frequency response and dynamics.
 
There are not a lot of digital iPod docks available, but they include the Wadia 170i/171i that you mentioned, the Onkyo ND-S1 (not available in U.S., but can be sourced from Europe and Japan) and the Peachtree iDecco integrated amp/digital iPod dock.
 
There may be other docks out there, or soon to be released, but these are the only ones that I have seen for sale.
 
Steve
 
 

[bside123]

The quality of your sound is medium-fi.
 
There are not a lot of digital iPod docks available, but they include the Wadia 170i/171i that you mentioned, the Onkyo ND-S1 (not available in U.S., but can be sourced from Europe and Japan) and the Peachtree iDecco integrated amp/digital iPod dock.

Steve, thanks for your response. That's pretty much what my ears told me. I didn't know if there was something else to it... that either I was unaware of or that I was doing improperly. Obviously, the more equipment one has, i.e., dock and DAC, the less mobile the whole operation becomes. My fantasy was to be able to have CD quality on the fly.

So it seems that if I am going to use an iPod Classic with Lossless files, I will need a digital iPod dock > DAC > Preamp (or AMP direct). In the meantime, I can carry around a composite cable and be happy to have a large mid-fi library that I can play through just about any stereo.