How can ipod as a source signal be improved?

[bushido]

What can be done to improve the signal delivered by an ipod?

I use a simple RCA converter cable to attach my 120G ipod Classic (13,000+ songs) and the sound is just ok.

The ipod music volume is inconsistent, and to my ear is far inferior to my CD player which is not audiophile quality.

I seem to recall some kind of digital/analog converters that might help improve the signal, but as I recall they are very expensive.

Any ideas?

thanks!

 

[bikemig]

You could get a line out cable like this, Amazon.com: FiiO L3 Line Out Dock (LOD) Cable For iPod and iPhone: Electronics. The SQ is pretty good from the line out. That's the way most iPod docks function.

Or you extract the digital signal from the iPod and have an external device do the D to A conversion. They are not crazy expensive but they're not cheap. HRT makes one, Amazon.com: HRT - iSTREAMER iPOD DOCK-DAC STATION (115VAC Version): Electronics
The least expensive one I know of is the Pure iPod dock, Amazon.com: Pure i-20 30-Pin iPod/iPhone Speaker Dock: Electronics

There are also CD players and AV receivers and stereo receivers that allow you to extract the digital signal.

Personally I'd get the Fiio cable and see what you think. I have devices that allow me to extract the digital signal and others that rely on the line out. I can't honestly say I hear a big difference between the two as the iPod's dac isn't half bad.

Edit: also a lot depends on the bit rate of the music you have on your iPod. If you have low level bit rate files, it won't sound good. The bit rate that Apple nows uses or Amazon uses is good enough but I think iTunes defaults (or at least it did in one of its many iterations) to a low level bit rate that isn't very good at all.

 

[rojo]

What are you attaching the iPod to? If it has air play capability, the digital connection over WiFi would probably sound better than the headphone jack.

Sent from my LG-VS980 using Tapatalk

 

[ReUpRo]

1. The newer iPods have decent DAC and you should just keep the EQ at flat and volume at about 70% max. The variation in volume is most likely the effect of different recording levels and compression across tracks. This is expected.

2. What amp and speakers do you have?

The quality of source signal is the first foundational component in achieving good sound playback. If your MP3s are any less than 256kbps VBR, I'm afraid this is an exercise in futility.

The best solution to improving your sound quality would entail recreating your library in a lossless format and storing the new library on a source other than the iPod.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I think a very important factor in all of this remains the source itself. The source, not being your iPod, but the digital files which are stored on the iPod.

You have some great suggestions for maximizing the quality of what is there, but a CD player runs a high quality, industry standard source (CDs) through your system. They may vary in quality significantly, but you tend to get good to excellent quality from them.

Digital files, in comparison, can run from high resolution audio with phenomenal quality, to far worse than cellular telephone quality. You can't easily tell the difference from one to the next, and even file size differences don't guarantee that a good encoder was used in the process. So, with 13,000+ songs, and a request for the most quality, that is the starting point. The fact that there are many different levels across the songs indicates to me that a single, high quality, encoder was not used, and that there may be a mix of different encoders, and different quality standards for the source itself.

No, not necessarily the case, or the cause, but certainly something that I recommend you be fully aware of.

 

[Lulimet]

What are you attaching the iPod to? If it has air play capability, the digital connection over WiFi would probably sound better than the headphone jack.

The ipod classic does not have wi-fi so it can't do air play.

 

[bushido]

Thank you for your great insights.

I suspect the following question will get a laugh, but where do I plug the L3 Line Out Dock cable into my receiver? Actually, I am shopping for a new (used, but new to me---budget) amp to play my ipod and cd player directly into my 70's-era Epicure M202's...I have 4 speakers in 2 adjoining rooms.

So for now, I use a cable that allows me to use the headphone "out" and it splits into 2 RCA jacks that I attach to, as I recall, the "in" for the video connection audio (if that makes sense)

If I am seeing the links you provided correctly, I would use the cable, but it would then plug into the HRT iStreamer Ipod Doc thing, right? And from there, into the receiver.

As it happens, I recently found a pretty slick transmitter for my ipod Classic that converts it to Bluetooth http://www.amazon.com/KOKKIA-Transmitter-authentication-capabilities-generation/dp/B004SH40BQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1395690476&sr=1-1 and matched it with a wireless set of Bluetooth earbuds (also very slick, great sound, deep bass, easy connection, but sadly, 2 hours of use before a 2-hour recharge) Amazon.com: Micro Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds w/ Microphone for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android, smart phones, and other Bluetooth devices By Audiosynq: Electronics

So my ipod is now Bluetooth capable, but I've yet to find an amp. I have another post that I created describing my negligent blow-up of my Craigslist Marantz Century Collection receiver, which I am now looking to replace, and have gotten some great advice here from fellow Audioholics.

As it happens, I was at Costco today and they have a new Sony, wireless receiver that would solve all my problems...but it is out of my price range.

Onward and upward

Thanks!

 

[bushido]

Hello and thanks for looking in.

Please take a look at my reply to bikemig above in which I linked to a Kikko transmitter I recently bought that converts my ipod classic dinosaur to Bluetooth. I matched it with a slick set of wireless Bluetooth earbuds linked above as well.

Onward and upward

Thanks!