IPOD on Yammie? Is it needed for IPod play?

[rolyasm]

I see that recently some Yamaha's and other brands have added Ipod capability onto their receivers. I don't have an Ipod, but may soon get one. Is it possible to play the IPOD on older models, by hooking up to some external port, or do you need the newer models to play the IPOD? If you can play on older models, what is the benifit of these newer "IPOD Compatible" receivers with the docking station (sold seperately)?
Roly

 

[supervij]

I don't bother with any of that stuff. I bought a wire that has a mini-stereo plug on one end and the red & white RCA stereo plugs on the other. I plug the mini-stereo plug into the iPod, and the red & whites into the CD input in my Yamaha receiver, and voila. No need for a dock or an "iPod compatible receiver" or anything else.

Of course, if I could hook up the dock, that would be sweeter, cos then I could get the wireless remote control.

cheers,
supervij

 

[MDS]

'iPod compatible' is the marketing machine at its finest. iPods are extremely popular so why not advertise that your receiver is compatible?

They do provide some neat features that you may or may not find useful. For example, Onkyo's dock is integrated with their RI system and will turn on the receiver automatically if you turn on the dock (the same way it does for DVD and other inputs). Some may allow you to view the contents of the iPod on the receiver's display. But, if you just want to play the music on the iPod and don't necessarily need or care for the 'intetgration' features, you can do so simply by connecting to any unused analog input on the receiver.

 

[Kai]

Some of the newest Yamaha receivers provide for direct connect of an IPod using their TDS-10 IPod docking station.

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/receivers/receiver_main.htm

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/receivers/neural_prods.htm#ipod

 

[jcPanny]

iPod Doc

The main "advantage" of the iPod doc on new receivers is that you can control the iPod with the receivers remote. Considering the cost of the dock around $100, it is an expensive feature.