I always find it interesting when someone disparages a format that they have not used and do not seem to be familiar with. I came late to the Ipod and only used them for travel at first. Later I tried higher sampling rates and the lossless format with surprisingly good results. I now use a generation 4, 40 gig model as a portable HD on both my Jolida 102b/Sequerra Met7/Atlantic subwoofer (with an Onkyo brand dock) based bedroom system and my office TEAC mini reference system (with an eBay no-name remote dock). It really is a very convenient way to move your music to your different systems and /or locations. The quality of the sound is quite good with both systems better than or equal to most moderately priced CD players. I have not used it in my Audio Research or Luxman Tube based primary systems but only because I have not had need to. Try the Ipod with a recording from good input source you may be suprised.
