Connecting I-pod to Integrated Amplifiers

Bignerd100 is right, just get a cable that has a 1/8 stereo mini plug on one end and dual RCA plugs on the other. Put the mini plug into the headphone jack on the iPod and the RCA's into any line-level input on your integrated.

I'm not advocating expensive cabling for that application but if that's what you want, almost every cable manufacturer is making an 'iPod' cable, some costing close to the same price as the iPod. I bought an Audioquest version from audioadvisor.com, like this but there are lots of other options. The cable isn't really iPod specific, it can be used to connect anything with a mini-jack output, like a portable CD player or another brand of mp3 player.

Make sure to connect to the dock (line out) as opposed to using the headphone out on the ipod. That way, you will be bypassing the Ipod's internal amplifier, and using your own amplifier instead. Plug the cable that the big nerd is talking about into the dock.

Mapleleafs3 - You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

I would be surprised if you could tell the difference between an ipod's line out playing apple lossless files and any <= $500 cd player

Have you ever even listened to an ipod hooked up via line out playing lossless files? Or are you "guessing" ?

Agree; definitely use the line-out, or the line-out on a Dock if you don't have one on your iPod. Do not use the headphone jack which runs off the tiny op-amp in the iPod. Better yet, if there were some solution to get a digital output from the iPod that could run into an outboard DAC, then you'd be cooking with gas! I started a thread a while back, which I'll ammend now having just seen this implemented in a mini-system by Monitor Audio. If you read the description of the features of this mini-system, it claims to use the iPod simply as a digital feed and use its own DAC to do the conversion. I have no experience with this unit, so can't comment specifically, but that'd be the way I'd want to go. Short of that, line-out and you will still need that 1/8" mini to dual RCA iPod interconnect. I use one of Signal-Cable's silver versions of this plug and am very happy with it (about $70). Do not make the mistake of buying one of those docks with the RCA outputs directly on them (can't recall the manufacturer...costs $99). I tried one and they are truly horrible. They do put some kind of filter, circuitry or op-amp between the iPod and the outputs. Whatever that circuitry is absolutely ruins the sound. I took mine back after two days and went with the basic Apple iDock for my 60GB iPod (which otherwise has no line-out). The iDock has a mini jack for line-output. The signal from the line-out this way is markedly better than going through the headphone jack.

As far as the naysayers go; don't knock it till you've tried it. The one huge advantage it offers is having a big chunk of your music that you can bring anywhere with you. I have a hook-up to my Alpine deck in my car, and travel with a head-amp, and sometimes powered speakers to enjoy music in my hotel room. 300+ CD's at my fingertips in lossless format. At home it makes for a thoroughly enjoyable source via line-out for everything but critical listening, where I still think most would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Of course you'd know it was there in your system and you'd have to live with that nagging thought. Eventually the Audiophile Police would come a knockin' and confiscate your membership card and decoder ring. You'd be black listed in the community, shunned by those who deplore such mediocrity, and if you listen long enough your johnson will shrivel up and fall off, and you'll go blind.

Marco

If all you've ever done is listened to the headphone output of an iPod you're bound to conclude it sounds lousy (especially if you're listening with the stock earbuds, they're absolutely horrible). The way to go if you want quality is to use apple lossless files with the line out through the cradle. Better yet, mod the iPod to take all the crap out of the signal path after the dac and upgrade the capacitors to Black Gates (which Vinnie at Red Wine Audio does, and he did for me). This gets you everything that's causing such a buzz with PC based playback in something you can hold in your hand and take with you when you travel (although you will need a headphone amp because the regular jack is converted to a line out level).

Gary