Oh dear. I've just returned an 80GB iPod Classic for a glaring defect that appears to be common to both the 80GB and 160GB iPod Classic models. Every so often while playing, the music stops for a second or two, then continues from where it left off. It seems to be a buffer underrun problem, and happens more frequently with lossless files. Please read this thread:

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6018834#6018834

CD quality? I am ripping all mine full rez to my hard drive and they sound a lot better!

Trey

Hey Jay1403,

Very few iPod accessories I have seen seem to place sound quality very high on the priority list, however there are exceptions. You might like to check out the Moon Audio iPod cables:

I have tried their replacement headphone cables on both Sennheisers and AKGs and been very impressed. These guys really seem to know what they are doing. If you are planning on using an iPod as a source this is the best way I know of to get the signal to your amp.

Buy some Brit gear and pack a carry-on bag.

IMO, affordable English hi-fi is the best deal going, providing you don't have to cope with the falling Dollar.

Arcam make some interesting products, most of which would break your budget by a wide margin, but a couple of which may be of interest; The Solo and Solo Mini are compact all-in-ones, to which you could conveniently add an Arcam dock for iPod connection and remote control.

I'd also look for favorable pricing on Arcam in the near future.

For speakers, the smaller Paradigms or Rega R1s might match well with the sort of system I assume you're assembling (ie small-ish).

As far as the 160GB iPod goes, get it soon, if you still can; The entire line was just freshened, and the Classic has been compromis-olidated to a single 120GB model.

If you want an absurdly good iPod solution for ~$2500, go for a pair of AVI ADM 9.1s (powered monitors with DAC) and a Wadia iTransport (outputs iPod digital signal). I believe the AVIs also include an analog input, which could accommodate your turntable in the future.

Good luck with the move and putting your new system together!

Analog out of a iPod does not sound good to me. If you have the music on your iPod, then most likely you have it on your PC.

What I would do (Best to worst):
- Buy an airport express and use digital out to a DAC
- Buy an AppleTV and digital out to a DAC (have to use a TV or Apple Remote App for iTouch / iPhone)
- AppleTV analog out to your amp (AppleTV internal DAC is better than Airport Express DAC)

----- below this line, I notice an obvious degradation in sound ------

- Airport express analog out to amp
- iPod doc

I have tested all of these options on my own system....

Quote:

Buy an airport express and use digital out to a DAC

This is what I do and I've enjoyed it a lot. My poor CD player is nearly always in standby.

Lossless is key.

Hmm, I'm thinking maybe one of those Fat Man ipod docks and amplifer with some really
efficient and sensitive single driver speakers. Dared also makes something similar, in
fact, I think they make the Fat Man thing. Triangles would probably do the trick if
you wanted something more mainstream for speakers.