I want to connect Nano to my vintage Pioneer

Joe P

I love a nice rack!
I want to connect a 4th generation Nano to my SX980. and get good sound (is close to cd quality too much to ask for?). I really don't want to spend more than I did for the Pioneer and Klipsch speakers it would be connected to.
I will admit, I am not technologically advanced, heck, I don't even want to be. I am hoping for a reasonably inexpensive way to use a $149 Ipod on a $350 stereo system.
I have read through the information here, and done a little online searching but don't feel very enlightened.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks.
 
Good question. I went thru this research myself a few months back and learned a lot. You have several options in ascending order of expense. Its interesting because this question is the source of a lot of debate on this board.
1) As Maxz24 says just buy an RCA cable with 2 rca jacks on one end and the single headphone jack on the other end. Do this first. Its worth the $10 - $30 you'll spend just to try it.
2) Don't hook your Nano to your stereo. Buy an Ipod dock ranging in price from $100 - $600 and listen through the dock's speakers. I obsessed over several choices on up to the B&W Zeppelin and came to the conclusion none sounded good enough.
3) Buy an Apple TV (ATV) and use it as your house IPOD using higher definition lossless files. The Apple TV is essentially a video IPOD with a digital output so you can use an outboard DAC if you want better sound. It is $329 for the 160 gigabyte model and will allow you to control your music menu on your TV. Even with the RCA jack analog output, it will sound quite good and probably just as good as the source on your $350 stereo. It also gives you the ability to store and view your pictures, and video library on your TV via an HDMI output.
4) Buy the Wadia ITransport that is an IPOD dock that supports the Nano and gives you the capability to get digital output out of your IPOD to your stereo if you use an outboard DAC which converts the digital signal from the dock to an analog signal that will go into your Pioneer via the RCA audio input jacks. The Wadia is $379. You can use it without the DAC with just the RCA output similar to option 3. Its video capability is associated with passing the video through from the IPOD to a TV. Since your Nano does not have video, this is not applicable.
5) Improve on 3) or 4), by also buying an outboard DAC to get really good sound by using the digital out on your ATV or your Wadia and having the DAC convert it to Analog using higher quality DAC chipsets. $400 - $4000 and up. This gives you the capability to create a audiophile quality source from your IPOD and Dock or your ATV

The good thing about this list is you can work up the list over time if you prefer and as your wallet allows.

I did 1) and found it useless. Not enough power and sound into the stereo. Then I did 3) and thought it was not bad at all and really liked all the other cool features of the ATV. Then I did 6) because I read this board and some audiophile mags and I was bored on my Christmas break and my receiver and speakers are just good enough to notice the difference. Remember once you've done options 3&5 or options 4&5, you've created a really high quality SOURCE for a stereo - any stereo, so if you want to upgrade your amp/receiver and your speakers later you can still use the source you've created.
 
Thanks, is the sound quality ok? Do you just turn up the volume on the Ipod as high as possible without getting distortion?

The sound quality is good because I plug my IPOD into my Kenwood KA-9100 and it sounds great.
 
Good question. I went thru this research myself a few months back and learned a lot. You have several options in ascending order of expense. Its interesting because this question is the source of a lot of debate on this board.
1) As Maxz24 says just buy an RCA cable with 2 rca jacks on one end and the single headphone jack on the other end. Do this first. Its worth the $10 - $30 you'll spend just to try it.
2) Don't hook your Nano to your stereo. Buy an Ipod dock ranging in price from $100 - $600 and listen through the dock's speakers. I obsessed over several choices on up to the B&W Zeppelin and came to the conclusion none sounded good enough.
3) Buy an Apple TV (ATV) and use it as your house IPOD using higher definition lossless files. The Apple TV is essentially a video IPOD with a digital output so you can use an outboard DAC if you want better sound. It is $329 for the 160 gigabyte model and will allow you to control your music menu on your TV. Even with the RCA jack analog output, it will sound quite good and probably just as good as the source on your $350 stereo. It also gives you the ability to store and view your pictures, and video library on your TV via an HDMI output.
4) Buy the Wadia ITransport that is an IPOD dock that supports the Nano and gives you the capability to get digital output out of your IPOD to your stereo if you use an outboard DAC which converts the digital signal from the dock to an analog signal that will go into your Pioneer via the RCA audio input jacks. The Wadia is $379. You can use it without the DAC with just the RCA output similar to option 3. Its video capability is associated with passing the video through from the IPOD to a TV. Since your Nano does not have video, this is not applicable.
5) Improve on 3) or 4), by also buying an outboard DAC to get really good sound by using the digital out on your ATV or your Wadia and having the DAC convert it to Analog using higher quality DAC chipsets. $400 - $4000 and up. This gives you the capability to create a audiophile quality source from your IPOD and Dock or your ATV

The good thing about this list is you can work up the list over time if you prefer and as your wallet allows.

I did 1) and found it useless. Not enough power and sound into the stereo. Then I did 3) and thought it was not bad at all and really liked all the other cool features of the ATV. Then I did 6) because I read this board and some audiophile mags and I was bored on my Christmas break and my receiver and speakers are just good enough to notice the difference. Remember once you've done options 3&5 or options 4&5, you've created a really high quality SOURCE for a stereo - any stereo, so if you want to upgrade your amp/receiver and your speakers later you can still use the source you've created.

The sound quality is good because I plug my IPOD into my Kenwood KA-9100 and it sounds great.

Thanks. I will start with an RCA cable and hope for the best. I will probably check out the Wadia as well. I have four systems in the house, the "big" one is capable of better sound than the Pioneer/Klipsch set up where I plan to use the Ipod most commonly, so the Wadia may end up in my future if it will provide better sound than RCA plugs.
Thanks again!
 
i'm also researching options for ipod to dac to amplifier, and am being discouraged. the wadia itransport sounds like a good option, but at $400+ after tax,...i don't know. with ipods being out there for such a long time, it really doesn't make any sense that there are no other options out there.
 
Keep in mind the Apple TV (ATV) is a cheaper option than the Wadia at $229 for the 40 gig version and $329 for the 160 gig. Its essentially a video IPOD with a digital output, so no dock is necessary for high quality sound. It syncs just like an IPOD so transferring music to it is a snap. I think video, picture, and podcast playback will be easier on an ATV than via an IPOD docked to a Wadia. Video rental and purchase via the ATV interface is also possible. I think the Wadia allows pass through of the IPOD interface to your TV, but only on some IPOD models and based on their FAQ on their website, it looks like a kluge. Remember the ATV is designed to use your TV or LCD as a monitor, while the Wadia has no menu design; it just tries to use the existing IPOD mini screen interface. So maybe keep your IPOD for mobility and use ATV as your "home IPOD" rather than the Wadia? Its worth checking further.

Both options assume, but do not require, an outboard DAC and use of lossless formats to get the most out of the sound quality.

I think Apple does not market the ATV very much as a music server for a couple reasons 1) they are concentrating on the general mass market rather than audiophiles. 2) Ever since I started using the ATV, I stopped downloading low-res music from ITunes and started buying CDs (from Amazon not Apple) and then loading them via lossless to the ATV. Its a paradox that these options drive you back to CDs and away from low-res music. I guess soon enough Apple will offer downloads of full CD resolution files and higher, but for now they are concentrating on what is convenient to the mass market.

What I can't figure out is why Apple licensed Wadia at all? Maybe to let Wadia do their test marketing for them and let audiophile debate the options like we are doing here.
 
I don't get the Wadia - you're baically using your IPOD as a hard drive, and a small one at that. For the money you could buy a used squeezebox and have a better display, access to your entire library, smaller footprint, full featured remote and money left over for a DAC upgrade.

I find the standard apple dock aux output sounds a bit better than the headphone jack. The output level is quite low and you'll need to crank your volume when switching components to the ipod.
 
I use my 120 GB ZUNE with the RCA to headphone cable and the sound is very good. All files are WMP lossless. I would not spend more without trying this option first and I bet you will be satisfied. I am using it with my Onkyo M-504 amp and Sansui 9090db as the preamp.
 
i use an RCA cable directly from the headphone-out jack from my 80Gb iPod to my pre-amp, and get decent results.
i tried a $40 Griffin iPod dock with the video cable out jack on the back, and it was a failure: major hum from the AC adaptor. and the FM remote was subject to lots of interference.
now i'm shopping for an ipod deck, perhaps something like the Wadia iTransport, because it would be nice to have remote control and iPod charging.
my system is pretty mid-fi (AR9's, Yam. PC2002M, Sony TAE-77ES) so I'm not going to spend more than $400 for the transport.
Haven't tried the 'loss-less' files yet; i'm downloading 256kb/sec mp3's from Amazon.
Not sure they are really better sounding than the 128kb/sec m4p's from iTunes, but i like the freedom from DRM.
 
I'm confused it's not the Pioneer and the Speakers that are effecting the quality of the sound it's the tiny little box and what you have stuffed inside it that would be tne hang up to good sound.
 
I use a fiiO e17 connected to my ipod which connects to my Marantz 33pre+250m = win!

much better than connecting the iPod alone to the set. the dac seems to do the job fine.
 
Back
Top Bottom