Pro-Ject IPOD-Dock - RothDock?

haurock

Active Member
Any Mc fans know of or have tried the Pro-Ject IPod Dock or the RothDock?

http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=dockbox&cat=boxes&lang=en http://www.rothaudio.co.uk/docs/products/rothdoc.shtml

Both are new products which I had the opportunity to try in the last couple of weeks and are available for under $200.

The ROTHDOCK actually works wirelessly. You can have the Dock next to you and it communicates with an adapter that can be connected to one of analog inputs on your preamp.

The Pro-Ject is a rather very sturdy IPod Dock that you must control by using the remote on the IPod itself. I was rather quite surprised at the quality of this dock.

Both are decent alternatives for casual listening though the Pro-ject provided better sound and I couldn't detect a difference between AAC files or Apple Lossless files. If there is a difference its quite subtle. Neither are quite as good as listening to RedBook CD's, but they are rather quite close.

I thought I would just pass on this for information purposes. :music:
 
Thanks for this I had posted a thread asking if anyone had tried out the Pro-Ject yet. Glad to hear it's up to the level of their other stuff I have tried. My son will be looking for one of these I'll be able to recomend it now.
 
Nothing more than a fancy dock. You're still using the iPod's $0.35 DAC.

Yes, perhaps,:yes: but the quality of the sound :music:is rather quite impressive. I wouldn't quite say its just a fancy doc. At least not when you're listening to it.

I actually did an A/B comparison yesterday and I'm still rather dumbfounded. :headscrat I connected my MCD301 via Nordost Hiemdall XLR interconnects from the variable outputs to my preamp, and then connected the Pro-Ject Ipod dock to the AUX input using Nordost Blue Heaven RCA interconnects. Once I adjusted the volume so they were both playing at the same level I began switching from one to the other while listening to Jesse Cook's Gravity (RedBook CD) and the AAC version from my IPOD.

By definition the MCD301 should have blown the Pro-Ject away.:yes: It didn't, :no: it was extremely difficult to hear the difference. Even my wife, who is usually very good at picking up nuances and differences kept confusing the two.

So..... I am very very perplexed to say the least. Perhaps I am doing something fundamentally wrong, but I don't know what that could be.:scratch2: In this case I in fact put all the advantages on the MCD301's side :yes: and I am hard pressed to hear a difference. I am not sure what Pro-Ject has done, but they have done something. :yes:
 
Has anyone been adventurous enough to try replacing the DAC on an iPod? Or is it a strictly proprietary component that can't be mucked with?

I've tried using iPod docks and find the music "flat" sounding. Even plugging one in through a mainstream audio amplifier produces mediocre results. This is with media compressed at or higher than 192kbps. Is there a "booster dock" available that can deliver much better sound from an iPod?
 
Flat sounding...

Has anyone been adventurous enough to try replacing the DAC on an iPod? Or is it a strictly proprietary component that can't be mucked with?

I've tried using iPod docks and find the music "flat" sounding. Even plugging one in through a mainstream audio amplifier produces mediocre results. This is with media compressed at or higher than 192kbps. Is there a "booster dock" available that can deliver much better sound from an iPod?


Consider the Wadia 170i if you're real serious. Then you can use whatever DAC you choose and have a great interface with your system, or leave it alone and benefit from the internal analog output from the Wadia. There are some reviews out there. Expensive? Yes! Worth it? You have to determine that for yourself. However it is Apple Certified.

Hope that helps.

an OT question: I am starting to look at an iPod or other mp3 player for my wife and have ignored MP3 players myself (although I have one, I have never used it for anything except the internal tuner). Without hijacking the thread, what are the "most for the least" ones out there? Someplace I did find a portable audio site, but can't find it now. I'd hope that I could get something with an expansion slot to hook up additional memory. Any ideas? Prefer something very affordable to start with, that supports multiple formats. The "review" sites" I've been to all seem to be sponsored and "pro-Apple" or "Pro-XXXXX". Are there any unbiased opiinions out there? A point in the right direction would be appreciated.

thanks
s
 
Back
Top Bottom