iPod to DAC Connection

guys if you read the diffrent reviews in most audiophile mags..you will see that most reviewers almost couldent tell the diff between there 4-6 k reference cdp's and the 299-499 ipods when of course it was aac ripped files...that being said....the ipod is the future....most likely replacing our beloved cd's....and keeping things nice and neat in our homes....and cars,some of the car manufactures are already getting on board to accomadate this trend...and i'm sure apple will eventually come out with a hard drive storage back up so we audiophile can down load all of our cd collections onto it and have access to god knows how many albums at a touch of a button...,i for one am looking forward to this day!! becouse lets be honost here most 4-8k cd players are not worth the money....!!! and its still a digital stream that is converted into a analog signal...so it will never be perfected...,its just fool proof and convient..that was sony's idea!! for series listening we still have our lp collections...and for convients now there is the ipod..welcome to the future of audiophilia...and eventually good buy cd's!

my 2 cents worth!!

Hey, you could buy the $17,000 Reimyo CD player ($15,000 for a dealer demo!) or an iPod and all the CDs/LPs you could ever want! I know where I'd put my money today.

The computer is the way to go if you want to get the best fidelity with a hard drive based transport. I rip my CD's to my hard drive and ipod uncompressed using AIFF. With hard drives getting larger and cheaper, I don't see any reason to use compression. I set up a system with a G4 Power book outputting via USB connection to an Apogee Mini-Dac and it sounds really, really good. On the other hand, I connect my ipod to my car stereo using the headphone out and it sounds good, too. Not as good as the computer through the Apogee, but good enough for the car, far better than a 6 CD changer.

All interesting comments and suggestions. I am now leaning toward getting the Slim Devices Squeezebox ($200) mentioned by Macallan25, which is hooked up to the computer (iMac in my case) by either an Ethernet cable or wireless system, and which has coaxial and optical outputs to connect to a DAC (in my case the MF Trivista CD/SACD player is my DAC). I will add a LaCie Big Disk HD, probably the 500GB ($550) model, so I can rip hundreds of uncompressed files to play via the Squeezebox. This is beginning to look like the best option since the iPod-to-DAC doesn't appear to be an immediately available option. I listen to my analog system for most of my serious listening sessions, but for $770 I can assemble a pretty good computer based digital system that allows me to put together my own playlists. Reactions?

>>for $770 I can assemble a pretty good computer based digital system that allows me to put together my own playlists. Reactions?<<

I'm with you. I also have a system for serious listening, but I also need solutions for more casual listening. I have been searching for something that will provide convenience, while minimizing sonic compromise. The computer is the way to go. Plus, if you're married, your wife and family will love the convenience of being able to scroll through albums on your computer screen, making playlists, etc. And you will love the fact that they don't have to fool with your CD's in order to play music. If you have a party, you can let the guests scroll through and pick songs for the background music -- it is a great solution.