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USB Input on McIntosh C2700

Hey guys!

My C2700 has a USB-A input for the DAC and I was wondering: If I could find a 30-pin iPod to USB-A cable, could I just plug my old iPod straight into my preamp? Right now, I just connect it via minijack to RCA to a line level input from the headphone jack. The preamp has a great DAC, though, so I’d love to be using it with the iPod.

So far, some casual googling hasn’t turned up such a cable, (although there are adapters), but I don’t even know if it would work. Have any of you tried this?

128x128sudont
mastering92
870 posts
 

in theory, it should work.

Unless not supported. Specific use cases that wouldn't work would be in the owners manual.

erik_squires
16,144 posts
 

They also made iPod cradles just for this reason.

mtmug
14 posts
 

Check online auction sites for either the Wadia 170i / 171i or the Pure I-20. While no longer available new, these docking stations had a chip that provided the necessary electronic handshake to allow extraction of the digital stream from several generations of iPods using the 30 pin connector.
I have used the Pure I-20 and some old iPods in an office system for years. The I-20 was pretty inexpensive, even when new, and works fine. The Wadia dock was quite a bit pricier, as I recall.
Other than using one of these units, I think you’re pretty much restricted to the analog output regardless of what cable you find.

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