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Sound Quality...iPad vs iTouch

I've been placing my iPod Touch (4th gen) on a dock that extracts the digital and sends it to my DAC and then listen to Pandora Radio thru my main system.

I read a review from someone who uses an iPhone,iPod and iPad the same way (with a like dock) and thought the sound was noticibly better from the iPad.

Anybody have any ideas why this "could" be true?

I have an iPad 3 now and will check this out hopefully this weekend and judge with my own ears. It's a little tough doing an a/b with Pandora because the next song may be better or worse in recording quality than the previous.

In the meantime, I'd appreciate anyones thoughts on why the digital stream would be better out of an iPad vs an iTouch. Better/faster processor???
onemug
sandstone
358 posts
 
I sometimes use an iPad 2 with the Apple Camera Connection kit ($30) to directly output 24/96 AIFF and FLAC files to a small DAC and headphones when traveling. (Yes, it's actually 24-bit, and not the 16-bit feed that you get through the mic-out connection.)

While tinkering around at home, I connected the iPad to my den system (Bel Canto DAC3 via BC USB Link), and noted that SQ is excellent. I also streamed wi-fi signal from JRiver and PC server via JRemote, with very good results.

More to the point, when I shut down the server feed, I notice that the iPad continues to play on for as much as 30 seconds in some cases. One could speculate that the iPad might be using an unusually large buffer capacity to stabilize signal and this might also in part explain its quality of playback.
sonicbeauty
324 posts
 
I use both the iTouch and iPad with a Cambridge Audio DacMgic Plus and companion digital iD-100 dock.

Sound could be slightly better with the Pad, but very hard to tell.

Just hit the power button for the whole screen to go black (just as if it was turned off) while keeping the sounds alive.

I also use both with the special Bluetooth gizmo designed to work with the DacMagic Plus. Slight loss of fidelity, but huge gain in convinience as you can hold the iPod or Pad directly in your hands sitting from pretty mucb anywhere in your house and control both source and volume level as everything is ''Bluetoothed' to your main rig. Very cool.
onemug OP
784 posts
 
Thanks above.

Sandstone, I like your speculation on the buffer.

Sonicbeauty, I read/liked your review of the iD100. It's the dock I'm using. Agree with what you said about it.

Time Warner gave me a G router (bless their little hearts). In the very near future I will be getting an N (maybe the Apple Airport Extreme). I get full strength to the Pod/Pad with the G now so coverage is not as issue. Do you think the extra "speed" of the N will make much of a sonic difference?o
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
I get full strength to the Pod/Pad with the G now so coverage is not as issue. Do you think the extra "speed" of the N will make much of a sonic difference?
My guess is that it will not. But if it does I would expect that it would be because of differences in the kinds of digital noise, jitter, and possibly RFI effects that I referred to above. Which in turn could result in sonics that are either better or worse, with little predictability.

Those are the only mechanisms I can envision by which changing from G to N could result in a sonic difference, given that the G-link is working reliably.

Best regards,
-- Al
davide256's avatar
davide256
402 posts
 
Faster processor speed and OS efficiency greatly improve jitter reduction for playback. Power reserves for audio output (bigger battery) improve fidelity for transients.
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