Ipad to replace cd player?


Reluctantly I have been forced to connect either my ipad or ipod to my system for audio. I was always against it so far! but wife and kids feel more comfortable with them as opposed to CD player. My system is Infinity intermezzos hooked to Lexicon MC12, CX-5, and a lexicon RT20.
How much of a deterioration in audio quality do you get playing mp3 off ipad etc?
Any suggestion reg good cable for hookup?
girish
The iPad isn't really that bad is it? I use Discovery Essence interconnect and a cheap Hosa RCA to 3.5mm stereo adapter to connect my preamp to my iPad. I play Pandora or whatever off of the iPad, and I think it sounds pretty good for what it is. I enjoy it more for what it can do than for it's sound quality. If it makes the wife and kids happy then that alone should be worth it's weight in gold! LOL. I use a Wadia 170i connected to my DAC with TARA Labs RSC Air 1 Digital coax for iPod usage, and that is when the sound quality gets much better. Good luck!
Ipad is not a bad device for listening on teh grand scale of things historically, but .mp3 files are technically the weak link compared to CD.

Just listen to the music from whatever source of interest and decide for yourself if it is enjoyable or not. For a lot of pop/rock type recordings, it may be good enough. For other genres prone often to more discriminating listening, classical in particular, the differences/shortcoming may become more apparent.

Nowadays, you can rip CDs to computer disk using .wav, FLAC or other lossless formats and use various programs on Ipods with a wireless network connection for playback or to control other devices connected to hifi like Sonos. That can work quite well for both Ipod lovers and audio lovers with nice systems.