I find it pretty amazing that a reviewer would go out on a limb and say that a iPod sounds decent through a high resolution system.
I read it over again, and I really can't find any critical review of the iPod's sound in that system whatsoever! There is no going out on a limb, other than perhaps the concept of the article . But that concept is not followed through to being any kind of review at all (which is why I say it's just a fluff piece). Again, perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't think so. As far as I got from reading it, the reviewer says nothing at all about the sound of the iPod in that system. The information I did get from it corresponds to my own experiences: the line-out is an improvement over the headphone jack. In both cases the iPod lacks in the low-end, both in depth and resolution (though I don't think the reviewer even goes that far). They chose the Avantgardes for their bass prowess to make up for this weakness in the iPod. Having read the article now twice, I have no idea, not even a remote sense, of what that system sounds like. It is, at best, a very basic primer on some of the ways to get the most out of your iPod when used as the front end of a home system. It is not a review, and there is certainly no risk taking that I can see in what's been said there.
I agree with you CK; as convenient as the iPod is, and as amazing the concept that so much music can fit in such a tiny space, and actually be reproduced in an enjoyable presentation through a system, I see no reason to do that when there are other choices at hand. I've compared my iPod to my own front end and you won't find it connected to my home system either. I absolutely would, however, run my computer via Waveterminal through my DAC, which makes for a brilliant front end. This is the reason I was looking for some way to get a digital-output from my iPod, as Monitor Audio claims to be doing. Do that, and I think you'd really be on the way to a significant improvement in iPod performance, and a real contender as a part of a digital front end.
Marco