Prima Luna Prolog 1 and ipod

For the best sound quality you'd want to bypass the DAC and amplifier inside the iPod by connecting it to one of the external docks that pick up the digital information directly from the drive in the iPod. Then you're getting the music at the resolution of the original file, which can be anything from a low-resolution mp3 to full CD or higher resolution. At that point the iPod is just a storage device with an interface for selecting the music.

Several companies make docks, Wadia was the first but there are a number of them out there now. I haven't heard the PURE i-20 but it's fairly inexpensive and has had good reviews here.

The Pure i-20 is a great place to start. After that, the options are endless...

the external dac will certainly provide better sound, but if you have been downloading from itunes or converting cds at the 128 ACC import setting inorder to fit as much music as you can on your ipod your are getting compressed sound. If you have been importing at WAV or equivalent you'll get closer to the orginal cd sound, takes up a lot more ipod G space so you need one with a fair bit of Gs - difference in space between the2 import settings is like 5-6 times,but music sounds a heel of alot better. Might also consider besides the dac an ipod transport like the Wadia 171

02-19-12: Learsfool
I can't resist asking why on earth you would want to do this?? As you say, the ipod quality is very poor, and that won't change no matter what you hook it up to.

I can't resist asking why on earth you would make such a preposterous claim??

Sure, if you are referring to poorly-encoded, low-bitrate files played through crappy earbuds at high volume in noisy environments, you might have a case; but used as a means of storing and playing digital files, an iPod can compete with transports costing many times its meager price. Load in some high-quality files and hook it up to a decent (or better) DAC, and if you still think "the ipod quality is very poor, and...won't change no matter what you hook it up to," you may be forced to drop the "Lears" portion of your moniker! ;-)
-

Hi Rel - I didn't know that the higher resolution files could be loaded into an ipod. I don't use one, at least 85% of my listening is to vinyl, so I was indeed referring to mp3 files. I stand corrected.