USB vs dock for iPod on Peachtree units?

The Ipod dock passes a direct digital signal, which should translate to better sound through the iPod. The USB connection is geared to hook up to a computer. The iPod connection sounds incredible in my iDecco. The iPod dock turns the iPod into a high end music server, albeit with limited remote control capabilities. If you intend to use the iPod as a transport, the iDecco is your best choice...

Thanks, Iramirez. I thought that was how it was supposed to be, but on the other hand, the Nova supposedly also played music from the iPod very well, via the USB input, so the ads look confusing from here (Japan). The iDecco and Decco 2 won't arrive here for another couple of weeks, so I haven't seen those yet. I saw the Nova in USA last month.

I was sort of hoping the Decco 2 (cheaper) would play the iPod equally well, or that the USB connection would be equally good on the Nova or Decco 2, because I like to search for music remotely from my iPod and wouldn't like to have to move over to the iDeco every time I want to change songs, especially not with the Classic iPod software, which I find cumbersome.

I was also hoping to set my iMac on top of the Nove/iDecco/ or Decco 2 unit, as I've seen in some review photos of the Nova, but it looks as though the position of the iPod dock on top of the iDecco would kill that idea. Is that the case?

Have you (or anyone) compared the sound of the iPod played through the USB vs dedicated dock?

I can't say this for certain, but I understand that the Nova & the Decco's share the same DAC. I think that the internals are the same except for the dock and the amplifiers. I have not tried out the iPod through the USB input, but I suspect that it would sound the same as it does in the Nova. I have my iDecco connected to my mac mini through the USB. I think that your iMac would sit atop the iDecco with no problem, but it might place the dock at an inconvenient spot behind the screen...

Oh, it looks like you cannot use the decco's USB with the iPod. I got this from David Solomon's blog, he said: "The USB from iPhone, like the iPod is for input and updates. It does not have audio output from the USB. You can use the Wadia i170 which outputs digital from the iPhone and iPods though." So it looks like you need a propriatary dock to get digital audio out of the iPod & iPhone...

Thanks again, Iramirez.

On the Peachtree Audio site (Signal Path), they all show the same DAC:

ESS 9006 Sabre DAC w/patented jitter reduction circuit

I've been digging around a lot and didn't see what you found out about the USB. It makes sense, because when I connect my iPod to my iMac via USB, I cannot play music directly from the iPod, but only via iTunes from the iMac.

On the Peachtree Audio site (Signal Path) on the iDecco specs page it shows:

4 Digital inputs (all transformer coupled)
iPod, USB, Toslink (optical), Coax

While on the Decco 2 specs page it shows:

3 Digital inputs (all transformer coupled)
USB, Toslink (optical), Coax

This means the iDecco is definitely the only choice for me.

I hope there is some sort of extension cable available so that I can connect the iPod to iDecco's dock and search for music with the iPod in hand; iPod parked on the dock will be very inconvenient for me.

I'm just now trying to make a move to modernize my old-fasioned system. Last year I bought an Ah! Njoe Tjoeb CD player, which has a tubed pre-amp. I added a 24/96 upsampler and better tubes, and the sound is so amazing that it prompted me to move toward 24/96 digital for all of my music in the near future (until the next thing comes along...). The Nova/iDeccos are based on a similar design approach, with 24/96 upsampling and tubed pre-amp.

Another question:

In a shop in USA last month I tried out the Nova. Source was a CD player. I could hear no difference at all when switching between "tubed" and "SS" pre-amp out via the remote. Can you hear any difference?