iPOD to Audio amp

[Siaip Ciuvas]

Hi,

I have massive collection of music on iTunes and iPOD Classic 120 GB with all library uploaded to it. As well I have decent midrange audio system in my living room and I'd love to connect iPOD's lineout to my Yamaha receiver. What is the best way to do it? I know that headphone output is piss poor for that and I need some kind of audio dock, but google didn't tell me much, so I ask here.

ps. I don't need audiophile quality, though and 200$+ Icon DAC stuff is not on my budget level...

[DaveH]

This is a relatively cheap route:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC917ZM/...mco=MjA0NTUxMDE

[belgian]

I use this for more than a year now, and it's great:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logic3-WIP040-Prod...534&sr=8-26

If you want to use your computer and you have a Mac, the Airport Express is great.

[JohnnyB]

Conrad's and Dave's solutions are excellent. If you only want 2-channel audio hookup from the iPod you can use one of these from Ram Electronics. Like the Apple adapter cord, the breakout includes a USB plug so you can sync your iPod or plug it into a recharger adapter.

If you want true best of class without getting insane on price, by far the best solution would be the Logitech Squeezebox Touch. This thing is amazing and has been garnering rave reviews from both the mainstream and high end audio press. It can pull streaming audio from your computer with iTunes and can output it in several formats--stereo RCA jacks, digital coax, digital optical, and headphone, and acceps input via wi-fi, Ethernet, or USB. You can plug a thumb drive full of music into it and it'll find and play it. I don't know for sure, but I suspect if you put all your music on a compact USB external hard drive, it could play from that as well. That it has both digital and analog outputs means that it has an internal DAC but can also output the digital stream to an external DAC. If you get interested in high-res digital, it can process 24/96 audio files as well.

It's more than the budget you mentioned, but short of a $10,000 music server, this is easily "best of class" and a game-changer at under $299 USD. If you have any music subscriptions it can stream those from your computer as well.

If your house has wi-fi (or easy access to an Ethernet outlet) and your Yamaha receiver has a digital/analog converter, a cheaper way to stream than the Logitech Touch is the Apple TV unit. Yes, it streams all manner of video, but it streams any audio format from iTunes as well. Unlike the Logitech, it only has digital outputs.

Finally, in my personal experience, the audio out from an iPod headphone jack isn't all that bad if you use a good enough mini-to-RCA cable. Problem with that is that by the time you get a good enough cable to compensate, it's about as expensive as Apple TV or the dock mentioned above.

[Siaip Ciuvas]

thanks everyone! I think Conrad's option is the best for my needs! This place rocks - found what I needed quicker than with google

[zenmindbeginner]

Right on, something that charges and has a remote is crucial to the full enjoyment of one's iPod in the home IMHO.

[Armitage]

There are all kinds of Media Boxes out there too. I have one with a 1 Terabyte hard drive in it that plays movies and music and was under $100.

[Siaip Ciuvas]

I have media box, thanks, but since all my music is sorted for iTunes library, I'd like to give old Classic iPod some work

[Frank]

I used a mini to rca cable and ran mine through my mixer. I used the regular recharger to keep it flowin'.