Not sure if I get the point of the Wadia iPod dock

It's quite simple. It's for people who have their music on their ipod and don't have a pc in their living room and/or know better than to use wifi. And it's silent.

And they own a DAC - thus ruling me out.

Regards,

The Wadia by passes the internal dac that is in the iPod. You can choose your own dac for better performance. GHS

there are other solutions out there that don't require an iPod or computer. I've been looking at the Western Digital TV which is about $100 and connects directly to a usb hard drive. Unlike the Wadia, it must be connected to a TV but also plays high def movies.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=572

Can you run the Wadia without a dac ?

NO you need some type of dac either the one in a cd player, if it has digital inputs or a dac by itself.

@ Jpgsf: Yes, but only with a analog output. You will need a DAC to use the digital output.

jpgst their is no sound from the wadia via its analog output. It doesn't have any audio circuitry in it, its only function is to bypass the ipod dac and to send the digital signal to an outboard dac.

@ Usarmyvet91: Please read the manual (page 20):

"The Wadia 170iTransport cannot output digital and analog audio simultaneously. Therefore, to use the analog outputs you will have to activate them. To do this, first insert the iPod into the Wadia 170iTransport. You will have to use the mode button on the remote. When you press the mode button, the digital output is disabled and the analog outputs will become active. Each time the iPod is docked, the Wadia 170iTransport will automatically select the digital output as a default. You will have to perform the above steps each time you dock the iPod and want to use the analog audio output."

And page 12:

"Making an Analog Connection

Connect your chosen cable from the Left and Right Line Level Audio outputs on the Wadia 170iTransport (connection 3 in iTransport Outputs illustration) to the corresponding analog input on your Television, Stereo Receiver or Other Analog Input Device."

chris10an thanks, why would you want to use the wadia i170 analog outs?

@ Usarmyvet91: The question from Jpgsf was: "Can you run the Wadia without a dac ?"

The correct answer is: Yes, by using the analog output.

The answer to your question is because you don't have a DAC.

Chris10am,
What is the sound difference if running it without a dac ?
Thanks.

@Jpgsf: Big!

So if sounds matter, always use a DAC with the Wadia 170i.

Would the ipod/wadia dock hooked up to a wadia12 dac sound good ?

"Is this for people who just don't want to mix computers and their systems?"

Yes.

I run a spdif cable from the digital out on my PC soundcard over to my DAC.

This way, I have access to my whole library, instead of only what fits in my ipod.

I can use my Iphone over wifi to control playback via the "remote" application.

The Wadia is a interesting idea, and the first to bypass the iPod internal DAC. At almost $400.00 it seems kind of steep for a docking platform, but it is very well built by a notable company and has a certain "Apple" elegance to it. It seems to me that a better alternative is the Apple TV which gets you the same thing without the iPod and more.Also, I have to think that after the Wadia there will be many others to follow that will be much less expensive and possibly fuller featured.