My 2 cents worth:
1- As your experience shows, the iPhone is not an iPod and works like crap for anything except MP3 files. IMHO if you need an iPod use an iPod. Better yet, use your laptop or an iMac as a music server.
Your iDecco will work very well in conjunction with a power amp. I use an original Decco in my office hooked to a GTA SE-40 tube amp and it sounds great - OK, as great as an SE-40 can sound. But it is an order of magnitude better than the integrated Decco amp.
I have also tried other power amps and prett much anything that sounds good to you will work well with the Peachtree units. I wouldn't go overboard, for example, and buy a pair of Shindo Lafon monoblocks just to power my Decco. But if you have a SS or tube amp that you like, try it. |
one main reason that i bought the iDecco was for the convenience of a bedroom system. a dedicated ipod makes sense, but unless i get the ipod touch, i wouldn't be able to listen to internet radio like pandora (not the best quality, but again very convenient). not sure the sound quality from a iphone is necessary worse than a ipod touch or the other ipod, especially through iDecco (Wadia iTransport) that extract digital signals directly from iphone/ipod and bypass the internal DAC. so the iphone is basically just serving as storage. plus, almost everybody has an iphone, and why buy the ipod touch or another ipod when iphone pretty much does the same thing and more? that's why even wadia came out with their new iTransport 171 and advertise "iphone compatibility" as their selling point.
if i want to use my computer as a music server, i would've saved myself $200 and buy the Decco 2 or splurge and buy the Nova or something fancier like the Wyred4Sound DAC2. putting a computer in the bedroom is not ideal, especially with all the extra heat it can generate. i do have a computer-based system already in my office using the MHDT lab Paradisea DAC and Celestion speakers with pretty good result.
anyway, for other iDecco users, please post other iPod or iPhone models that you've tried on the iDecco without any issue despite that it's not listed as one of the compatible model.
please also list the power amp you are using to drive it if you are using a separate amp.
thanks. |
Happybob,
My comment re: the iPhone had less to do with sound quality than the limited data storage on the phone. There is simply not enough space to store enough ALC files to make it worth the trouble, at least for me.
If your music server is in a home office did you consider a Squeezebox or Sonos unit? Both work very well feeding into a Decco/Nova or iDecco. |
The squeezebox touch seems intriguing, might have to look into that. Thanks. |
I don't have an iDecco, but I have an iPhone and hopefully can interject some thoughts.
The not optimized message has to do with rejecting noise from the phone trying to find a signal. It's that buzzing noise that can happen when any cell phone is near speakers or amps. When my iPhone (and every other cell phone I've had) is near my alarm clock and the phone rings, right before it rings, the alarm clock buzzes.
To avoid this, put the iPhone into Airplane Mode.
As far as sound quality, a digit stream is a digital stream. The stream will come out of both bot perfect. One may have a little more jitter than the other, but it'll probably be negligible.
As was said above, the iPhone's biggest weakness is storage space. An iPod would have a lot more space for the money.
A great option to look into is an Apple TV. It has a digital output, stores music on it's internal hard drive, is dead silent, and can be controlled by an iPhone if desired. It has Internet radio too. No Pandora though.
Just a few thoughts. |
Sorry for a few misspellings. I'm posting from my iPhone and editing isn't very easy.
BTW, I'm also controlling my Apple TV with my iPhone as I type this.
I'd really like some thoughts on the iDecco if you guys wouldn't mind. I've read a review or two, but you know how that goes. What would you compare it's house sound to? Warm like NAD, Marantz, etc? Forward, laid back?
My system's changing a bit, due to a recent move. I need my system to have less boxes. I'd love a NaimUniti, but it's a bot expensive for me. |
I don't have an iDecco, but I have an iPhone and hopefully can interject some thoughts.
The not optimized message has to do with rejecting noise from the phone trying to find a signal. It's that buzzing noise that can happen when any cell phone is near speakers or amps. When my iPhone (and every other cell phone I've had) is near my alarm clock and the phone rings, right before it rings, the alarm clock buzzes.
To avoid this, put the iPhone into Airplane Mode.
As far as sound quality, a digit stream is a digital stream. The stream will come out of both bot perfect. One may have a little more jitter than the other, but it'll probably be negligible.
As was said above, the iPhone's biggest weakness is storage space. An iPod would have a lot more space for the money.
A great option to look into is an Apple TV. It has a digital output, stores music on it's internal hard drive, is dead silent, and can be controlled by an iPhone if desired. It has Internet radio too. No Pandora though.
Just a few thoughts. |
Apple TV seems to be a decent alternative to Squeezebox Touch. I checked one out at the Apple store recently, it seemed to run pretty hot to touch. Also no Pandora is a downside (although you can get Pandora indirectly through Airfoil). There's also rumors that the next generation cheaper Apple TV is about to come out...
BTW, the iDecco's sound is probably on the slightly warmer side, especially through the tube output (you also have the option of switching off the tube). it's really a great overall package, and will only improve more based on what I have read if you add separate power amps later. |
Thanks for the insight on the iDecco, Bob. If I go the iDecco route, it'll be due to simplicity. Connecting an amp wouldn't be realistic in my case. I have a Bryston B60, but have recently moved and am expecting our first child. The turntable has to be stored for a few years, the speakers will have to go on a shelf when she starts crawling, etc. I lost my dedicated man-cave room in exchange for more space in the new place. No dedicated room requires as few boxes as possible. I'd love to hook up the Apple TV to something along the lines of the Decco or Nova (no iPod dock needed for me) to keep things simple.
I'd get the internal DAC Tom my B60, but it's only available as a coax, and my Apple TV only has optical. I figure a few digital inputs will go well with the TV and DVD player too.
Regarding the next Apple TV, rumor has it that it won't have an internal hard drive, which kind of defeats my appeal for the Apple TV. I lie not needing the computer to be on at all times. Everything being synched to my Apple TV eliminates drop outs too.
Just some thoughts. Sorry if I'm taking your thread off track. |
not sure if bryston b60 has a home theater bypass mode, if it does, you can acutally use it as a power amp to drive the peachtree if needed. but sounds like space is going to be a constraint, if that's the case i think iDecco or Decco 2 is probably sufficient. i'm still not sure if nova is worth the extra money since you get the same preamp and dac, the only differences are the 80 watt vs 40 watt and more inputs. unless you don't see adding a separate power amp ever as an option or need all the extra inputs, save yourself some money and go with Decco 2. i was debating between iDecco and Decco 2 and went with iDecco because of the extra flexibility of using a iPod/iPhone. since Apple TV does not have Pandora, it's still very convenient to just open up Pandora in my iPhone and mount it on the iDecco. plus, iDecco pretty much has everything Decco 2 has + the iPod dock, it was worth the $200 extra for me. |
Thanks again, Bob. The B60 has a pre-out/main in loop, so I could use that. That kinda defeats the 1 box principal though. There's a dealer or two in my area, so I guess an audition is in order.
I'm also waiting on the Naim UnitiQute. It's going to be released soon, and will cost $2k, but it does everything the Peachtrees do, and adds wireless, and FM and Internet radio tuners. I'm a huge fan of Naim and would have bought their Uniti, but at almost $4k, it's over my budget.
With my first child on the way, I'll probably have to sell of the entire system and get a 1 box solution and wall mount speakers. It'll be worth it in the end. And it's a good thing that more and more companies are coming out with great sounding 1 box solutions, minus the speakers of course. |
Naim UnitiQute seems like an interesting product, especially with the build-in internet radio. Not sure if it's $1000 better than the Peachtree though. Right now I can do internet radio with my iPhone. One interesting I saw on the Naim UnitiQute website was that it's supposed to extract digital data from the iPod through a standard usb port (Apple authenticated), using a standard usb-iPod connector cable that comes with every iPod. This is quite interesting indeed. If it were that easy to implement, why aren't more manufacturers of usb dacs coming out with it? Why are we spending all these money for the Wadia iTransport or the iDecco? why can't the Peachtree implement the iPod digital extraction through its USB port of the dac portion? |
I've wondered that myself. I read somewhere in my Alpine car stereo manual that when using the iPod cable, it head unit uses its own DACs. I think they're claiming to do what these things are doing. The head unit is about 5 years old, and isn't a high end model.
Maybe hifi companies ignored the digital out of iPods due to arrogence/ignorance?
The Naim DAC and UnitiQute's handling of the iPod makes the most sense to me. Use a wire so that you can hold the iPod, rather than trying to mess with the click wheel while docked. I didn't buy the iTransport due mainly to that (and that its pretty buggy with different iPod models).
It interesting how the UnitiQute and Naim DAC have the iPod digital out wire, yet the Uniti (more expensive than the UnitiQute) doesn't. I think the Uniti was released before the other 2, so maybe that's why. Can't see how they wouldn't update it on the current ones if that's the case though.
To see if the UnitiQute is $1k better, I need to hear both. I've loved everything Naim has made that I've heard. Even though it'll be their entry level, if its got that Naim soul, it'll be very hard to beat. I guess time will tell. |
Hi guys, I'm using the idecco with a McCormack DNA 125 amp running my Totem Forest. The idecco sounds just fine by its self but I needed a little more power. This system is in my living room. I'm pretty happy but curious about how other amps sound with the idecco. I'm using a 160gb ipod classic. |
Hi Rockn, if possible, can you describe the difference in sound between driving the Forest directly with iDecco and driving them with iDecco + McCormack? i'm also a huge fan of Totem. i own the Mite, Staff, and a surround system with the Arros and Dreamcatchers. |
Hello Happybob
I got the very first iDecco in Japan a few months ago. I use my iDecco two ways simultaneously, both with really good results. I use an iMac or iPod as source, but when guests come over they like to plug in their iPhone, and I've never seen it not fit or have any problems. Even mp3's from an iPhone sound great through that iDecco DAC.
I send output from my iMac via Toslink (optical cable), or from my iPod parked directly on top or via a VERY convenient extension cable I bought online.
My iDecco amp outputs go directly to Quad 12L bookshelves on my computer desktop, which sounds warm, clear, and detailed, and the combination images wonderfully.
But the magic happens with my floorstanders, Yamaha NS-1000X, which are set up with iDecco used as DAC only, bypassing preamp, output to a Luxman pure class A 550 from 1981. That sound is super-detailed and very sweet indeed, but totally unforgiving of sharp or harsh recordings.
I use both of these systems through the iDecco at the same time while varying the loudness balance between the Quads and the Yamahas, or one or the other set as I like. Great sound and great fun.
Kbarkamian: To me the iDecco sound is rather flat and analytical, but extremely detailed, sort of like Accuphase amps. I think flat and analytical as a source is good, because you can modify it as you wish. I modify the amplified flat, analytical iDecco output through warm and sparkly bookshelf speakers on my desktop (Quad 12L), and sweeten and warm the direct DAC output sound through my class A Luxman amp to very neutral and detailed Yamaha floorstanding speakers. I also use the bass knobs on my amp and Yamahas to improve the poor bass provided by the iDecco.
These are not perfect systems, but both sound comparable to MUCH more expensive systems I've compared them with A/B. |
Deaf -
The extension cable sounds like a great idea. Do you have a web link to it? Thanks for the review. |
Kbarkamian - I don't think we're supposed to put links in here, but if you Put "iPod dock extension cable" (quotes not needed) in Google lots of links come up. I think the more popular one is Cablejive via Amazon, but don't quote me on that. I got both short and long lengths. It is cheap and VERY much more convenient, as I can control the iPod without getting out of bed to go to the iDecco, which is important at certain moments.... |
Just want to update this thread to report that I recently upgraded my iPhone 3G to iOS 4.1 and noticed a compatibility problem with the iDecco. Now in addition to a pop-up window that says "this device is not optimized for iPhone", a 2nd window would pop up saying "this accessory is not compatible with iPhone". I was able to close both windows, and after a while, the music did play through iDecco, but with intermittent interruptions. It's very similar to when you connect and disconnect your iPhone to the charging cable repeatedly. I never had this problem when I was running iOS 3.1.3 or even the newer iOS 4.0.2. I ended up downgrading my iPhone 3G back to iOS 3.1.3, and the problem went away. Not sure if this is an issue with the new iOS 4.1 in general or the combination of iPhone 3G running iOS 4.1 in particular. Not sure if it applies to iPhone 4 or iPod touch (2nd-4th generation) running OS 4.1. For other iDecco owners, if you have any iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 4.1, can you see if you experience similar problem and post back. Thanks. |
I have the same problem : numeric scratches & glitches when playing 3GS on Peachtree iDecco (and also Wadia itransport by the way)
Problem arised when switching from IOS 4.02 to 4.1
My wife with iPhone 4 is still on IOS 4.02 and everything works fine !!!
does not dare to upgrade to 4.1 for that matter |
I actually emailed Peachtree Audio about this problem, but haven't heard back. Not sure if they have any customer support at all. |
Please don't take this the wrong way...
Why would you want to use an iPhone instead of a bigger iPod? The iPhone doesn't hold nearly as mucg music as an iPod Classic. The Classic also costs less.
I have an iPhone and love it. But I wouldn't use it as a music server. I understand killing 2 birds with one stone and all, but an iPod Classic isn't that much money (relatively speaking to hifi), and holds a ton of music in Apple Lossless format.
Did I mention before that I'm a huge fan of the Apple TV (the now older one with built in hard drive)? Store all your music on that (160 gb), connect it via its optical output, and control it with your iPhone. I'll never go back to CD players again. |
The key here is "convenience". I bought the iDecco because I already have an iPhone, not the other way around. The iDecco is used as a bedroom system for occasionaly listening, not meant to be the best option for the ultimate music server solution. If I wanted to build the best music server solution, I probably would go with a mac mini, which can support higher-rez files while iPod and Apple TV only play files up to 24bit/48Hz. iPhone is also convenient in that it runs Pandora, which neither iPod classic nor Apple TV supports. In addition, when I checked out Apple TV (the one with 160gb HD) in the store, I noticed that it ran very hot, too hot for use in a bedroom. |
Makes sense, Bob. I wasn't thinking about Pandora. I didn't think you bought the iPhone specifically for the iDecco.
The Apple TV runs hot, but its not that hot IMO. It doesn't heat up a room the way a tube amp will. While it doesn't have Pandora (which is great BTW), it does do internet radio.
I was just throwing out a few options due to the iPhone's recent incompatability. Hopefully either Apple or Peachtree will have a fix soon. I can't imagine the iDecco is the only piece that's no longer compatable. If enough people complain, maybe Apple will update it again. |
Here's a thread on Apple Discussions forum where a lot of people are having the same problem with Wadia, iDecco, and many car stereo units. The problem is not limited to iPhone, but also with iPod touch. Music playback issue after iOS 4.1 update |
Interesting. I just updated my iPhone a few days ago. Gotta check if it'll work right in my car - Apline head unit with iPod 30 pin cable (or whatever its called). I mainly keep my iPod Classic in there though.
No company is perfect. It strikes me as odd how they release an update and didn't bother to check if the units will play on everyone's gear. Hopefully they'll have something soon.
The extension cable the Deaf in left eye talked about are making an iPod docking device like the iDecco and iTransport more appealing. Maybe if/when my Apple TV goes.
I heard the Naim DAC again the other day, but this time it was fed by an iPod. Fantastic sounding DAC. Now I just need to raise $3k! The UnitiQute is supposedly coming soon. It claims to take the digital output of an iPod too. If it sounds anything like the Uniti, it'll be an excellent unit. |
finally got an email back from peachtree audio. they are already aware of the issue with iOS 4.1, and supposedly has brought it to apple's attention to fix it with next iOS update. |
I updated my iPhone the other day to the current version. Won't play at all in my car. It was the first time I tried it since the update. It irritates me, and the iPhone isn't my primary car source. |
