wadia ipod dock-- anyone find faults?

Years ago when I was a graphic designer, a client was hanging out at our studio and he asked, "so, what is graphic design?" My co-worker and I looked at each other and I could see he was ready to stab. We almost beheaded this guy and stuck his skull on a spike in the hallway. Heheh.

But seriously, Dreadhead's question sparked my own question. Does the Wadia iPod Dock bypass the iPod's internal DAC? I didn't even know Apple offered a digital output on iPods. Or is it just like all the other iPod DACs? A fancy place to seat your 'Pod?

A few years ago I tried one of those iPod adapters from a respected audio cable manufacturer and thought it sounded pretty poor because it was still utilizing the DAC in the iPod.

I'm looking into the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 3 Audio Converter so I can use the USB to I2S feature between a computer and an outboard DAC.

Cerrot,

Yeah, I'm no fan of USB when it comes to computer devices, I always prefer Firewire in this realm.

I wasn't aware there are Firewire DACs available. Why do you feel Firewire is superior to USB in computer audio? For the same reason as in data transfer, speed and a more stable power line?

Sorry Dreadhead, I was just joking around.

I like simplicity as well, and from a different perspective that's probably why I like digital. Put a small shiny disc into a metal box and press a button. Voîla!

There are many people like you that don't like the sound of the digital format. I've never really warmed up to all these over/up-sampling DACs myself. I prefer the non-oversampling variety or the tubed ones. They sound more natural. More real. More, er...analog.