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iPad directly into Amp - okay idea? or bad idea?

I'm beginning my journey towards building my first audio system, and off to a great start with a pair of B&W CM9 S2 speakers. Next step - I need to power them with... something. I've found several vintage McIntosh amps available (like the MC 2105 & 2205). I was targeting around $1-1.5k more to get my system up and running, and these would consume that budget.

I'm considering pulling the trigger and getting one of them and plugging my iPad in to play music. Then I'll save up for a little bit until I can buy a proper tuner (I need a tuner next, right?). I get that this isn't ideal, but I'm wondering if it's bad for any reason? 

Additionally, I'm not sure about the nuances of how an iPad's headphone jack increases/decreases volume. I vaguely recall from long ago that plugging an iPhone into a tuner's component input sounded bad unless the iPhone volume was on max. Is this true? And if so, would that mean it would sound bad if it were anything less than full volume going into the amp? Which would almost certainly be too loud, correct?

And if I'm totally off track here, then how I can make music on my iPad play on my speakers for around the same price? 

Thanks in advance!
perplexy
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,273 posts
 
Snag an Apple Camera 3 adaptor (you need the Camera 3 because with the other usb adaptor that Apple makes isn’t compatible with the Audioquest Red Dragonfly in that you’ll hear a clicking noise).

Grab a inexpensive Dac.  Schiit or Audioquest.  I used a Red Dragonfly with a Jitterbug and had good results.  You can later on add some nice inexpensive headphones and have a nice little headphone rig too without having to buy a headphone amp if you get the Dragonfly!
asvjerry's avatar
asvjerry
4,349 posts
 
I've been using the headphone out from my Samsung 'droid into a Sony shop receiver, But....there's an old SAE parametric eq between, feeding into the tape in plugs.

That way I can adjust levels and tweak the eq before it hits the receiver.

Feeding straight into a amp ought to work, but mind your levels...and don't expect miracles....
jb1
96 posts
 
Your best bet for sound quality is to purchase a network streamer that has a preamp built into it that way you can stream over your network. Using the headphone out from a portable device like an iPad will give poor sound quality because of the sub par DAC built into it. 
unsound
7,315 posts
 
Depending upon the DAC you choose; you might or might not want to consider an external volume control.
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