why do peple think ipods are just for bkgrd music

I think CDPs and CDTs will be replaced by computers. Some of those computers may be very small with small capacity hard drives (like Ipods) some of those computers will be larger and have larger hard drives (PCs and Macs).

One thing is certain though, CDPs or CDTs are not going to be replaced by any computer (large or small) that is playing MP3s or any other lossy format.

Another thing that is certain is that high quality CDPs or CDTs or computers connected to external digital processing devices are not going to be replaced by any computer large or small (even an Ipod) that puts out a crappy analogue signal.

In their present form Ipods are little computers that put out bad analogue audio signals and deliver poor sound quality. They are not going to replace any single piece of equipment (or any combination of equipment) that puts out truly high quality analogue audio signals and delivers very high sound quality.

In their present form Ipods are little computers that put out bad analogue audio signals and deliver poor sound quality. They are not going to replace any single piece of equipment (or any combination of equipment) that puts out truly high quality analogue audio signals and delivers very high sound quality.

On the contrary, the iPod is cable of exceptional performance and one is not limited to storing low quality compressed files, you can store bit-for-bit copies of your CD's in WAV or AIFF format, I also believe Apple Lossless is near impossible to detect a difference in.

What is being discussed with the iTransport is bypassing the DAC of the iPod and using the iPod as a music server.

There is a nice little write up in the current issue of Playback Magazine

We have two iPods and two other MP3 players in our family. And just prior to making my first post to this thread I spent two hours listening to an iPod shuffle connected to my car's audio system. I like iPods.

But iPods in and of themselves are not the emergent technology that will replace CDPs and CDTS. A combination of mass storage of PCM and high quality upstream processing of PCM is the emergent technology that will probably replace CDs and the equipment that plays CDs. And because it lacks digital output, the iPod (by itself)cannot serve any function in this emergent technology, not even the role of mass storage.

It is true that with the right software (which the Wadia 170 uses) or the right internal hardware modifications (as in the MSB's Digital iLink) the iPod can deliver digital output to up stream digital processors. But this does not make it unique. Virtually any PC or Mac can do the same. And anyway, it is the Wadia and MSB equipment that is really different and innovative, not the iPod.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is mistaken to try to make the iPod the star of the show. The technology of mass storage and high quality processing of PCM is the star of the show. And presently the iPod by itself is not even part of the show.

JPO