keysersoze123

This ain't getting any cheaper Rascal!

Hey thanks Bottlerocket... I think I might be being pretty thick here, but what would the advantages of Apple TV be (apart from movies)? If it just syncs with itunes, wouldn't it be exactly the same as using an airport express with my laptop?

Yeah Linn is meant to have crappy software, but you still need a computer to rip your music etc.. Also, you can use music files stored on your laptop instead of a NAS, and wirelessly stream the music to the DS, but would the sound quality still be unaffected by the computer used? I'm guessing the computer would still be irrelevant to sound quality, even without using a NAS? Thanks

Hahaha glad you got a chuckle! Thanks for the reply, yeah it does seem strange that it's so expensive to bypass the iPod's DAC, Apple can be pretty tight with copyright etc.. Have you by any chance heard any of the Linn DS range? If you have, how would you say the AVI 9.1s compare? That's one thing I'm very interested in... Cheers Rascal

Hey, thanks for the reply Radar, cool to hear that the Xbox can be plugged in via digital, as I do like to play my Xbox! What do you make of the sound quality on your 9.1s? Also, I don't know if you've listened to really really high end audio equipment in your time? If you have, your idea of 'awesome' sound might be a bit different from a more 'regular' guy like me lol...! But what are your impressions of the speakers when playing music? Outstanding? Also, do you know which Onkyo model it is? Because Rascal doesn't know the model number... Thanks!

Hi there, Sorry to go slightly off-topic, and I haven't read the entire thread, but just a quick question. With the Linn DS range of products, would the computer (or NAS - dedicated hard drive) which you stored your audio on have any impact on sound quality? I ask, because I had been thinking of getting a Linn DS system for a while, and spent some time recently on the Linn forum, and nobody there (even people with like £50k Klimax DS systems) ever mentioned the quality of the computer affecting overall sound quality. It's just quite funny/sad if these guys have shelled out £50k for sonic perfection, and never realised that their computer was the weakest link in sound quality! Or is the computer somehow irrelevant in the DS range? No need for a big technical explanation, just curious. I had sort of been lead into the illusion that the quality of the files (eg lossless FLACs) was all that really mattered, until you got to the DAC, though judging by this thread it's not quite so simple... I'm now considering going for a much cheaper all-in-one solution in the AVI ADM 9.1s myself! Thanks, Keyser

Hi guys, Thank you both so much for your replies! Sorry I was so long-winded, I probably could've said everything in a lot fewer words. So it would be quite easy to play iPods through the 9.1s if using the iPod's internal DAC. This isn't a huge issue, 'cos when I plug my iPod into a pair of sub £200 2.1 speakers (Harmon Kardon Soundsticks) the sound is still pretty damn good to me (music is music!) and I'm guessing that with the Soundsticks, the iPod's internal DAC is being used.. I'm just a bit worried that a superior sound system like the 9.1s will make the relatively poor quality of the iPod's DAC more apparent... However, from what I've read, one of the 9.1s greatest strengths is to make a poor source sound good, so hopefully it won't be such a big deal! (However, maybe this ability to 'improve' crappy source material music is mainly down to the 9.1's DAC..) It would however definitely be ideal to have an iPod dock of some kind that allowed me to bypass the iPod's internal DAC... Rascal, the Wadia 170i you mentioned would seem like the ideal kind of product, but it costs almost $400!!! And as far as I can make out, its only function is to allow you to bypass the iPod's DAC..??? That seems absolutely crazy to me... I mean, maybe there's a reason it's so expensive to bypass an iPod's DAC... but seriously.. WTF!!! You can get a top of the range iPod dock including speakers for that money!!! I would have thought a dock, or a cable, that allows you to bypass the iPod's DAC and output a digital signal could be bought for about $20!!!! Maybe there is more to the Wadia 170i than I realise, but if its only function is to allow a digital output from an iPod then I am truly stunned!! That is not cool... I'm actually just shocked!! It means any other products that do the same function (and preferably give a Toslink output, so I don't have to mess about with an adapter or something) are gonna cost big bucks as well.... That's a shame, 'cos there's no way in hell I'd pay even $100 (well, maybe $100, absolute max) for a dock that simply allowed me to bypass the iPod's DAC... Here's hoping there is a cheaper alternative out there...!? OK, so does anyone have experience with playing an iPod, using its own internal DAC, through the analogue input on the 9.1s..? Does it still sound good? And finally, and more importantly, what do you all make of the 9.1s, in terms of proper CD quality digital output from a macbook etc? Are these speakers really as good as some of the reviews seem to suggest? I mean, are they amazingly good for the money? They are cheap compared to true 'high end' audio, but they're still pretty damn expensive at £1200 here in the UK... It's gonna be hard for me to arrange a demo I think, but would you say that I'm in for a sonic treat? I'm the kinda guy who can get a lot of enjoyment out of music in a car radio, on my iPod with good heaphones, and even from my macbook connected to the aforementioned 2.1 Harmon Kardon Soundsticks... Are these 9.1s gonna really sound amazing.. With all kinds of music??? Thanks again dudes, Keyser PS. Do expensive iPod docks including speakers, like the Bose sound dock, use the iPod's internal DAC? Or do these expensive iPod docks include their own DACs, and they have a function built in that somehow bypasses the iPod's internal DAC? Thanks.

Hi guys, Have been looking into building a stereo for my laptop, and had been considering things like the Linn DS range, and the Logitech Transporter, but am now intrigued by (the much cheaper) AVI ADM 9.1 active speakers all-in-one solution, which I have read only amazing things about. OK, can I plug my iPod into the speakers directly? Primarily I would be using the speakers from my laptop, but when friends come over with their iPods, it would be a very good feature if they could just plug them in and play their own music. It says something about having 2 digital inputs and 1 analogue input - what exactly does this mean? I assumed that digital input would mean its good for an iPod, but after some research online, it seems the iPod does not have a digital output?? (Presumably because an iPod has its own DAC - so it outputs an analogue sound). If I can easily plug an iPod in, will the iPod's internal DAC be bypassed, and the superior DAC of the 9.1s be used instead? Also, could I have my computer and my TV plugged in at the same time? Would this be a bit dangerous, because if I accidently played TV and music at the same time, I could blow the speakers? In fact there are 3 inputs I think, as mentioned above, so would having 3 things plugged in simultaneously be very unwise? What things could I plug into the digital inputs? (What outputs a purely digital signal? Computer/ipod/virtually everything has it's own internal DAC doesn't it, so they would all output an analogue signal?) What things could I plug into the analogue inputs? (I assume I could plug vinyl in here, and also iPod because of internal DAC, but surely it's better to plug iPod into digital input, and bypass iPod's rubbish DAC..?) I plan to use these speakers with Apple's Airport Express, which is limited by 16 bit/44.1khz.. Not a big deal, as 99.99% of music is CD quality rez, but can you guys hear a big difference when listening to 24 bit material? Esepcially, say, 192khz/24bit recordings?? I assume CD quality recordings still sound amazing with these speakers, as CD quality sound still comprises virtually the entire music collection of most people (vinyl excluded) and after all, most 'audiophile' companies still see fit to sell £10k CD players that are limited by 16 bit/44.1khz - they must think you can still extract pretty amazing sound from CDs! If I wanted to listen to some 24 bit material occasionally, would I just unplug the cable that goes from my (wireless) airport express into the speakers, and just plug the cable direct into my macbook instead? That way 24 bit recordings would work, right? (Although not with itunes I think? Someone said itunes doesn't do 24 bit, but I'm not sure, as I think I've read different things about this..) Thanks Keyser