Comments on: A digital Christmas. http://blog.lenwallisaudio.com.au/new-systems/a-digital-christmas/ Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:47:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Len http://blog.lenwallisaudio.com.au/new-systems/a-digital-christmas/comment-page-1/#comment-234 Len Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:19:26 +0000 http://blog.lenwallisaudio.com.au/?p=481#comment-234 This is a very valid question, one that was also raised by MacLife when they reviewed the Kid. They commented “So, together, the KID and Papa Dock are an incredible analog sound solution—the best iPod audio system we’ve ever heard. Measuring price/performance ratios with this level of enthusiast gear is pointless. However, it would be tough to argue that you couldn’t achieve even better sound quality by bypassing the iPod’s DAC and routing its digital output to a high-end outboard DAC, using something like Wadia’s iTransport and an outboard DAC. Admittedly this is something of an apples-to-oranges comparison, but it’s a point that audiophiles should consider in any quest for the ultimate iPod audio system.” The Krell is taking the signal directly from the DAC, according to their brochure “The KID is the first product of its kind to utilise the fully differential output of the internal DAC for iPod-devices – unaltered or unmodified – to deliver maximum sonic performance form the portable media.” The interesting thing is that despite the fact that the Krell still utilises the iPod DAC it is demonstrably better than the Wadia, so much so that it has created a sales spike in the Krell (I must add that this is not taking anything away from the Wadia, at the price it is an exceptional buy.) The other interesting thing that I found while researching this is that the performance is so good that many people who have written reviews and blogs on this product appear to have assumed that the iPod DAC has in fact been by-passed. For some more in-depth information on the Krell there have been some very good reviews from <a href="http://whathifi.com/Review/Krell-KID/" rel="nofollow">What HiFi</a> and <a href="http://www.avrev.com/home-theater-media-servers/music-servers/krell-kid-and-papa-dock-amplifier.html" rel="nofollow">AVRev.com </a>(admittedly also with the Papa amplifier). This is a very valid question, one that was also raised by MacLife when they reviewed the Kid. They commented “So, together, the KID and Papa Dock are an incredible analog sound solution—the best iPod audio system we’ve ever heard. Measuring price/performance ratios with this level of enthusiast gear is pointless. However, it would be tough to argue that you couldn’t achieve even better sound quality by bypassing the iPod’s DAC and routing its digital output to a high-end outboard DAC, using something like Wadia’s iTransport and an outboard DAC. Admittedly this is something of an apples-to-oranges comparison, but it’s a point that audiophiles should consider in any quest for the ultimate iPod audio system.”

The Krell is taking the signal directly from the DAC, according to their brochure “The KID is the first product of its kind to utilise the fully differential output of the internal DAC for iPod-devices – unaltered or unmodified – to deliver maximum sonic performance form the portable media.”

The interesting thing is that despite the fact that the Krell still utilises the iPod DAC it is demonstrably better than the Wadia, so much so that it has created a sales spike in the Krell (I must add that this is not taking anything away from the Wadia, at the price it is an exceptional buy.) The other interesting thing that I found while researching this is that the performance is so good that many people who have written reviews and blogs on this product appear to have assumed that the iPod DAC has in fact been by-passed.

For some more in-depth information on the Krell there have been some very good reviews from What HiFi and AVRev.com (admittedly also with the Papa amplifier).

]]> By: Richard http://blog.lenwallisaudio.com.au/new-systems/a-digital-christmas/comment-page-1/#comment-233 Richard Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:53:45 +0000 http://blog.lenwallisaudio.com.au/?p=481#comment-233 I am curious about your comment that the Krell 'Kid' sounds better than the Wadia 170i. If the Krell relies on the iPod's cheap internal DAC, how does it create a sound better than using the Wadia to pass the digital signal straight into, say, my Meridian system? Surely the DACs and pre-amp stages etc in a good system are better than the inbuilt iPod DAC? I am curious about your comment that the Krell ‘Kid’ sounds better than the Wadia 170i. If the Krell relies on the iPod’s cheap internal DAC, how does it create a sound better than using the Wadia to pass the digital signal straight into, say, my Meridian system? Surely the DACs and pre-amp stages etc in a good system are better than the inbuilt iPod DAC?

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