iDo DAC grado audiófilo de NuForce para iPod, iPad, iPhone

Armonía AV está incorporando la excelente marca NuForce en su linea de productos, es una adición muy interesante sin duda dada la trayectoria de NuForce en las años recientes.

Un producto nos llamó notáblemente la atención, fué este iDo, un DAC para iPod que extrae la señal digital de este y la recibe vía USB, sí, es de los pocos productos que ofrecen esta capacidad y además lo hace con la calidad NuForce a un precio muy razonable. Con esto el iPod puede colocarse sin dudas en un sistema de audio de prestaciones más elevadas.

Considerando que prácticamente todo mundo tiene un iPod y por lo tanto es el medio más conveniente y práctico a usar como reprodutor personal y servidor entonces tiene mucho más sentido.

Este iDo tiene la ventaja que extrae la señal digital del iPod y la procesa en su propio circuito DAC, mejorando la calidad de audio.

¿ Otra ventaja ? El precio, en México queda en 290 USD

Del fabricante:

Audiophile-Grade DAC and Headphone Amp for iPad®, iPhone® and iPod Touch®.

iDo extracts audio data in its original digital form (in USB Host mode) from Apple mobile digital devices, delivering bit-perfect, low-jitter, audiophile-quality music file playback.

The Icon iDo delivers audiophile-grade CD quality sound to digital music files stored on Apple® mobile digital devices. iDo is ideal for music enthusiasts and musicians alike who primarily listen to—and have their digital music libraries stored on—these devices.
Apple products are becoming the hub of a person’s entire music and audio collection, so improving the audio quality produced by these devices is key. The Icon iDo delivers on that at very affordable price point.

A fast and easy connection.
Using the Icon iDo is simple. Users can connect any Apple mobile device to the Icon iDo with the Apple® approved and included 30-pin sync/charging cable, attach the power supply, and then plug the Icon iDo into a home stereo system using RCA cables or a single coaxial. Users can also plug in headphones directly into the Icon iDo for personal high quality sound playback in a manner the artist intended it to be heard.

How iDo makes music stored on Apple devices sound even better?
Apple uses its own audio codec, Apple Lossless Encoder (ALE), to compress and store music files on its devices in original CD quality without loss. However, even ALE files only sound as good as the default DAC (digital-to-analog converter) found within the mobile digital device. Icon iDo bypasses the built-in DAC and extracts the audio data stored on the device in its original digital form in USB Host Mode. It then converts the high-quality files for bit-perfect and low-jitter music playback.

A portable power station for the ultimate headphone listening experience.
Icon iDo also offers a built-in headphone amplifier capable of powering power-hungry headsets, giving users a total audio experience. By properly powering headphones, Icon iDo enhances the auditory performance of the headphones because optimal amperage is being delivered to them, allowing for greater audio clarity.

*The maximum sample rate currently supported by Apple is 16-bit/44.1kHz or 24-bit/48kHz.
**Icon iDo is designed to work with Apple iTune and iPod software. Other applications may not work (but we have not found any application that is incompatible with iDo).

Informes www.armonia-av.com

Nuevos receptores TEAC con conversión digital a análogo para iPod

MSB y Wadia han sido elogiadas por sus productos para tomar la señal de un iPod y realizar la conversión digital a análoga en un proceso externo, ahora TEAC ofrece eso más la conveniencia de un sistema integrado, como lo es un receptor de audio, añada bocinas y tendrá un compacto sistema con buenas prestaciones, incluyendo uno de estos modelos, el CR-H500NT, un reproductor de CD, radio por internet, conexión a internet alámbrica e inalámbrica, entrada para tornamesa y salida para subwoofer y entrada USB, interesante propuesta a un precio en Estados Unidos de 799 USD. El modelo hermano AG-380 no incluye reeproductor de CD y tal vez alguna otra característica pero conserv la capacidad de hacer la conversión DA para un iPod, este modelo se vende en Estados Unidos en 499 USD.

http://www.teac.com/consumer_electronics/reference_series/

Aquí una nota en Cnet por Steve Gutenberg:

Supercharge your iPod's sound at home The Audiophiliac - CNET News

Middle Atlantic Products, Inc. "profesionalizar" al iPod y iPhone, acercándolos al integrador.

Bueno, es el signo de los tiempos y ni hablar, podemos estar o no de acuerdo pero accesorios van y vienen para los productos de Apple. Esta propuesta de rack 19" de Middle Atlantic para productos iPhone y iPod en un entorno de instalación residencial se me hace peculiar y por ello aquí la incluyo.

Dios salve a Neil Young. Young vapulea a Apple y su iPod y la mania del audio de baja calidad y masi

Neil Young takes on the iPod

By Michal Lev-Ram

http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/07/23/neil-young-takes-on-the-ipod/

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — In the iPod age, music sound quality has been dumbed down to “Fisher-Price toy” levels, rock star and tech enthusiast Neil Young said Wednesday at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech Conference.

“Apple has taken a detour down the convenience highway,” Young told the Brainstorm audience after taking the stage for an interview with Time Inc. editor-in-chief John Huey. “Quality has taken a complete backseat - if it even gets in the car at all.”

Young talked about what he considers to be the poor audio quality of MP3s, creating electric-hybrid cars, (his “obsession”) and a long-term, multimedia archiving project of his entire career (which he says should be available as a series of Blu-Ray discs later this year.) Young hopes that becomes the basis for an alternative digitial platform featuring higher quality sound that will be made available to other musicians.

Young spent most of his time on stage lamenting what he feels is an increasing focus on convenience versus quality in today’s iTunes/iPod-dominated music industry. And he wasn’t afraid to criticize companies - Apple (AAPL) in particular - that he feels have brought down audio standards. An Apple spokesperson wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Huey noted that when he once visited Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ home, the living room featured a turntable and and a stack of LPs.

Young complained that music has become “like wallpaper” - more Muzak than music. “We have beautiful computers now but high-resolution music is one of the missing elements,” he said. “The ears are the windows to the soul.”