So for the past year or more I've been using an original iPad with JRemote to stream music to my headphone rig in our bedroom. It streams from my dedicated laptop in my main system running Win 8 and MC19. The iPad feeds my headphone rig via its headphone output (3.5mm plug to RCA). It sounds good and gets the job done, but I'd like to improve it some on the economical side.
Question 1) What exactly is the file format that the iPad is receiving from MC19 through the JRemote app?
I know in order to get an actual digital output from an iPad, I need to step up to the iPad 2 or one of my spare iPhone 4's running iOS7 (both of which I have) as it allows bypassing the internal DAC. I would like to get a Schiit Modi DAC to use in the headphone rig to improve sound quality.
Question 2) Has anyone here connected their iPad, iPod, iPhone directly to a decent DAC with great success?
I also have laying around here a Samsung Galaxy S3 somewhere that I could use to stream music to the headphone rig.
Question 3) Would using the S3 benefit from any kind of advantages over the Apple units in this situation?
Many thanks in advance!
I don't have any iProducts, but I can offer some general observations on 2) and 3). I have successfully connected my Galaxy Note to several external DACs. You need a special cable (called an OTG cable), but there are some important caveats
First, not all phones/tablets support connection to an external DAC via USB. That's not something you'll usually find in the promotional literature, and it can vary by product even within product lines (I believe the Galaxy Note 1 did not support it, but the 2 and 3 do support it, etc.). There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it (even some very new phones don't support it), so you'll need to research whether any specific device has this capability. Second, my understanding is that in order for it to work the USB DAC needs to be driverless (i.e. a UAC class 1 or class 2 device). That means if your DAC manufacturer provides drivers that need to be installed, the DAC may or may not work with a non-PC device (and the "may not" is the more likely case).
My personal impressions of driving the DAC from my phone was that the sound was good, but the maximum volume was significantly lower than it was when the same DAC was powered from a PC. That suggests that (unsurprisingly) the DAC was not able to get full USB power from the phone. Depending on the DAC (and how serious the power shortfall is) not getting enough power may affect more than just volume (some devices don't function correctly even at low volume without adequate power). That suggests that you might want a DAC that has it's own power supply (or a battery) if you plan on using this configuration. Ultimately, I decided that the phone/DAC combo wasn't a good solution for everyday use, but can be nice in a pinch.
I'd advise you to try and demo any DAC you plan to use in this configuration before you commit to a final purchase. YMMV of course, and sorry I don't have more specific feedback on your use case
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Topic: Need some MC19, JRemote, iPad questions answered... (Read 2863 times)