I'm aware of the BeoSound 6's bit rate ceiling of 320kbps. For comparison, does anyone know what the bit rate ceiling is of current iPods are, or how comparable an iPod is to the BS6?

Thanks, Ev.

I believe that iPods traditionnally play 128kbps protected music (when purchased via iTunes). Since early this year though, Apple is moving to the iTunes Plus format, ie. DRM free and 256 kbps.

As for what the maximum playable bitrate by an iPod is, I don't know. It must be pretty high though, since Apple Lossless (= CD quality) is also doable by these machines.

VANTAGE

No idea about MP3 and iPod.

About Apple Lossless : the bitrate is variable between 500 and 900kbit/s approximately, and it plays without any problem in an iPod.
But there's more : when playing Lossless files, I have noted a clear improvement on signal to noise ratio on the iPod output, even comparing to a 256kbp/s AAC or 320kbit/s MP3. Maybe a different processing of the signal, but it's really clearly noticeable.

VANTAGE,

How would you be able to tell if an itunes track/file has lossless?

mbee,

I have just started using my iPod on my BM4500 and I am some what dissapointed, even when listening to the iTunes+ 256kbps files. My dissapointment lies in the signal to noise ratio, much like you mentioned. When I listen to my iPod, it is connected through a mini to RCA cable that connects to a Din-4 connector then is outputted from my BM4500 to another receiver which then goes to the speakers (the speakers are non B&O). This is the only way I can listen to my B&O products as do not have my B&O speakers yet. I thought this noise issue was mainly due to the numerous connections in my setup but on other systems of the same magnitude as mine still present the same characteristics. Any tips/solutions?

Thanks, Ev.

just check the bitrate : more than 500kbit/s file=lossless (maximum bitrate for AAC files encoded by iTunes : 320kb/s)

For the signal to noise ratio issue, try, as I said, to convert some discs to lossless, there is a real improvement on my A8's (never tried with the beosound, I should check).

Then, just buy a dock, which uses the line out of the dock connector and not the phone jack output : there is also an improvement.

And if nothing is enough for you, wait a little bit for the B&O dock, maybe they managed to get a stuning audio quality (not sure...)

Well let me ask you this, is using iTunes part of the problem?

No, the problem clearly doesn't come from iTunes, as it's a good converter (just try an iTunes converted AAC on the Beosound 5 to check that!). It's just the D-A converter and the amplifier of the iPod which is not of Hifi quality (and that's normal as it's just a portable player...)

Run the iPod on it's highest setting. I know many say run it at around 70% but trust me on this one. The iPod's output isn't really know to be incredibly noisy, and I've found in general they can produce a fair/okay sound (I wouldn't describe them as poor).

Nonetheless, when I use my iPod with my BeoMaster 900, I get a huge amount of noise, not from the iPod, but from the amplifier itself. It's true that older amplifiers do tend to produce much more noise than modern amplifiers, and as the newer iPods produce less volume, you'll need to turn the volume up on your amplifier more = noise.

Try using the output from the Apple iPod dock - the output is not only 'higher' (louder), but also higher quality as it bypasses the iPod's built in volume control (which is not known for it's sound quality).

Some iPods have better DAC's than others - search on the net, there is loads of stuff to read (certain Wolfson DAC's seem to fair better than others in reviews).

I would tend to agree with Alex - running the source at it's max volume (hopefully) should result in the best SNR from the DAC output.

(That's not the same as running the iPod's amp at it's maximum load - this in general would be worse).

Although in theory the amplifier should have no real issues at all running at it's highest volume as the input impedance of the Beomaster 4500 (or any other amplifier really) will be so high in comparison to that of headphones. The iPod's amp should easily be able to deliver more than enough power.

My point was that at full scale out, into an external amp, everything should be fine and should have a decent SNR and low distortion. Full volume into a load (i.e. headphones, unpowered speakers etc) will be liekly not.

mbee,

Well toying around with my system last night, I experimented for a whille and found that most, if not all of the problem was just some poor Yamaha speakers. Once I turned those off and left it to my primary JBLs it was pretty good. I think I'm just going to retire those speakers.

P.S. - B&O iPod dock? this is the first I've heard of it, do you have any details?

Well Alex, I cant say I agree more with what you said about the volume control, I have the same opinion. However I was unaware of the dock option and its signal quality. I'm gonna have to borrow one or something and try it out.

We have absolutely no detail about the B&O iPod dock, we even doesn't know if it will have an intergrated speaker or not (I think yes as it's presented as a new audio concept, and not only as a new audio source...)

If they do come out with a sound dock I think they should come out with one that is similar to BeoSound 1 that could compete with the Bose docks and competitively priced.