Plug and Play

Q: How do you attach an iPod or similar MP3 player to a stereo receiver or AVR to maximize playback quality? I’m a longtime subscriber, but I only remember seeing you give examples of the “minimalist” approach using small speakers and docks designed specifically for iPods.

--Ronald V. Tancredi | Farmingdale, NY

A: We’ve broached this subject before — and our recent “S+V 101” column from “The Tech Zone” also deals with it to a certain degree — but given the huge popularity of iPods and other portable music players, it’s worth revisiting here.

There are several ways to incorporate an iPod into a “big system,” as opposed to playing it through a small desktop speaker dock. The easiest is to use a minijack-to-stereo RCA adapter cable and connect the Pod to an audio input on your stereo receiver or AVR via its headphone output jack. But this approach isn’t without sonic compromises: The low-voltage output coming from the headphone connection means that the sound you’ll hear when you crank your receiver up to a comfortable listening volume will be relatively noisy.

A much better method is to use an outboard dock that extracts a line-level signal from the iPod’s dock connector and conveys it via an analog stereo RCA connection. Many such docks are available from companies like NAD, Cambridge Audio, and Onkyo, with most selling for around $100. A few considerably pricier versions — Wadia’s 171iTransport ($599), for example — extract a digital signal from the Pod via its dock connector and send it to your receiver or an outboard digital-to-analog converter via an optical or coaxial digital hookup. If you’re looking to maximize playback quality with your iPod, this is the best solution.

The dock approach does have downsides, though, the main one being that when your iPod is sitting in a dock on your A/V rack, as opposed to in your hand, you don’t have the ability to easily scroll through your collection and select tracks, albums, and playlists. Many docks come with a basic remote control to play/pause and skip tracks, but then there’s the issue of interacting with the portable’s tiny display from your seat way over on the couch.

One alternative is to use a wireless system like Audioengine’s W2 ($119). The W2 uses a small transmitter that connects directly to your iPod’s dock connector and sends CD-quality audio over the 2.4-GHz band to an equally compact receiver that plugs into your A/V receiver.

Or you could use an iPod touch (or iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, etc.) to send audio wirelessly via Bluetooth A2DP to a Bluetooth receiver connected to your system. The Chordette Gem ($799) is one such option that we’ve checked out here at S+V. (Sony also sells an inexpensive Bluetooth receiver, and companies like Yamaha and Marantz offer proprietary adapters for their AVRs.) Bluetooth’s audio compression generally makes the technology a somewhat less than high-fidelity option, but you’ll be able to keep your portable in hand, and won’t have to plug external hardware into its dock connector.

The next logical step would be Wi-Fi-based solutions like Apple’s AirTunes, which the company recently rechristened as AirPlay. As long as you have a Wi-Fi network up and running in your home, you can use your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch (iOS 4.2) to send audio wirelessly to your system directly from the device via an Apple TV receiver or an AirPort Express adapter (both $99). Both Denon and Marantz have signed on to build AirPlay compatibility directly into their AVRs. (According to Denon, the AVR-991 reviewed here can be AirPlay-enabled via a forthcoming software upgrade.) Other companies are sure to follow in their footsteps.

Have a question about audio, video, or home theater? Send e-mail to feedback@soundandvisionmag.com (and put “Q&A” in the subject line) or regular mail to Q&A, Sound+Vision, 2 Park Ave., 10th floor, New York, NY 10016. Please include your name, e-mail address, street address, and phone number for verification; only your name, city, and state/country will be printed in the magazine. Only questions chosen for publication can be answered. All letters are subject to editing.