Best SQ Head unit

[funkycasey 10+ year member]

Any sites to get the Ural from in the U.S.? I like buying head units brand new so they come with the full warranty

 

[headshot 10+ year member]

Speaking of which, aren't there ways to hook an iPod directly as a digital signal, in which case a self-ripped 320kbs or flac would sound just as good as a CD?

IE - the Alpine 505 has a USB cable for the iPod.

THis is the descript......

Connect your iPod* to the IVA-W505 via a dedicated USB input, for the best sound and quickest access to your iPod. You can even see complete Album Art right on the screen, so why bother with individual CD’s when you can easily browse through your entire music collection on your iPod? Alpine’s USB Connection for iPod lets you enjoy all your favorite iPod tracks on the road. View Playlist, artist, album, song, podcast, genre and composer search right on the screen of your head unit. There’s no need for bulky interface boxes, just the USB cable (included) that connects your iPod directly to your Alpine. Forget FM transmitters and forget static, hollow sound. Forget the days of Analogue audio, with USB your music is kept in digital format throughout the entire process, and the 24bit DAC means you can enjoy the best in sound quality with the IVA-W505. For the ultimate experience the IVA-W505’s USB connection also supports Apple lossless playback. With Alpine, you can take your iPod on the road and sound good while you’re doing it. The IVA-W505 offers both USB connection and Full Speed connection options, so you can even connect to two iPods at the same time.

 

iPod USB adapter and USB cable included.

 

[headshot 10+ year member]

As for my take on Lossless and sound quality etc...

For 8 years I've been ripping my CD's at 160, then 224, then 320 and NOW full lossless

WAV format. As the hard drives become larger and cheaper, I can afford the space. I'm

currently working with a 1TB Samsung in the last of my MacIntel's 4 bays, dedicated solely

for iTunes collection. The reason I'm ripping everything at WAV now is because I'm using a

router to beam my whole iTunes library and playlists across the house to my PS3 via WiFi,

and into my B&K 200.7 out to my JM Lab's (Focal's home line) Electra 927 BE. All that said

would mean nothing until I bring up this point:

As my ears evolve and I become more attuned to the pure sound quality I'm achieving in my Livingroom,

I can now tell the difference between 320 & 224 kbs quality. I still cannot tell the difference in blind tests

between 320 & PCM (the pure CD quality, in the format of WAV, Apple Lossless & AIFF) but I'm hoping one day I'll be good

enough to tell the difference, and if I ever get better equipment maybe I will. But the PS3's only reads

WAV or MP3's.

The music you download from iTunes (which I haven't done for years btw) isn't lossless, but it's their own codec.

But iTunes does have an option to RIP your CD's into WAV, various MP3 qualities and the Apple Lossless, but again,

there isn't much support for the latter.

Other forms of lossless formats you may find in Bit Torrents are Flac, Shn, Ape and a few other weird ones others came up

with because they were bored. But FLAC's are the most common. The take up about half the size of (CD) PCM files.

Usually these come in the form of an entire album, or whatever the seeder decided to package up for download.

Once these FLAC's etc. are downloaded, you can convert them to WAV or AIFF that can be burned onto CD. These

are true lossless formats, as there is no loss of information or quality of any kind I believe. You can also convert these

files to any other format you like with Toast or iTunes. (iTunes requires FLACs be converted to WAV or AIFF, then imported

as whatever you like.

For a few years I had a Kenwood and the Kenwood Keg (Phatnoise) mounted under the seat with a removable cartridge

that you could sync with your iTunes. That read as a CD Changer, so the quality was pure digital, as opposed to an

iPod transmitter or Mini-jack which is pure crap. I only hope the new connection methods are also as good.