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Topic: Portable DAP's with no line level output (Read 3229 times) previous topic - next topic
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Portable DAP's with no line level output

I was about to buy my first mp3 player and was going to get an iaudio M5. This player works with Windows/Mac/Linux and supports wav/mp3/ogg/flac/ making it perfect for me. That was until I happened to notice that it didn't have a line level output. I was quite stunned by this but after checking the spec of other players I find it is very common. It had never occured to me that portable mp3 players would be designed to be unsuitable for connection to other domestic audio equipment.
I was hoping for an mp3 player which was cross platform supporting multi audio formats and which would appear as a usb drive on my computer, now I would settle for one with a decent line output. Does anyone know of a good one?

Portable DAP's with no line level output

Reply #1 –
A heaphones-out can be used as line-out, there is nothing wrong about it. You will only need to disable all EQ effects and set appropriate output level - that's just a little inconvenience.

Portable DAP's with no line level output

Reply #2 –
All iPods (perhaps except the shuffle, not sure) have a decent line out through the dockconnector. Indeed it sounds better than plugging your stereo into the phones-out.
Every night with my star friends / We eat caviar and drink champagne
Sniffing in the VIP area / We talk about Frank Sinatra
Do you know Frank Sinatra? / He's dead

Portable DAP's with no line level output

Reply #3 –
Quote
A heaphones-out can be used as line-out, there is nothing wrong about it. You will only need to disable all EQ effects and set appropriate output level - that's just a little inconvenience.
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It's not as good as a line out, unless you can plug straight into a power amp, using the headphones-out as a pre-amp (only having control of the volume from the DAP in other words). Otherwise you're running the signal through two pre-amps, which is a bit pointless.

Sure you'll get music and it will probably be fine, but it won't be as good as it could be...

Portable DAP's with no line level output

Reply #4 –
Quote
I was hoping for an mp3 player which was cross platform supporting multi audio formats and which would appear as a usb drive on my computer, now I would settle for one with a decent line output. Does anyone know of a good one?
The Rio Karma has line outs (RCA left & right) via the dock.  But since it's been discontinued, it is increasingly difficult to find one...  but they're still out there (for now).

Portable DAP's with no line level output

Reply #5 –
Here is another recent discussion of line-out  vs  headphones-out.
 

Portable DAP's with no line level output

Reply #6 –
I spoke to iaudio customer service on thier Q&A board about this and the conversation (with all the pleasantries edited out) is below.

me:
I was about to purchase an iaudio M5 (because of the multi platform support and the excellent codec support) when I noticed that it doesn't seem to have a line output. I do not really anticipate using the player with headphones, I wish to carry  it around plugging it into amplifier/studio/hifi equipment. Does the M5 have an output that is suitable for this purpose?
Also, I noticed that there are various EQ and sound field effects. Is it possible to bypass all this and get an un-effected output?

iaudio customer service:
iAUIDO M5 is a small portable MP3 player.
So, iAUDIO M5 is not a suitable device to use when connecting to powerful equipments.
And it is possible to bypass the EQ by setting it off.

me:
M5 can only be used with earphones?

iaudio cs:
iAUDIO M5 is mainly used with earphones.
It is possible to connect it to a stereo system or any other devices. But the sound won't be that good.

me:
I really need a portable media player that is compatible with Mac, Linux and Windows and supports ogg, flac, wave and mp3. Your players look perfect, which model should I buy if I want to be able to connect to a hifi amplifier or other domestic audio equipment?

iaudio cs:
iAUDIO X5 supports OGG, FLAC, WAV and MP3. However, only data transfer is supported under Mac and Linux.
All our products are portable players, so it doesn't output a better quality sound when connecting to an audio equipment.


It doesn't sound too promising then. If anyone is anyone using the earphone output of thier M5 to connect to thier domestic audio setup, please could you tell me if the sound quality is acceptable or not. I am NOT an audiophile but I wouldn't want to put up with the hissy nasty results I have heard from some earphone outputs.

Thanks for the replies.