Onkyo ND-SD1 iPod dock brings 'bit perfect' audio
Cutting out the iPod's DAC to improve sound
Onkyo is hoping to offer iPod users a better quality of music, with the £150 Onkyo ND-S1 dock offering Bit-Perfect Audio by bypassing the player's own digital to analogue converter.
Onkyo – who know a thing or two about quality audio – believe that their ND-S1 can offer far better quality by providing a better DAC.
"Why do that? Simple – it'll sound better," says Onkyo's press release. "Send the audio digital signal you've extracted to a better DAC (digital to analogue converter) than is present in the iPod and you can enjoy a massive uplift in sound quality, readily apparent with full-resolution file formats such as Apple Lossless and .WAV."
Black or silver
The dock, which also offers digital outputs, high-precision clock reference, and has been designed as the perfect iPod accompaniment to Onkyo's AV receivers, will get its UK release from October and will be available in both black and silver.
Oh, and it's compatible (and crucially will also charge) most of the iPod range. The full feature list from Onkyo and a list of what will work is below.
KEY FEATURES
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• Digital Outputs (Optical/Coaxial)
• High-precision Clock Reference to minimise jitter
• iPod video playback
• iTunes Sync/Unsync switch
• Audio Selector (iPod/PC)
• Resume Music and Video Playback Function
• Shuffle/Repeat (one/all tracks)/Random Playback of Songs/Albums
• iPod/iPhone charging function
• USB Port
• Compatible with iPod touch [1G and 2G], iPod classic, iPod [5G*], iPod nano [1G*, 2G, 3G, and 4G] and iPhone 3G/3Gs [Flight mode]
• Works with Onkyo AV Systems equipped with a USB Port and Audio/Video terminals
• Single handset control via Onkyo A/V System's RI (Remote Interactive) protocol
• Dedicated remote control also supplied
• Compatible with Windows XP/Vista
*Extended mode only.
Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content. After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.