No worries, we're all here to learn something from one another once in a while, just be careful as you're sharing information along the way and try to make sure its accurate so that you're not misleading others down the wrong path..
FYI, You might be happy to hear that Alpine decks were among the very first to support a direct connection with an iPod/iPhone, bypassing the DAC's. A quick search of Alpine's website shows that your own deck may in fact support the same iPod DAC bypassing capability that you say are only available to newer decks. You just need to buy a proprietary cable to make things work and you're all set and ready to go for lossless compressed audio.
Full Speed Connection for iPod lets you enjoy all your favorite iPod tracks on the road. View Playlist, artist, album, and song search right on the screen of your head unit. There's no need for bulky interface boxes, just a cable (KCE-422i) that connects your iPod directly to your Alpine. Forget FM transmitters and forget static, hollow sound. Full Speed Connection also supports Apple lossless playback. With Alpine, you can take your iPod on the road and sound good while you're doing it.
Sony ES CDX-C90, XDP-4000X, XM-2000R, Phoenix Gold M44, MS2250, Infinity Beta 8-5-1
Thank you mrblack for clearing up some information, I was actually doing quite a bit of researching on my Kenwood deck to make sure it was playing the lossless files off of the iPod.
I also realize that 994 supports bypassing the DAC's so he would be able to play lossless, but most head units do not. Especially high end older units that many audiofiles run including but not limited to the Alpine 9887, the Eclipse CD7200, The Pioneer 800/880 PRS, etc. So if you have a newer model deck, yeah, it will do it. But many of the newer model decks also don't have really good internal DAC's. Is bypassing the ipod dacs for an mediocre internal DAC on a headunit better than the IPOD DAC? Yes. Do most audiofiles run those decks? No. So the only answer for those that want to run lossless with decent DAC's is to buy a new head unit, which is disappointing. My next purchase would most likely be the new Pioneer 80. Most serious audiofiles are looking for a head unit that will have the capability of a large EQ with left and right control, internal 3 or 4 way crossovers, high voltage outs, etc. Many of the newer decks that bypass ipod to internal DACs don't meet the needs of many serious audiofiles. I am a bit jadded because I have a decent deck (9887) but it doesn't meet my digital needs so I am forced to see it and purchase something that does.
Lance, I'm going to respectfully disagree with your statement that most newer decks don't really have good internal DAC's. There are a number of headunits in today's market that have 24 bit DAC's (the 994 is an example of this, my friend's Sony has it) and bypass the iPod's DAC's. In the case of the 994, it has just about everything my 880 PRS has except a 16 band L/R EQ and Auto EQ/TA. I can personally live with the lack of EQ options if it allows me lossless music from my iPod and I don't have to pay tons of money for it, like Pioneer's P99RS. The new 80PRS looks like it would fit the bill and fills in the large gap that Pioneer has had since they discontinued the 880/800PRS, but unfortunately that was not available when I was in the market for a new headunit.
Certainly there are more everyday, that is where the market is going. Most of these decks are not considered the high end SQ decks of the past. In fact, there is another thread here wondering where all the high end SQ decks have gone. It's a pretty common question now days. The 994 seems like a solid deck for the money, what I didn't see when I looked at the specs was it's ability to go 3 way active. For most SQ setups, this is a must. If I am not mistaken, your 800/880 has this capability.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying his deck isn't a good deck. I just see the quality of the head units going down. There seems to be a big gap between a $150 dollar head unit and a thousand dollar head unit and not much in between. The Pioneer is very promising and I believe if I were to replace my 9887, that is the deck I would go with. But there isn't much to compare it to.
It's not just the DAC's that I am referring to. There aren't any dead head units anymore. Though we all know that any serious audiophile isn't going to rely on the internal amp and speaker outs of a modern deck. The last dead head I can remember is the Eclipse CD7200 and some would argue it still reigns as one of the best SQ decks ever made.
You won't find many full copper chassis anymore, or 4 way active on board systems. Now most people want fancy touch screens and bluetooth. That is just the way the market is going. We are now the minority (those who are looking for dedicated SQ decks). I have been considering a four way active system but I would have to shop for decks that have that capability, I don't know if there are many out there that will do that. Most are probably going with an MS-8 or something similar for external processing. that's not a bad thing, it's just nice to have it on board and avoid the extra cost if possible so more money can be spent on amplification or speakers.
It's not a big deal. Hopefully the Pioneer 80 will be a solid unit and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase it if it ends up being a good buy. I just don't see the dedication to high end decks like there used to be from the manufacturers. I might be off base though, it's just a simple perception.
