Cambridge iD100 digital iPod/iPad dock

[swt61]

Just wanted to start a thread about this dock. Not sure how many have use for a product like this, but I did, and someone else may too.

I'm very impressed with build quality. The remote is simple and it works well (unlike the Wadia dock). As for the sound...well it's as good as what you put onto your iPod or iPad. I've been very happy, and the unit works better than I had hoped for. To say that I haven't reached for a CD since the dock arrived pretty well sums up my feelings.

The one quirk I have noticed is that the dock needs about 2-3 minutes from the initial docking of the iPod/iPad to play well. Before that interim it will have dropouts every few seconds. If you leave your iPod/iPad docked and use the energy saving 'standby' mode between listening sessions, this seems to negate the need for the warm-up time.

I plan on taking this to the Austin meet this weekend, and maybe get some more feedback from others. My opinion is that it's a solid little unit, worth the $300.00 asking price.

Of coarse most of you don't have a Naaman built Buffalo II, so yours may sound inferior.

[skullguise]

Fully agree, Steve, it's a great little unit. I liked it better than the Wadia (170i, not the newer 171), especially because the remote controls more functionality on the iPod.

I DID keep my iPod docked in it (have multiple iPods), so didn't seem to have the issue with skips/dropouts. And I also had a Buffalo II DAC (Fallen Angel built) at the time.

Mine is currently not in use, but I will likely hook it up to my NAD M51 when I get it.

[swt61]

I'm very curious to here an M51 and a PerfectWave.

I may be catching Dinny's DACses disease.

Edited March 5, 2012 by swt61

[johnwmclean]

Definitely a nice piece of kit the only reason I wouldn’t jump for one is my addiction to a little dsp crossfeed.

[grawk]

But does it work better than an appletv?

[HeadphoneAddict]

Is this the dock that Drew (Moon Audio) was recommending at RMAF, or was that the Denon dock? I need another digital dock for my main rig, since I don't think my DLO Homedock HD is an upgrade over line-out. I was looking at the Cambridge on Amazon the other day, and will take this into consideration.

I've been happy with the Nuforce iDo iPod digital dock in my bedroom rig, with the coax S/PDIF > nice DAC sounding best. But the RCA output is not far behind, although the headphone out is more on the level of the $130 uDAC-2 headphone out (bass response could be tighter; and extension, micro-detail, and ambience are not as good via headphone out). I've been using iDo daily in my bedroom rig to feed my DACmini lossless music from a 16Gb Nano. I thought I'd just buy another, but I like to try new stuff too.

The best part of the iDo is you can connect the iPad or iPod via normal sync cable and easily hold it to watch a movie or control the music. But you can also use the Apple remote to skip songs or adjust the volume if you are sitting across the room from the docked iDevice. I also like that it's powerful enough to charge the iPad. What I dislike is that iDo doesn't offer a video output, while both my DLO Homedock HD and older Homedock Deluxe have video output. And my Homedock HD has a USB port to connect to a PC to sync, while iDo doesn't have that.

[swt61]

The iD100 is in a different league than the DLO Homedock HD. The iD100 bypasses the iPod's internal DAC, and uses a true digital signal from the iPod. The DLO does not bypass the internal DAC, but instead synthesizes a digital signal from the analog signal. The Nuforce iDo seems to extract the digital signal, but lacks a few things the Cambridge offers. The Cambridge actually docks the iPod/iPad, where the Nuforce connects via a cable. They both sync and charge the iPod/iPad, but I believe only the iD100 has a remote. The iD100 also offers coaxial S/PDIF, Toslink and AES/EBU digital outputs, where the iDo only offers Coaxial S/PDIF. The iDo has a built in headphone amp, but I doubt many of us would use it over our higher quality amps very often. And what's the point if you're sending the digital signal to your DAC anyway? The iD100 offers Component, Composite and S-Video output, where there is no video output from the iDo. There is also an IR input for the iD100, should you choose to enclose it your AV cabinet.

The Cambridge does cost $50.00 more than the Nuforce unit, so I guess it's a matter of what features are important to you.

[vvs_75]

I have one for at list few months. No drop outs with mine, as soon as it connects usually few seconds, it works fine. I am using iD100 with my iphone4. It does not work with 5.5 gen ipods. It should work well with 7th gen, so I as soon as I fix mine 7th gen ipod I will find out. Also I was really impressed with video quality streaming netflix via iphone4. The picture looks almost like DVD, very nice! Very pleased overall.

Edited March 8, 2012 by vvs_75

[swt61]

It does work with the 5.5 G, but it does not have a proper rubber adapter size for it. I did have success with some wadded paper behind it, but I have the newer gen. as well, so no worries.

Grawk, I can't answer your question because I've not tried an appletv.

[Maxvla]

Steve, are you running this at the meet this weekend? I just recently became curious in moving to an iPad based station for my music. Are you able to get 24/192 playing with this dock?

[swt61]

Yes and yes. Of coarse that is dependent upon your DAC. This will be the first meet I'm not lugging around 100+ CDs. I'm bringing two CDs strictly for comparison purposes.

[Maxvla]

Same. I burned a demo CD and also have a USB drive with the same songs. I will want to pick your brain about the iPad setup for sure. Thanks!

Edited March 9, 2012 by Maxvla