Ipad/Idevice Mobile Audio Solutions (image heavy)

[creatip123]

So my current audio solutions are my PC + E10 + headphone for office use, and my Ipad for mobile (out of the office).

 

No doubt most of you veteran audio manias have already found/know the perfect solutions for Ipads as a mobile audio system, but for beginners like me, it's kinda tricky. I had to surf the net, getting all references I could find, for all possible solutions. So I thought I'll just share the solutions I discovered on using Ipad/iDevices as a mobile audio system. I'll list them in order from most simple to most complex one. I'm using Ipad 3 by the way.

 

1st solution:

 

First one, the simplest, most direct one. Just plug your headphone directly to the analog out of the Ipad. Frankly, you'd be crazy if you own an Ipad and don't know this one For this one, you'll be using the Ipad's native/built-in DAC and headphone amp. While they are considered good quality, they have limitations (that I'll explain later, bit by bit), so some people are not satisfied by them. First limitation is with hard to drive headphones. Some headphones are hard to be driven properly to enjoyable volume with Ipad's built-in amp. Which bring us to the 2nd solution:

 

Use an external amp to compliment the internal amp.

 

*I haven't peel off the factory's protective film of my E07k. So the bubbles you see isn't bad products...

 

Use an external amp to compliment the Ipad's internal amp. In the picture, I'm using Fiio's E07k's analog in, meaning I'm using the Ipad's internal amp + E07k's amp. Problem is, because it's a serial connection (amp + amp), the audio output came out a bit noisy. Now this is a subjective thing. Some people couldn't hear the noise, while some other people swears that it's there. I'm not interested in starting a new debate (over an old issue), so I'll just leave it as it is (some people hears it, some people don't). Now say you can hear the noise (and bothered by it), what to do? Try the 3rd solution:

 

 

Use an LOD connector or cable.

 

Use an LOD (Line Out Dock) connector or cable to bridge between the Ipad to the external amp. In the picture, I'm using Fiio L11 (the small black box). Before I go further, I just want to say, I'm not endorsing and/or encouraging Fiio products. I just find them budget friendly with reasonable quality. Of course there are many other brands that are better than Fiio products. That's been said, let's continue then. If my reference source is correct, when using the LOD, the Ipad's headphone amp is bypassed. Meaning, in this connection, there is only 1 amp used, that is the E07k's, resulting in less noise in the audio output. Be advised though, when using the LOD, the Ipad's volume control no longer function, so it's not recommended to plug your headphone directly to the LOD, because you'd always get the maximum volume available. By plugging your headphone to the external amp, you have the volume control of the external amp.

 

So far we know how to use an external amp alone, giving cleaner audio (compared to serial amp + amp connection). People started wondering (from a few years ago), could we bypass the Ipad's internal DAC and amp altogether? In other words, process the audio digital data with external devices. That way, the Ipad only functions as a file storage and an interface to decode the audio files stored in there. We arrived at the next solution, the 4th solution:

 

 

Note: Ipads supported digital audio output from earlier iOS versions, long before iOS 7 (my ipad still runs on iOS 6). Iphones, however, requires iOS7 (source)

 

 

For this one, you'll need one of these. It's a Camera Connection Kit (CCK). Mine is the 5+1 (with the card reader integrated). You can get the CCK with only 1 USB out, the MC531ZM model type (for 30-pin connector).

 

 

With self-powered DAC, like the E07k in the picture, there are no hassles. Just plug the CCK to the Ipad, and plug the USB cable from the E07k to the USB port on the CCK. The sound will be automatically forwarded to the external DAC. Self-powered DAC meaning the DAC doesn't draw power from the USB cable. Battery powered DACs (like the E07k) and DACs that use external power source (like AC outlets, or AC/DC adaptors) fall into this category. 

 

Use a self-powered DAC to fetch the digital audio data and process it externally. Battery powered and external source powered DACs can be used with no problem at all, just plug-n-play.

 

Now what about DAC's that are bus-powered? Bus-powered meaning it draws data and power from the USB cable. These kind of DACs are originally intended to use with computers (PC, Mac, Laptop, Notebook, etc) only. Unfortunately, a lot of middle-classed DACs that actually fit our budgets fall into this category. For example, I have the Fiio E10, that's bus-powered. Now what'd happen if I plug the E10 to my Ipad the same way as I plug the E07k?

 

 

The E10 plugged directly to the CCK on Ipad

 

 

My Ipad rise in protest that 'This device draws too much power'

 

The Ipad gives out an error 'This device draws too much power'. This is because from iOS 4.2 and up, the OS dropped the maximum power any external devices can draw from it, from 100mA to 20mA (source), which is just not enough to power the E10. Bummer.... Any workaround? Fortunately yes, which is our 5th solution:

 

 

You'll need a powered USB hub. The main function of these hubs is to supply power to power hungry devices, like external HDD, so the devices would draw power from the hub, instead of the original USB port. The one in the picture is an el-cheapo 7 ports powered USB hub ($7). Notice it says '7 port' instead of '7 ports' 7 ports is indeed an overkill for a mobile solution. ideally 3-4 ports should be enough, and of course much smaller and compact. 

 

 

Just plug the hub's output (the one that would go to the PC's USB port) to the CCK, and plug the E10 to any of the ports in the hub. You can see the LED in my E10 lit up, and the Ipad didn't give error message anymore. The E10 is now drawing the power it needs from the hub, not the Ipad. I got sounds from the E10 now.

 

Now you might think I'm pulling a prank here, that this setup doesn't really work, meaning the E10 doesn't really give sound output from the Ipad's audio files. I recorded a demo of this setup, using a portable speaker (so you could hear the sound output):

 

 

Use a powered USB hub in between. I tried it with my E10, because that's the only bus-powered DAC I have, but it should work with other bus-powered DACs in the market. Some people will comment that with the hub, it's just too much devices and too much cableworks to qualify as a mobile solution. Well, it's a trade off. Devices + cableworks in exchange with the ability to use bus-powered DACs that can't be used on Ipad originally. Does the hassles worth it? It's subjective, and entirely up to you. Personally I found this solution as a fair trade. It's still mobile, with a little more space and weight of the hub. Useful to go to audio meet-ups, audio demos, etc, without bringing a laptop or notebook.

 

OK, now we can extract the audio data from the Ipad, and process it externally. Meaning we can now process higher resolution audio. For example, the Ipad's analog audio output only support 16bit/44.1khz, so there was no sense in having higher resolution audio files stored, and played with the Ipad's analog output. Now we're able to process higher resolution audio files. The E10, for example, can process up to 24bit/96khz. So now we have a reason to store higher resolution audio files, which is: to be processed by the external DAC (might require the proper iOS application, though). This brings us to the next problem: storage space. High resolution audio files take up considerably larger storage space, which could be a problem with the fixed storage space of the Ipad. Of course you can store them in iCloud, but then you'd have to download them again each time you want to play them. Which brings us to the last solution:

 

Note: this solution requires the iFile application. The iFile app was originally obtainable on JB devices only, but you can search youtube on how to get iFile without JB (if your device isn't JB)

 

 

Using the powered hub, now I can plug in an USB flash drive.

 

 

When I open iFile, it says that there is a Flash Drive (A) mounted on the Ipad, labeled 'mount1' (B ). There you can see the contents of my flash drive.

 

Point being? The point is, now I can store the humongous high resolution audio files in my flash drive, so I won't waste the internal storage space of my Ipad. "But....but....I got thousands of those files, and I want to bring them all. No flash drive is big enough for all of the files...."

 

 

Storage space not enough? Why not use an external HDD then? There are wireless access external portable HDD on the market now, but wired ones can also be used. I'm using my old 320GB external HDD in the picture. Of course there are much bigger capacity external HDD in the market now, for example, the Seagate 4TB portable external HDD. 1 problem though, the power from the hub alone apparently not enough to run the HDD properly. The AC/DC adaptor that came with the hub reads 1000mA (1A), shared, and I already use some of that to power the E10 and my flash drive. Maybe if I could use a 2A or more adaptor, I might be able to run the HDD with the hub alone. For the mean time, I resort to this:

 

 

Using the supplied Y USB cable (the secondary one is for extra power only), plugged into a 5V AC/DC adaptor (I'm using the Ipad's charger in the picture), the HDD can now run properly. Of course I don't have to plug the secondary cable so close, I could always use an USB extension cable for that.

 

 

The iFile now reads 2 flash drives, 1 is my USB flash drive, the other is my external HDD. 

 

Use external storage devices to store the humongous files. Now we can have gigabytes or even terrabytes of those high resolution audio files. 

 

So there you have it, solutions to use the Ipad as a mobile high quality audio system. Hope this post is useful to at least some of you fellow audio manias out there. And sorry for the long post

[wjdobie]

This is bonkers, but I love it!

Given I use Sennheiser Momentums, my iPad will power them no problem, but I am looking for a fairly cheap sound solution for my PC, cause the in built sound is quiet and noisy -.-

[Musikman]

Fantastic post. This is will definitely be referenced from here on out when it comes to mobile audio solutions.

[atrash]

Loved your post. Very detail and easy to read. If you have an android phone with usb otg capable for external dac maybe you can include that in your post. I know all Windows Phone do not support usb otg.

 

I'm using the 1st solution myself for my CZ+E07K+SE215. I wanna pair/stick the e07k in its silicon case with the mp3 without using the rubber band but nothing sticks on silicon except for silicon glue. So I ended up getting a hard case for portable hdd to store everything in it.

[creatip123]

This is bonkers, but I love it!

Given I use Sennheiser Momentums, my iPad will power them no problem, but I am looking for a fairly cheap sound solution for my PC, cause the in built sound is quiet and noisy -.-

 

The E10 is nice, with sleek and sexy black looks, and good sounds. Or maybe the Syba DAC (http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Stereo-Headphone-Amplifier-SD-DAC63057/dp/B009WN7QT4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400016128&sr=8-1&keywords=syba+dac)

 

 

Fantastic post. This is will definitely be referenced from here on out when it comes to mobile audio solutions.

 

Just summarizing references I read from around the net.....

 

 

Loved your post. Very detail and easy to read. If you have an android phone with usb otg capable for external dac maybe you can include that in your post. I know all Windows Phone do not support usb otg.

 

I'm using the 1st solution myself for my CZ+E07K+SE215. I wanna pair/stick the e07k in its silicon case with the mp3 without using the rubber band but nothing sticks on silicon except for silicon glue. So I ended up getting a hard case for portable hdd to store everything in it.

 

Unfortunately I don't have android phones. I don't even have a smartphone, because I hate the battery endurance, lol....

 

But from what I read, android phones are a bit picky when it comes to digital audio output. Depends on the hardware itself, of course, and the android version it's running on. Can't say for sure though, as I never fiddled with one.

 

Maybe you meant the 2nd solution, the serial amp + amp connection. The rubber band thingy is the best way to go, IMO, because it doesn't scratch/leave any marks at all, so it's better if and when someday you'll want to sell it (for an upgrade), but I guess the portable hard case is good also.

[atrash]

creatip123, on 14 May 2014 - 05:32 AM, said:

Unfortunately I don't have android phones. I don't even have a smartphone, because I hate the battery endurance, lol....

 

But from what I read, android phones are a bit picky when it comes to digital audio output. Depends on the hardware itself, of course, and the android version it's running on. Can't say for sure though, as I never fiddled with one.

 

Maybe you meant the 2nd solution, the serial amp + amp connection. The rubber band thingy is the best way to go, IMO, because it doesn't scratch/leave any marks at all, so it's better if and when someday you'll want to sell it (for an upgrade), but I guess the portable hard case is good also.

 

Ahh I see..I feel you man. I'm not a big fan of smartphones too,especially those big ones. My L620 battery only lasts <20hours on standby fully charged. I missed my old nokia 2700 where it can last almost 5 days. Just a thought for android phone users out there that.

 

The CZ is too small to be used with the rubber band as it'll block the screen so that's why I had to use the hard case. Not that elegant but it portable enough. Only $4.