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Audiophile Boom Box?

I just returned from a few days at the beach.

Although I brought my iPod, I just couldnt bring myself to shove those Sure headphones in my ears, a practice I realized I now associate with stressful life in the big city, and I preferred to listen to the ocean.

Listening to the lousy TV in my room, however, I craved a bit of music on my holiday and had an audiophile flashback to the biamped a/d/s system of the 70's which came neatly packed in a briefcase with a Nakamichi tape deck which could be powered either by 12v or AC.

This made me think - is there any way to build an audiophile "boombox"?

I have a pair of Genelec powered monitors which are a bit lean sounding but otherwise quite punchy and detailed. If I could figure out a way to get true line out, or even better, true digital out of an iPod, perhaps that would be worth shipping ahead via UPS to my next destination?

Then I thought - eureka (?) - how about the quirky cult following for the new battery powered, tweaky digital amps?

Maybe a smallish pair of not too heavy monitors? With Sonic Impact, Red Wine or whatever digital amp? And true line out or digital out from an iPod?

This thread might dovetail with another current thread on extracting audio from an iPod without using the headphone jack.

But let's hear your ideas for traveling with high end audio on your next vacation!
cwlondon

Showing 2 responses by reubent

reubent
6,935 posts
 
Cw,

I have a couple of units that might work for you.

First, I have a Sharp SD-EX111 which is a CD player, tuner, pre-amp and 40 watt/channel digital amp all in a fairly compact box. It has a digital input, so you could connect another digital component to it. The Sharp is a pretty good sounding unit and there is a multi-thousand post thread about it on Audiocircle.

I also have a Red Wine Reali-T which is a nos-DAC, digital amp with volume control and selector switch, all in one tiny box. It sounds friggin' unbelievable for such a modest looking and inexpensive box. It also functions as a DAC w/ volume control, so you could use it with your powered speakers. The internal DAC in mine is a Scott Nixon DacKit. Unfortunately Vinnie is not building them anymore. Also, they only have 8 watts/channel, so speaker choice would be crucial.

Another option could be a Quad 99 CD-P which is a CD player with variable volume control. It has multiple digital inputs, so you could connect another digital component. This player sounds pretty good, plus it has a 24bit/192khz upsampling DAC. The Quad is pretty compact, so if you had powered monitors, it could be a great setup.

Lastly, a Birdland Odeon Lite DAC is very small and has a pretty good variable volume control. Use a digital source of your choice and a pair of powered speakers and you're set.

Lots of good options.

Enjoy,

TIC
reubent
6,935 posts
 
Dekay,

You're right about the Sharp. My mistake. I once used an external CD player connected to mine, but I must have been using the aux. analog inputs. The digital input is toslink. I'm surprised by the power rating, but I did verify that you are correct. 20W/ch @ 4ohm. Sounds much more powerful, however that's coming from someone whos other amps are 3.5 w/channel and 8w/channel!

Enjoy,

TIC
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