As suggested in the Squeezebox forum and as a little service to those who want to use iPeng’s audiophile playback we would like to collect a list of good docking hardware, so if you are happy with your device, feel free to add it below.
As a little guidance, here’s what people will be looking for:
- Which sample rates are supported with USB audio? Please only post sample rates you really tested. There are a lot of confusing comments by vendors about the capabilities of devices, such as “the built-in DAC supports up to 192 kHz sample rate”. While the latter is certainly nice, it doesn’t help, if the stream the device pulls from the iPhone/iPad is limited to 48kHz.
- Does it have a built-in DAC? Does it support volume control?
- Does it have a remote that supports iOS remote control events? What this means, is that the remote sends commands that iPeng understands, e.g. for volume, skip and play/pause
- Does it support iPhone and/or iPad?
- Can it charge an iPhone/iPad?
As a bonus there is the open question whether there are any docking devices out there (except for Apple’s Camera Connection Kit) that allow 96 kHz sample rate playback through USB audio.
A second area of interest would be the compatibility of DACs. A lot of USB DAC implementations have bad software which causes the iPad to report an error stating the device would draw too much power. Warnings about this or recommendations for devices with good implementations are welcome.
If you prefer to comment on the Squeezebox forum, the thread is here.
Once there are enough results I will write a little article with the findings.
