haemphyst's new system

Awesome, then if you were able to do the test you would be able to see how the birth certificates are measured.  I always figured they were rated on initial load and don't take into account the sag of the power supply.  It's really not a big deal as even if it drops down to 800 watts there still isn't an audible difference from the 1000 rated watts.  I was just curious if they have a strong enough power supply in those small cases to keep the voltage up.

OK, everybody... Those of you who HATE mp3 and iPods (Steve Jobs can rot in hell, AFAIAC) as much as I do, need not apply to the school of the Alpine iDA-X001. If you DON'T have any problem with either of those things, or you already HAVE an iPod, then the unit is a VERY NICE PIECE!!! I went through HOURS of research, downloads, software installs, conversions... A HUGE waste of all of my time, in the end. WMA Lossless, (WMA is actually supported, but not the lossless version) FLAC, (which I knew wouldn't work, but I thought I'd try anyway) Apple Lossless (m4a is supported, too, just NOT the lossless, again...) Nothing. All I got was a big ol' "Unsupported" message. Every time I just got more and more wized off, too. I am beginning to feel Bob's frustration with the direction that Alpine is heading. Total BS, kids! After a 30 minute call to Alpine tech support, from the mouth of the Alpine "Tech Support" guy: "It only plays lossless if it is coming off an iPod." Stupid. AND, I don't get it... I was so angry. "Would you like me to register a complaint with the proper department?" HELL YES, I want you to register a complaint with the proper department. An iPod, after all, is really just a hard drive, so why would the deck only recognize a given format (lossless) from one piece of equipment? ANY hard drive or USB compliant device should be compatible! The only thing I can think of is this: The iPod actually does the playing of the audio signal, with an ANALOG being sent to the deck for signal processing and amplification. This, again is NOT lossless. Again, STUPID!!! Why would they produce a really nice piece of gear like that, with a pretty nice D/A convertor, with the intention of being an audiophile output, only to REQUIRE you to play compressed audio? The artifacting in mp3 tires me out SO fast, I don't even want to listen to it sometimes! So, all this being said, anybody want to buy a NEVER INSTALLED iDA-X001? It was powered up long enough (on the bench) for me to find out that all of the formats I WANTED to use wouldn't work, never a screw intalled, though. I JUST bought it from Bob (tcss) on Saturday, and I'm SURE he'd be happy to transfer the warranty to anybody here, that wanted to buy it.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

So Dave, is the issue because you are not using an iPod?Support the12volt.com

Seems to be, and I have so much money wrapped up in the system and all my external drives, that I shouldn't HAVE to buy an iPos. (No typo, there...) I'm going to make another call later today, and if I get a different tech, I'll see if I can get a different answer.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

But the iDA supports "Mass Storage Devices". Thumb drives and external hard drives will connect and the iDA can control them, reading the directories, and playing them back. It even says in the literature that it supports lossless, it just doesn't SPECIFY that it has to be SOURCED from an iPos. A digital file SHOULD be a DIGITAL file, dammit, and it shouldn't CARE where it lives! Sorry... frustration is setting in QUITE deeply, now. I just hate the fact that one of three things now has to happen: 1: I have to buy an iPos to use lossless files. (NOT gonna happen) 2: I have to listen to MP3... a DRAMTICALLY inferior playback. (COULD happen - but I won't be happy about it) or C: I have to forget the convenience of hard drive based music. (most LIKELY to happen)It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Interesting.  I bet it is partly a DRM issue.Support the12volt.com

Apple lossless has no DRM. That's one of the things that has me so irked about this whole deal... Like I said, I'm going to try a second call to Alpine, and see what a different tech says about the whole mess... I'll update shortly. Dave, ya want an iDA-X001? You have a 6th Gen iPos, obviously, or you wouldn't be able to listen to lossless... Just send the money to Bob, he can write you a receipt for warranty purposes, credit your payment to my account, and I'll ship ya the unit! It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Guys, guys, guys. David, Uncle Bob will not leave you twisting in the wind. Next time you come see me bring the X-001 with you. I will gladly do a return on it. You just have to promise to stop crushing the Alpine tech guys LOL!There is no such thing as free installation!