Can I get top quality sound through excellent speakers and amp using a Laptop or Ipod?

Question

or do I need to invest in say a quality Denon CD player (worth approx £150) to go with a denon amp and Mission speakers?

Answer 1

Simple answer, no.

Laptops and iPods do NOT produce good quality sound. Why? Because they are not designed to, in the same way that a CD player isn't designed to be a computer or a mass storage device. If you want good quality sound, you need components specifically designed to do that.

The Denon / Mission combination you mention will blow any laptop or iPod into the weeds, as far as sound quality is concerned. Buy it and enjoy!!

Answer 2

unless you consider yourself an audiophile, i'd recommened a Denon DM35DAB - although this will set you back around 240 squid with speakers (I have a similar system (DM31 - *5 stars) and although it uses 22W speakers they are Mission-made and I can't fault the sound quality at all) Onkyo also make well-built systems, the CR515DAB is around £180 sans speakers, if you are looking to spend a little less you could go for a Sony CMTSPZ90DAB for around £139 w. speakers which should do the trick (I had an old sony CMTP11 and it was sounded great) Also Superfi are running a Yamaha CRXM170 DAB system for £150 which looks mighty solid, speakers for this shouldn't be more than about £75 or you could mix and match (e.g. denon speakers)

As far as seperates go you can get a denon CD player for less than £120, though I have less experience with these systems, the quality of the sound from the denon DM35 is very competitive when stacked against low-end seperates and is generally cheaper.

You should be able to connect the laptop via 3.5mm jack to phono (red and white) and the same with the iPod, although you could use an iTrip, which are pretty good, to send the audio. The systems I mentioned also have integrated DAB radios which is a major bonus too, and you can play CDs on 'em when charging your iPod!

Answer 3

The iPod or Computer will do an okay job, UNTIL you begin to compress the music. If you are playing any mp3 or AAC or any type of compressed music, then the Denon CD player is the way to go... The Denon will give you Top Quality in either case, but you can come somewhat close with the computer, and a little less close with the iPod, as long as your music is uncompressed... That will be your biggest source of degradation.

Answer 4

M-audio makes the transit: which can be found at this http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Transit-main.html
This solves the high quality signal problem with laptop, This will actually sound better than 90% of the CD players out there. Ipod using low bit rate MP3 do not sound good. Use 320kBits second and it is not to bad or much better use a regular CD and the transit. You will still need an amp and speakers and mission is not a bad choice at all. The transit probably sounds better than the mission CD player.

Answer 5

Hi there (again). Remember when i answered your question regarding the sound of your Mission Speakers not being up to the standard they should be and i said the Source is the most important component of your system,well the laptop or ipod would not be good enough to improve the sound of the speakers.Buy the best quality CD Player and Amplifier you can afford and don't forget the interconnect cables to hook them up .Get the best you can afford and you are on your way to getting a good system.

Answer 6

I have an outdoor system where I use both my Ipod and my laptop and the sound is just fine run through my receiver.

As a matter of fact I hoooked up my laptop outside and we all watched a bunch of the Bonnaroo show a few weekends ago and my friends were blown away by the sound quality.

Of course I'm not saying it can compare with live broadcasts and such, but it certainly sounded fine to us and we were even outside.

weeder

Answer 7

You can get the good sound from a laptop or ipod, the main problem you have is how the laptop or ipod converts and produces the signal, a pro mixer system will do all the hard work for you, having extra speakers dose help alot, it depends on what your doing. just a desktop PC or full disco, its all about the where then focus on the how.

Answer 8

NO, excellent sound and computers do not mix.

Use reference quality components and interconnects to high quality speakers. For the ultimate sound.

Answer 9

you should be able toif you have decent cables connecting everything. My advice is just dont buy the cheapest cable and then everything should work. If it doesnt, either the cables are broken or the amp is. thats all the advice i can give but it usually works. If not go to your local music shop and if there any good they should be able to help.