Onkyo DS-A2 Remote Interactive (RI) iPod Dock
by Onkyo
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Digital product summary information
Manufacturer: OnkyoBrand: Onkyo
Edition: Electronics
Model: DSA2
Color: Black
Publisher: Onkyo
Studio: Onkyo
Music Label: Onkyo
Product features:
- iPod Cradle for any audio components and systems through RCA connections
- RI controllable with most Onkyo systems using your Onkyo remote
- Built-in Onscreen graphics generator to display Playlist Information
- Video Output for iPod Photo Slide Show
- Remote control included, iPod charging function
- AmazonBasics 700 MB 52x CD-R (100-Pack Spindle)
- AmazonBasics 4.7 GB 16x DVD+R (100-Pack Spindle)
- AmazonBasics 3RCA Component Video Cable (6 Feet)
- AmazonBasics Ultra-High-Speed HDMI Cable Braided (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters)
- AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Braided Cable (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters)
Digital camera reviews of Onkyo DS-A2 Remote Interactive (RI) iPod Dock
Digital camera Review: A few additional thoughts to add to Simmon's review
Summary: 4 Stars
Bowen Simmons has provided a complete and accurate review of this. I just wanted to add a couple of things. First my setup: I have an Onkyo SR-803 7.1 home theatre receiver and a 5th generation iPod. I'm very picky about sound quality. I encode my music in a high VBR, and I don't buy any tracks from iTunes. I use full-range Infinity speakers for my front sound stage and prefer CD-quality sound for stereo listening. So, I've avoided buying any ipod-to-stereo interface because I was concerned about audio quality.
That being said, I decided to try this out. What swayed me was having an on-screen menu to browse music on my TV. This is the "built-in" display that Simmons talks about. His review of this mode is accurate, although I believe the limitations he mentions about photos and videos not being on the built-in display are actually a limitation of the iPod software and not this (or any) dock. (I think the video-out solution on the iPod is still half-baked right now.) Perhaps software upgrades will fix this, but knowing Apple, we'll all have to give them more money for a future iPod version.
Onto sound quality. When I first plugged this in, I was disappointed. The sound was flat, and I had to turn the stereo up a lot to hear the music. Then I decided to wander into the SR-803's setup menus to see if there was something wrong. (The 803 is a great receiver, btw, despite having a text-based on-screen display that reminds me of 80's. See my review of the 804, the newer version.) Anyway, the 803 has a pre-amp adjustment that you can apply to each audio input. They call it "Intellisound" or something like that, but what it does is allow you to adjust for variations in line level inputs. I increased the ipod input up 3 dB, and the sound improved dramatically. So, you may want to check your receiver for this option.
I also tested the RI connection on the dock. It works great! The 803 has a great remote, with a joystick-like control in the middle. It provided much more intuitive control over the built-in menu than this dock's remote.
Finally, video output. Yes, composite output is old technology and the built-in menu is reminiscent of the 80's. But it does get you to your music without having to look at the little ipod screen. You can change the background color of the menu, which helps a little, but also resulted a lot of chroma noise on the letters. Photos looked fine, and I didn't try video. I'm not sure this dock is all that useful for video/photos, but for music, it does the job.
What would make this dock perfect?
* A digital audio connection from the iPod to the stereo. Apparently the 5th-generation iPods support a digital output through the dock connector. I haven't yet been able to find out what that means exactly, whether it's just a byte stream of the encoded file (MP3, AAC, etc) or some other digital audio standard. Regardless, I'd really prefer that my amp do the D-to-A processing.
* Better on-screen display. There are two solutions: either the iPod should just output its display, or the dock should try to mimic it. The Alpine IDA-X001 car stereo takes the second approach. It tries to mimic the menu structure, album art, marquee-style song titles, etc.
* S-Video or better video output.
Summary of Onkyo DS-A2 Remote Interactive (RI) iPod Dock
Onkyo iPod Dock DSA2The new DS-A2 is now available and will allow you to control your iPod to over 90% of today?s Onkyo receivers, home theater systems and audio systems. Not only is the DS-A2 compatible with the full range of Onkyo products, from the flagship TX-NR1000 to the affordable CS-210, it?s also compatible with any audio system with RCA audio connections.
- iPod Cradle for any audio components and systems through RCA connections
- RI controllable with most Onkyo systems using your Onkyo remote
- iPod charging function
- Built-in Onscreen graphics generator to display Playlist Information (Artist, Album, Song, Genre, Composer)
- Remote control included
- Video Output for iPod Photo Slide Show
Speaker Systems
Cameras and Photo
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