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Product Description
Manufacturer's Description
i-20 – Hi-Fi Audio and Video from Your iPod or iPhone
i-20 is a next generation digital iPod dock that produces hi-fi quality audio from high bitrate tracks on your iPod or iPhone by extracting the raw digital audio and processing it on the dock itself. Using PURE Clearsound digital end-to-end technology for its digital output and a superior 24-bit 192 KHz digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) for its analogue output i-20 ensures you get the best from your digital music collection.
With stylish looks and sturdy construction, i-20 ensures that your iPod or iPhone is held securely and that the controls are readily accessible when docked. i-20 can also output the video from compatible iPod and iPhone models, charges your device while docked and comes with a handy remote control.
Digital Audio
PURE’s i-20 supports all digital audio output compatible iPod models including the iPod Touch and iPhone. i-20 delivers ultimate flexibility and quality by allowing the user to connect to a hi-fi system or radio using digital or analogue outputs. When connected via the analogue output, the i-20’s hi-fi quality DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) ensures that the sound quality from high bit-rate compressed or uncompressed iPod tracks is delivered flawlessly.
i-20 extracts the digital signal from the iPod or iPhone and uses PURE Clearsound digital end-to-end technology to produce its digital audio outputs, ensuring that there is no compromise when connected to a quality digital amplifier or hi-fi system. For its analogue output, i-20 again extracts the digital signal and uses its Cirrus 4353 hi-fi quality DAC and high-precision low-jitter clock to deliver true hi-fi audio performance levels with a -105dB signal to noise ratio, better than -93dB THD+N and 2V RMS audio output from its 24-bit 192KHz digital audio processor.
Video Output
i-20 also includes video outputs to allow users to view videos stored on their iPhone or iPod on their TV. i-20 is the only digital iPod dock available that supports all popular analogue video formats (component, S-Video and composite†).
Compatible with PURE Radios
Compact, sleek and ergonomically designed, the PURE i-20 will complement any system or room and connects an iPod, iPod Touch or iPhone to any PURE radio* or hi-fi system**. The iPod/iPhone charges while docked and can be controlled and navigated using the supplied remote control.
* The majority of current PURE portable radios, micro-systems and selected bedside radios can be connected to the i-20 using the supplied audio cable.
** i-20 connects to any amplified speaker system and other product with RCA phono line input or S/PDIF digital input.
† i-20 is supplied with a cable for component video.
EcoPlus
EcoPlus™ is a statement of PURE's ongoing commitment to our environment and its future. It indicates that environmental impact has been considered in the design, manufacture and transport of our products, and has driven both what we do and how we do it.
At the heart of EcoPlus is the requirement to reduce the power consumption of our products while playing audio and also in standby.
All EcoPlus products are packaged using cardboard produced with a minimum of 70% recycled material, and finished using water-based varnish. All internal pulp trays are 100% recycled, and the user documentation is printed on 100% recycled paper using Soya-based inks. We also encourage our customers to recycle all packaging materials.
The boxes of EcoPlus products are designed to be the smallest they can be whilst still ensuring the integrity and security of the product inside. This maximises the number of products which can be shipped in each container, and thus minimises the environmental cost of transport.
Digital Radio
With digital radio (DAB) you'll discover a broader range of music, debate and ideas, all in crystal clear digital sound. Digital radio offers:
Ease-Of-Use
Digital radios are much easier to use than analogue radios because they automatically search for all available stations. Once the radio has found all the available stations you just choose the one you want by name. No more trying to remember frequencies.
Wider Station Choice
You'll be spoilt for choice - as well as many of your existing favourite stations now broadcasting on digital radio, you'll also find great exclusive-to-digital stations and there are more on the way!
Digital Sound Quality
Digital radio is not subject to the same interference as analogue radio resulting in crystal clear, interference free listening.
Product Description
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Customer Reviews
The answer came some years ago with Wadia's 170i iPod "transport". This Apple-approved device retrieved the information "bit-perfect" from the iPod, passing it straight out as a digital signal to the DAC of one's choice. Overnight, the iPod became a serious contender as the heart of one's music system, no matter how expensive and exotic might be the following components. Rave reviews followed, helped along by the sheer convenience of being a top-end home system in the evening. Finally, the iPod's potential was fully realised.
Wadia have since released an 'upgraded' iPod transport, the 171i. Unfortunately, both this and the original transport are somewhat expensive. The 170i has had increasing compatibility issues too, as iPod technology advanced. More recently, both Onkyo (NS-D1) and Cambridge Audio (D100) released competing devices at about half the price and, along with the new Wadia, no compatibility issues.
And now we have the PURE i-20, bringing exactly the same bit-perfect digital-retrieval capabilities and up-tod-date compatibility at a bargain price: less than half the price of the Onkyo and Cambridge Audio devices. It manages to do this AND include a much better than iPod-quality DAC (still not a match for most stand-alone DACs though) AND it charges your iPod/iPhone while connected AND it does all this in a versatile, easy to use and relatively attractive and portable package.
How does it perform? Well, bit-perfectly. That is to say, I have found playback from my (lossless), full quality files on my iPod indistinguishable from the same tracks played direct from my CD transport: this with highly resolving, audiophile-grade components following in the rest of the chain, both headphones and speakers. In other words, this bargain-priced transport does exactly what it claims to.
Any flaws? Only the rather tiny, cheap-looking and cheap-feeling remote. Reputedly, the Onkyo remote is much better. This unit functions with a wide range of iPods and iPhones - see PURE's information on their website - but not iPad, which I understand only the Cambridge Audio device happily supports. Some of my fellow owners on Head-Fi lament it's not battery-powered (it runs off a 1.2A 7.5V power pack).
The only other flaw is the risk of compatibility issues over time, as experienced by the first Wadia transport. But all these devices share this problem, something the PURE's much lower price mitigates considerably.
So there we have it: an almost ridiculously cheap source component with the versatility to scale anywhere from a modest travel system (e.g. i-20 and headphones) to any home stereo system regardless of how expensive or esoteric it may be. I love mine, and use it all the time.
(* Digital iPod dock with optional inbuilt DAC for under a hundred pounds).
System: Audiolab 8000a Amp (classic model) Quad 12L2 Speakers (on Soundstyle stands) IPod Classic 160GB using Apple Lossless Codecs
Background: Prior to the Pure i-20 I was using the basic Apple universal dock which of course uses the iPods' internal DAC and line out. The sound from the Universal dock was fine, a little compressed and lifeless but adequate for general background listening. Comparing the iPod's lossless tracks to the original CD via my ARCAM CD72T showed that the iPod/Apple dock combo was lacking some clarity..
Build: So, back to the product in question. I'm mainly going to focus on the sound quality of the Pure i-20 since this is often the hardest thing to find information on when searching for reviews. But suffice to say that the build quality and overall feel of this product is fantastic and looks like a £200 product not one costing less than half that. My only gripe is the remote feels a little light and the buttons are hard to press. It's also not as responsive as the Apple remote was, but on the Pure all the functions work such as shuffle and navigating the menus - not the case on the Apple dock.
Sound: This review focuses on the analogue outputs from the i-20, i.e. no external DAC was used. The first thing I noticed was that the Pure's output is much louder than the apple dock's, both in a literal sense and also in as much as the sound feels much more active and alive. Even when the volume is turned down, the sound still jumps out at you and it's hard to ignore the music. This isn't necessarily a positive observation; this dock may not suit a laid back listener.
On the other hand, the sound is extremely clear and there is lots more detail to all the individual instruments. You really get the feeling that the Pure is really extracting all possible information from the Apple Lossless files. This sound information is presented right in front of the listener with outstanding Stereo imagery, possibly better than the Arcam can manage with the original CD.
Vocals appear right in the centre of the soundstage and you can make out any hoarseness in the musicians voice or even slight limitations of the recording microphone. Bass is noticeably much more pronounced, again not necessarily a positive comment, I certainly feel that the bass is a little artificially accentuated. However, the bass is never muddled, slow or distorted and really adds to the music. If your system is a little bass light or you like your music to have fast, clear, weighty bass, then you will like the Pure dock.
On the flip-side, I could imagine that in a less than perfect set-up, the pronounced bass might sound a tad messy or overpowering. Treble is clear and dry, with no harshness, aside from the earlier comments about this being a very forward and exciting sounding dock.
Overall: Compared to the Apple dock, the Pure is much more alive, excited and has great bass and first class stereo imagery. If you like your tunes subtle and laid back then maybe try something like the Arcam ir-dock which is an analogue dock and supposedly very "musical", or even a Fat Man valve dock. However, in terms of true high fidelity, this dock is a clear 5/5, all the information is carefully gleaned from the source and presented to the listener in a very punchy manner. Add to the above the fact that this is a mid-range product compared to the Arcam dock and Onkyo digital transport (which is twice the price and has no internal DAC) and throw in a fully featured remote and fabulous build and finish and you are left with a stunning product.
Well done Pure!
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