Audio cable to connect IPhone to McIntosh C2600

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Standingstones, Nov 9, 2019.

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  1. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Central PA
    Is there a cable I could use to connect my IPhone to my McIntosh C2600 preamp. I was looking for a lightning end to rca jacks cable but I am not finding anything. Any suggestions?
     
  2. motorstereo

    motorstereo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ct.
  3. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Central PA
  4. motorstereo

    motorstereo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ct.
    ^^^^^You could use one of those cheaper bt adapters (about $15). They're ok at best for background listening.
     
  5. onemug

    onemug Forum Resident

    That's what I would recommend also, but if you want to go the 'cable route', I think there is a way, don't remember exactly how/what. Maybe someone can chime in on it.
     
  6. Kevin j

    Kevin j The 5th 99

    Location:
    Seattle Area
    looks like you need two cables...a lightning to 3.5mm female then a 3.5mm male to rca.
     
  7. Bob_in_OKC

    Bob_in_OKC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, Texas
    I accomplished this with a Lightning to 30-pin adapter and a 30-pin to RCA cable. Noticeable degradation in sound quality, though.

    A better idea is probably a Lightning to USB cable and a DAC.
     
  8. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Central PA
    As much as I hated spending the money, I went with the Audioengine B1. I didn’t want to sacrifice audio quality. We shall see.
     
    motorstereo likes this.
  9. motorstereo

    motorstereo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ct.
    ^^^^^You've made the right choice. The B1 does aptx for better sound quality; the cheap ones do not and the difference is quite noticeable.
     
  10. onemug

    onemug Forum Resident

    I think you made the right choice. You'll get passed the extra $ spent. Enjoy.
     
  11. Mugrug12

    Mugrug12 The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Doesn't Bluetooth degrade the sound quality also?
     
    Coltrane811 likes this.
  12. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Central PA
    The Audioengine has a built in high quality DAC to help with the audio.
     
  13. Mugrug12

    Mugrug12 The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    That doesn't answer the question though. You might have better sound quality just doing the lightening to 3.5 mm to rca since I'm pretty sure Bluetooth lowers the quality. Then you've saved $180
     
    Coltrane811 and Wes_in_va like this.
  14. Wes_in_va

    Wes_in_va Trying to live up to my dog’s expectations

    Location:
    Southwest VA
    The newest Bluetooth codecs are better but they still degrade quality. Whether or. It that’s a problem is up to each individual.
    In lots of cases I stream via Bluetooth and am quite happy with it but then sometimes I just can’t take the loss in quality.
     
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  15. csgreene

    csgreene Forum Resident

    Location:
    Idaho, USA
    The only BT receiver I use is to connect into a 1969 Zenith stereo console. Sounds OK in that system using my phone as a source but sounds like crap in my main upstairs system.
     
  16. Mugrug12

    Mugrug12 The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

    Location:
    Massachusetts
  17. motorstereo

    motorstereo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ct.
    Yes a cheap bt dongle sure will sound like crap. The B1 does have an optical output which bypasses the already nice onboard if you have a nicer dac in your rig. This what I do and aptx encoded bt sounds very nice on my rig.
     
    Mugrug12 likes this.
  18. Mugrug12

    Mugrug12 The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Sounds good. My question was more about the actually encoding involved in playing back Bluetooth, not whether the dac and gear are bad or top notch. I've found a bunch of articles since reading here today so I will educate myself. It seems so far that Bluetooth with not add compression to lower bitrate MP3 and stuff but you're not going to hear lossless audio if you're playing lossless files over Bluetooth.

    I use AirPlay w a Apple TV at home which I think is wifi not Bluetooth. Still learning all this stuff and I would
    Like to get a better steaming setup at home....
     
    Wes_in_va likes this.
  19. Coltrane811

    Coltrane811 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    Bluetooth is definitely something to avoid. You are much better off either using a cable (lightning adapter and a 1/8" to RCA as previously mentioned) or going wireless with an AirPlay device. I use an Apple TV 3rd Gen which has an optical out and I run that to my receiver, which would be much cheaper than 190. Other easy AirPlay options include an AudioCast M5 for 30 bucks or a Nexum Tunebox2 for ~70. Both do lossless AirPlay and you can avoid bluetooth.
     
  20. Mugrug12

    Mugrug12 The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    But then he also needs an optical input in his receiver. No?
     
  21. Coltrane811

    Coltrane811 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    Yes, the C2600 has a couple optical inputs.
     
  22. Mugrug12

    Mugrug12 The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Derp I forgot that detail. It's even in the header.
    :doh:
     
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