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Supercharge your iPod's sound at home

Teac's new stereo receivers bypass your iPod's good-enough digital-to-analog converters, and use the receiver's audiophile grade converters.

Steve Guttenberg
Ex-movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has also worked as a high-end audio salesman, and as a record producer. Steve currently reviews audio products for CNET and works as a freelance writer for Stereophile.
Steve Guttenberg
The Teac CR-H500NT stereo receiver/CDplayer. Teac

Matthew Moskovciak recently wrote about AV receivers that play nice with iPods, but what about stereo receivers?

Teac now offers not one, but two iPod-friendly stereo receivers, the Reference Series AG-H380 ($499) and the Reference Series CR-H500NT ($799).

The CR-H500NT is a CD player/stereo (2x40 watts) receiver, and also offers Internet radio, an Ethernet port, wired and wireless LANs, high-quality phono input, subwoofer output, and best of all, a USB iPod Digital Direct Interface.

So instead of using your iPod's good-enough internal digital-to-analog converter, you'll be listening to the CR-H500NT's higher-quality 24-bit/192-kHz converters, which will significantly upgrade your iPod's sound. Teac's converters are highly regarded by audiophiles, and the CR-H500NT has been favorably reviewed by a number of high-end audio magazines.

The CR-H500NT measures a compact 11.5 inches by 4.4 inches by 13.3 inches, and it weighs 12.4 pounds. The AG-H380 is much the same, but it lacks the CD player. It's even smaller, just 8.5 inches by 4.3 inches by 12.8 inches, and it weighs 9.7 pounds. Both receivers would work wonders in two-channel home theaters.

The Teac AG-H380 stereo receiver. Teac