Stereophile: Happily Ever iModded

I encountered the same difficulty while talking with Red Wine Audio's Vinnie Rossi that I'd experienced the day before when chatting with Audio Advancements' Hart Huschens. Happy customers kept frigging interrupting us. "Vinnie! Vinnie!" they'd announce again and again.

I take this as solid evidence of the great service these gentlemen provide to the audio world.

Basically, all I could do was drop my pen, lean back against the wall, and smile. Might as well take a picture, I figured.

And so: Here's Vinnie Rossi with a very happy customer of the Red Wine Audio modded iPod. That's iMod, for short. The iMod converts the iPod's standard 1/8" headphone jack into a dedicated line-out jack using Black Gate NX-Hi-Q coupling capacitors, leaving the user with a tiny, battery-powered, digital playback source intended for use with a hi-end headphone amp or hi-fi system. The iMod should no longer be used directly connected to headphones, Vinnie explained, and is available only to fourth generation iPods. Mods start at $199.

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Reader Comments

Posted Tue May15, 2007, 5:42 PM — By zed

This was my most enjoyable experience a the show...i just loved the Red Wine and Hemp Omega speakers..i finally got that single-diver-vibes

Posted Wed May16, 2007, 5:12 PM — By Stephen Mejias

Vinnie and I never got around to talking about the actual system inside the room. So, over e-mail, he gave me a quick rundown:

The system was completely "off-the-grid" (running on sealed lead-acid battery power). Sources included the Olive Symphony with Red Wine Audio modification package (complete conversion to SLA battery power, mods to the analog and digital output stages, $899.00 for stock unit, $729.00 for modification package) and the Red Wine Audio iMod. Both sources were playing uncompressed WAV files from their internal hard drives.

The amplifier used was the SLA battery powered Signature 30 ($1499.00). The speakers were single-driver, crossoverless Omega Super 3 XRS ($949.00/pair) and the Omega MaxHemps ($2495.00/pair). Both of these models feature proprietary Omega Hemp Cone full-range drivers.

The cabling was by Audiopath and room treatments by Real Traps.

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