Just caught this announcement on Stereophile's site with news from CES.

Apparently, Wadia Digital has figured out a trick to get the S/PDIF output from a stock iPod without having to do any modifications. In theory, this will let users get better sound out of the iPod for home systems, using outboard D/A converters.

I'm just curious how long it will be before somebody figures out what Wadia did in order to get access to the S/PDIF data stream.

The Wadia box is only $349, so it's not bad as far as this exotic high-end stuff goes. I have no doubt some audiophiles are already looking at using iPods, Lossless files, and the iTransport to get high quality playback on home systems.

I haven't heard the thing yet, but maybe it'll be at MacWorld in ten days. If anybody hears it at CES, report back and tell us what you think of it.