I got my Redwine iMod-ed iPod today,WOW!

[robster]

Hello-I got my imod-ed 4G Photo 60GB iPod back today from Vinnie at www.redwineaudio.com today and WOW! with no burn in time to my ears it sounds better than the 5G 60GB Video using a Turbo DockII. Using a burned in RS Hornet amp and Senn PX-100 headphones and RnB diamond mini-cable. There is more life to the music with the iMod,string intsruments have more character,cymbals have more splang,female vocals sound more lifelike. All in all more LIFE! The 5G using Turbo Dock II sounded somewhat dull,not bad dull,just flat/dull.
Using my iMod-ed iPod in the car hooked up to a Monster cable RCA to mini cable the sound to my ears sounded as good and sometimes better than the cd player on my Pioneer mosfet amped deck. Plus with the iMod I don't need to crank up the volume. With the 5G ussing Turbo Dock II I had to crank up the volume 10-20% over using the tuner section or cd player.

After I have the reccommended 200 hour burn in time on the blackgate caps on my Redwine iMod I'll post more. I'll listen with my Senn 650's and Moon Audio Blue Dragon Cable.
But hey if it sounds this good now before burn in,O'Baby wait untill 200 hours . P.S. I'm using Apple Lossless.

BEST $199 I EVER SPENT!! right up there with the purchase of my www.thehornshoppe.com speakers.

Later and cheers,
Robert

[Jahn]

Excellent impressions, I think this is the first one to compare it directly with the new 5G, and the TurbodockII to boot is a bonus - that's the rig I use, doh! Nice to see that modding isn't dead in the DAP world!

[milkpowder]

Dayaaam man! Sounds incredible. Pictures please! I'll consider this mod!

[ojnihs]

If it wasn't so expensive I'd jump on the bandwagon right away, but being in college and being on a strict college-budget, it's way out of my reach at this point in my life. Although you're making me want to forgo eating for a month and getting this mod after reading those impressions.

[Canon]

Originally Posted by milkpowder

Dayaaam man! Sounds incredible. Pictures please! I'll consider this mod!

Well the mod is stricly internal unless you get the "pigtail" option. You send the 4G IPOD to the folks at Red Wine Audio and they do it and send it back to you.

http://www.redwineaudio.com/iMod.html

Feel free to correct me, just repeating what i've read.

Congrats on your imod robster. Glad your enjoying it.

[robster]

yep,with the iMod nothing to see,all internal,under the hood stuff..I didn't go for the pigtail option since I'll be using an amp. But If I'm in a hurry to head outside to walk the dogs and don't have time to grab my hornet amp I can use my Shure attenuator volume control between the iPod and headphones,I listened briefly with this combo today and the sound is very good,but much better amped of course.
I spent a couple hours listening today with Senn PX-100's and hornet amp while walking the dogs and I forgot to add that the bass is the best it has ever been,very deep dynamic bass that is tubelike. And my main system at home is all tube so I know what that tube sound is like.

Then hooked my Redwine imod ipod up to my den system,Marantz 2250B receiver via a Signal Cable copper mini cable through my Klipsch Chorus II speakers 101 db effecient and the sound was great as good or better than my JVC CD/DVD player and this is all before the black gate caps burn in on my Imod.
I only have time on the weekends to listen to my tube gear since it needs time to warm up. So this weekend I'll do that using a Signal Cable silver mini cable. But this will be too soon to post about the sound cause the black gates need mo time to burn. Plus I need to listen with my Senn 650's in depth after the Black Gates burn in.

I'm just slap-happy cause when I first got into portable audio I was somewhat dissappointed with the results,but that's changed due to the Imod/Hornet combo.


Cheers,
Robert

[Naris]

Anyone know if the imod (or mod in general) will be opened on other players? Like say, the Creative Zen Vision: M or anything else coming in?

[Skylab]

Yep, the iMod is the real deal. No doubt. And it gets much better after about 100 hours. It takes the ipod to a level of SQ I never thought possible.

[anearfull]

I have about 75 hours on mine and it's quite mind-blowing. Sure the Redwine iPod is portable, but don't be shy about using it to drive your high end cans. I'm listening to it right now driving my PPX3-6sn7 >> HD600 (using lossless of course). It's quite amazing ... every bit as good as the CD version played on my SACDmods.com modded NC555ES CD player.

This mod’s $200 very well spent. Personally I don’t have the skill needed to mess around inside an iPod with a soldering iron. I wouldn’t be surprised though to see this type of mod becoming a popular DIY project for skilled headfiers on a tight budget.

[EdipisReks]

i've been thinking about picking up a nano for use unamped and getting my 40 GB Photo imodded. impressions like this just push me one step closer.

[GaryAR]

I saw your post at audiocircle and I didn't think you'd regret going for it . Just wait until you have a couple hundred hours on your new toy... you're in for something special. Mine sounded lousy at first and wasn't in the ballpark of my scott nixon NOS dac. After a couple weeks of near-continuous play it was a whole different story now I'd say the iMod iPod is a serious contender in the megabuck digital source realm. It's feeding Bastanis Prometheus, very revealing speakers that cost $2k in kit form and compare well against most in the $10k range, and it's far from the weak link in my system.

Gary

[robster]

Yep,I extremely happy I decided to go with the Redwine iMod. Looking foward to what's to come over the next few weeks with burn in. I have a extremely revealing system with high effeciency speakers.

Cheers,
Robert

[boodi]

man is it that good ?
such positive comments ..

is it maybe worth a comparo with a regular cdpl. ?
any of you can compare ?

[audiobliss]

What is this 'pigtail' option I read about here? I read through the iMod info on Red Wine's website, but they don't say anything about it there.

From what I gather, this is how I understand it: The regular 1/8" headphone out becomes the line-out, thus doing away with a headphone out with variable output. I assume this 'pigtail' option somehow retains a variable out, but like I said, I'm unable to find anything about that on their website.

Another thing: Can Red Wine convert the 1/8" jack to a 1/4" jack? The headphones I'm *hopefully* soon to have cables terminated with a 1/4" jack. Is there a 1/4" to 1/8" converter so I could plug them into the iPod?

I don't have an iPod, but I've been seriously considering one for the car and for road trips, but after reading about this mod I'm thinking about it maybe even for my main source at home.

Thanks for your comments!
audiobliss

[Vinnie R.]

Originally Posted by audiobliss

What is this 'pigtail' option I read about here? I read through the iMod info on Red Wine's website, but they don't say anything about it there.

From what I gather, this is how I understand it: The regular 1/8" headphone out becomes the line-out, thus doing away with a headphone out with variable output. I assume this 'pigtail' option somehow retains a variable out, but like I said, I'm unable to find anything about that on their website.

Another thing: Can Red Wine convert the 1/8" jack to a 1/4" jack? The headphones I'm *hopefully* soon to have cables terminated with a 1/4" jack. Is there a 1/4" to 1/8" converter so I could plug them into the iPod?

I don't have an iPod, but I've been seriously considering one for the car and for road trips, but after reading about this mod I'm thinking about it maybe even for my main source at home.

Thanks for your comments!
audiobliss

All,

Thanks for all your feedback....much appreciated. In the next issue of American Wired (www.americanwired.com), there will be the first professional review of the iMod

Hi Audiobliss,

I no longer offer the pigtail option for the iMod, which is why is it no longer on my website.

The iMod converts your 1/8" headphone jack into a dedicated line out. This is a fixed 1Vrms voltage line-out. In order to use your headphones, you'll need a headphone amp. The headphone amp will have the volume control.

>>after reading about this mod I'm thinking about it maybe even for my main source at home.

That is what it is intended to be....a dedicated source for a high quality headphone amp or home audio system (e.g. what GaryAR is using it for).

NOTE: The level of improvement that you will hear with the iMod depends on the quality of the rest of your gear. With a high quality headphone amp and cans, OR a high-end home stereo system, the improvement is VERY obvious and you'll get to hear the true potential of the Wolfson WM8975 dac.

I highly recommend using Apple Lossless (with error correction enabled) with the iMod.

Best regards,

Vinnie Rossi