iPod classic vs. iriver clix2; ipod is a though guy!

[ricthaman]

Well,

I ordered an iriver clix2 last week for several reasons:
- I'm in need of a little flash player for on-the-go
- iriver is the only (major) brand I have no experience with
- I heard many exciting things about this little machine, it made me curious.

So today I finally received the package form a local e-shop (bol.com, de grootste mediawinkel van Nederland | Welkom) and to my surprise there was even an iriver cradle included for free on top of the 40% discount I already got on the player itself. Isn't that a great deal or what?

So I must admit that I developed some high expectations of this iriver player and when the package arrived I couldn't wait to get some tune son it and listen how it would sound.

Package

When I opened the bog grey box that was around the iriver box itself I was amazed. I've rarely seen such a nice quality box. The iriver (as well as the cradle) were enclosed in a beautifully crafted box with some sort of a sof touch in stead of a normal boxy feel. In short; the whole packagin of both the cradle and the clix were outstanding! I was really surprised. You might find this nitpicking but I believe in first impressions, and the box is the first impression. I think this iriver box is on par with my favourite boxing brands. (Apple, LG mobile, Cowon and from now on iriver)

Feel & Looks

The device at first seemed a little plasticky but when you notice that this is due to the D-click system it won't bother you. The device was way smaller then I initially expected and had a nice feel to it. It was very light and less of a fingerprint magnet than I imagined. I have only one complaint here; PLASTIC. I think it's a shame that the modern DAP's and other electronics are crafted almost entirely out of plastics. I like to feel the quality. The only two brands I think that make decent sturdy DAPs with a decent quality feel to it are Apple (ipods are from metals and glass these days with a minimum on plastics) and Sony.

Sound

Now the most important part. Sound quality.
As I said I had high expectations of the clix2. When I loaded some tunes on it from my Mac I immediately charged it and started to listen. First impression... moah....it's alright I suppose....

The sound didn't blew me away, but was certainly not bad either. I tried to set all SRS settings to ''0'' but this only made it worse so I left it at standard settings (which seem to be very neutral) and went on with the listening.

after listening to it for a while I still didn't know what to think of since some songs sounded a bit ''odd'' and different in some minor ways. So I decided to grab my iPod Classic 6G. You should know that I used to HATE ipods for one main reason: bad SQ. G1-5 were baaaaad regarding SQ imho. I just couldn't live with their SQ. So based on that I just didn't rate the headphone out of my 6G any higher then a 4 on a scale of ten. (note that I have the ipod for only 2 weeks and didn't listen to the headphone out yet, only trough line-out). When I plugged my Atrio's into my 6G ipod I nearly crapped my pants It sounded absolutely amazing, keeping in mind it was a f***cking ipoo. I couldn't believe myself and spent the next 2.5 hours to compare the ipod and clix2 with all sorts of tracks and settings.

Now I'm still not shure. I don't know if I'm just not shure or If I still just can not believ this, but I think that the iPod 6G (no EQ or whatsoever) beats the iriver clix2.

That's right, a standard ipod 6G beats an iriver clix2, the one with the big Wolfson Codec and SRS WOW HD and manual EQ and everything.

I'm gonna have to test some things but I'm just amazed that the iPod sounded so good in comparison. Mind that I never listened to the headphone out of my ipod 6G since I only used the line-out. (I got it because of the space)

My question:
How do you guys feel about this? If you own both devices, do you agree with me or not? And if not, why?

Greetz

[dap_pad]

Well I've owned both and sold the iPod Classic LOL I just didn't really like the interface. And I actually own the Atrios as well and thought the Clix2 sounded better... I did use Custom EQ though... when you use EQ, SRS WOW HD is turned off, btw. The iPod sounded kinda boring...

The only thing I missed about the Classic is the 80GB capacity

[ricthaman]

as I said,

I have to listen more carefully. These were just first impressions. But at first sight the ipod seems to sound more balanced controlled and detailled. Also a big wider soundstage and better imaging.

But theoretically the clix2 should sound much better....

greetz

[Manny Calavera]

Originally Posted by ricthaman

But theoretically the clix2 should sound much better....

greetz

Theory and reality often clash.Of the 5+ people I know that bought a Zune,all swaped for an Ipod after a few days or weeks.(1st and 2nd gen) With the Clix and Sony's,its been about 50/50.With about half selling and buying an Ipod in the end,of those I know with decent portable rigs.

[Baba booey]

with the title, you mean tough guy right?

[ricthaman]

^ Yeah indeed... sorry for my english.. it's late here so I'm very tired.
I'm gonna take some sleep now.

greetz

[h4n9m4n]

try turning off the SRS and having it on flat if you haven't already. I have a U10 and srs isn't really that great.

[Kosmic]

Originally Posted by ricthaman

Well,



My question:
How do you guys feel about this? If you own both devices, do you agree with me or not? And if not, why?

Greetz

My first thought, is that you know nothing about the Clix2!

Sorry, but no audiophile would touch SRS WOW with a bargepole! Custom EQ is the only way to go if you are using good ear phones, and have well recorded material.

I was laughing looking at the SRS settings you were using.

I have my EQ settings to full. What headphones are you using?

[ricthaman]

Well,

Good for the audiophiles. I think that I want to try all functions a DAP has, especially when it comes to sound. Some tweaks can actually turn out to be very nice. Matrix VPT on sony NWZ-S series for example. Very nice feature for some sorts of music.

If I turn off SRS on the clix2 and set it flat or just use the EQ then the clix sounds very lifeless and narrow to me.

I use Futuresonics Atrio's and Ultrasone HFI-2200.

BTW, what is so funny about my SRS settings?! Are your ears the same as mine? Can you hear through my ears? I don't think so!

greetz

[shigzeo]

the ipod does indeed sound very good. the classic has lowered the already low hiss of the ipod 5g and it seems has better bass performance for extension.

i have preferred the 'boring' sound of the ipod as it is not so hype as many other players. i just want to listen to music, not sfx.

[ricthaman]

I totally agree with shigzeo.

Nutrality is the way to go. But it has to be nice, full, wide and powerfull sounding. The older ipods lacked severely in thi sarea, but the 6G ipods are the new reference in some way. (though the MZ-RH1 beats both)

greetz

[Kosmic]

Originally Posted by ricthaman

Well,

Good for the audiophiles. I think that I want to try all functions a DAP has, especially when it comes to sound. Some tweaks can actually turn out to be very nice. Matrix VPT on sony NWZ-S series for example. Very nice feature for some sorts of music.

If I turn off SRS on the clix2 and set it flat or just use the EQ then the clix sounds very lifeless and narrow to me.

I use Futuresonics Atrio's and Ultrasone HFI-2200.

BTW, what is so funny about my SRS settings?! Are your ears the same as mine? Can you hear through my ears? I don't think so!

greetz

If you want to seriously review the Clix2 for "SQ" and then spend most of your review on "SRS WOW" then Houston, we have a problem.

"If I turn off SRS on the clix2 and set it flat.." Set it flat???? Lol. That shows me you don't know how SRS WOW works. If you use SRS WOW at all then you're looking to colour your music. You use SRS WOW with "bad" headphones. Good headphones make SRS WOW unlistenable.

"I tried to set all SRS settings to ''0'' but this only made it worse so I left it at standard settings (which seem to be very neutral) and went on with the listening." SRS neutral? You can't be serious! lol!

"or just use the EQ then the clix sounds very lifeless and narrow to me" I doubt you even know how to use the "Custom EQ".

I see in your signature you have Sennheiser CX300's. Even with these cheap ear phones careful EQ will give you a fairly decent sound, although these phones suffer from a woolly bass.

It beats the ipod in SQ? You must be a troll. C'mon own up!

[Kosmic]

Originally Posted by ricthaman

I totally agree with shigzeo.

Nutrality is the way to go.

If you agree with Shigzeo, and don't want to listen to "sfx" then stay away from SRS WOW!

[shigzeo]

haha this is funny. i have the touch and the nano 3g and find them quite good - maybe nothing out of the extraordinary but certainly among the best ive herad among a myriad of players.

i cannot wait to hear the clix 2 as i heard the clix and was not impressed but evidentally so much has changed with the 2 though i am sure it is still the same old newer iriver sound 'quality'... sorry for that

[ricthaman]

Originally Posted by Kosmic

If you want to seriously review the Clix2 for "SQ" and then spend most of your review on "SRS WOW" then Houston, we have a problem.

"If I turn off SRS on the clix2 and set it flat.." Set it flat???? Lol. That shows me you don't know how SRS WOW works. If you use SRS WOW at all then you're looking to colour your music. You use SRS WOW with "bad" headphones. Good headphones make SRS WOW unlistenable.

"I tried to set all SRS settings to ''0'' but this only made it worse so I left it at standard settings (which seem to be very neutral) and went on with the listening." SRS neutral? You can't be serious! lol!

"or just use the EQ then the clix sounds very lifeless and narrow to me" I doubt you even know how to use the "Custom EQ".

I see in your signature you have Sennheiser CX300's. Even with these cheap ear phones careful EQ will give you a fairly decent sound, although these phones suffer from a woolly bass.

It beats the ipod in SQ? You must be a troll. C'mon own up!

Well,

to explain it all to you:

I like my sound neutral yet full, immersive, engaging, wide and detailled. The ipod can deliver just that in a very decent way (the 6G ipods). The clix2 seems to have a very good codec, but somehow it doesn't show in its sound signature. When I turn of SRS and set the Costum EQ flat then it sounds lifeless and narrow to me. If I set SRS to it's standard settings I get a reasonable sound that I can only describe best as ''fairly neutral regarding soundstage, fullness and lifelike''. If I tweak the SRS too much I get an overprocessed sound.

I do like neutrality and fidelity, but I'm not a guy who thinks sound effects and tweaks (both hard and software) are totally useless. If they are well implemented they can do great jobs!

Further I would like to state that I know enough about electronics to know how the clix2 works and fucntions. I've had many many DAPs in my hands and haven't had any troubles with all those DAPs.

I also work in a Broadcast studio as a technician and I am perfectly able to understand the Custom EQ on the clix.

If you are tryin' to make fun of my opinions, or try to make me look like a fool, then you'd better go and play with your feet cuz I'm busy hearing how serious people think about it.

otherwise, please try to change your style of conversation a little bit. It's not a very polite way to describe your opinion.

greetz