New iPods - anyone else disappointed w/ sound?

[appar111]

I got a chance to listen to one of these with the stock earbuds, which obviously sound pretty bad, but also with Senn MX500's, Sony MDR-7506's, Portapros, and Sportapros. The MX500's sounded the best with the 7506's right behind them (because the bass sounded much fuller).

Granted, the iPod can go quite loud, but I felt like pretty much all of the preset EQ settings sounded terrible (i.e. rock setting was too harsh, hip hop setting too muddy, jazz setting was too muffled), and with the eq off, everything sounded bland, flat and uninspiring. I tried 192 AAC, 192 and 320 MP3, and WAV, and even with WAV files, I'm not impressed.

Anyone else feel that for $300-500, these things should have better sound quality? I know they're small, are designed amazingly well (although I don't know if I like the touch sensitive buttons, particularly the select button), seem durable and just have a certain sophistication to them, but I think the sound quality could be alot better (again, I'm talking quality, not merely volume-- it excels in the volume department). Looks like I'll stick with my Sharp MD-MT180 and 7506's or MX500's.

Anyone else share this sentiment?

appar111

[maczrool]

Well mine (15 GB) has distortion on some tracks, even at low levels. I think there must be something wrong with it. Given my history of getting defective electronics (I'd say about 50% of the time) I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case this time. Even with supposedly reliable brands like Plextor I have had problems.

Stu

[Lando]

I dunno what Apple's done for the ipods, but you should listen the Nomad Zen if you get a chance. All the reviews I've read say it sounds noticeably better than the ipod. Ditto for the Nomad Jukebox 3, which obviously isn't as portable, though.

[aos]

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[aos]

I dunno, with all headphones and DACs and amps I have arround, I am more than happy to carry just the iPod and its stock earbuds every day for the last 7 months. I quite like the sound, it's neutral which is what I'm looking for. It sounds way better than say a Panasonic MP3/CD with its default headphones. Perhaps you should give those earbuds another try as there seems to be a synergy between the unit and its earbuds.

[leon]

I think it sounds similar to each of the earlier iPods. The EQ preset, distortion with EQ (try lowering the default volume of each track in iTunes to fix that).. are all present on the older iPods.

MP3 and AAC typically sound more "mellow" than ATRAC(3), and then different units have different sounds in their "default" (EQ off) states. Since the iPod has that much output, people who came from portables with lower output may find more "oomph" in the sound, which some interpret as "muddiness." Someone on here mentioned the iPod has synergy with the KSC-35, and it's easy to see why, because the KSC-35 has more bass, and sounds rather airy, both would make the sound seem less muddy.

A lot of people perceive things as better-sounding are simply EQ differences (more bass, more treble) not the inherent quality (distortion, S/N ratio, codec mishaps, etc.) of the sound. I don't think the iPod's particularly bad in the latter category.

Apple would do us a great service by allowing us complete freedom with the EQ, letting us tweak each frequency band and put together presets. It'll help with the perceived muddiness, the codec differences, and compensate for whatever the listener would like to hear.

[stan23]

I have to agree that the EQ sounds like crap. But just playing back my cd rips with Alt instane lame, it sounds as good as CD. No hiss and noticable drop in quality.

[austonia]

Originally posted by stan23
I have to agree that the EQ sounds like crap. But just playing back my cd rips with Alt instane lame, it sounds as good as CD. No hiss and noticable drop in quality.

agreed. why would anyone use EQ settings anyway? I guess the same crowd that wants "MegaBass" option. Bleh. just RIP MP3's to uberstandard, good as CD for the most part.

[bangraman]

Originally posted by austonia
agreed. why would anyone use EQ settings anyway? I guess the same crowd that wants "MegaBass" option. Bleh. just RIP MP3's to uberstandard, good as CD for the most part.

You would think that, wouldn't you? I'm not particularly a lover of further processed sound either, but for portable use I find some EQ helps make the music more audible, especially if you're wearing open earphones. While a bass boost alone hinders, an EQ is quite handy.


Anyway, all this talk about problems with the new iPod is starting to put me off them a bit. I suppose I'll have to do the sweating over the Zen/iPod all over again. I'll probably buy both, won't I?

[Spad]

I can't speak for Windows versions, but I hope Mac iPod users realize that custom EQ settings can be globally or individually exported to the iPod from iTunes.

I haven't tried the iPod with the headphones mentioned in this thread so far, but I have used it as a source for K1000s, W2002s, CD3000s, DT880s, HD600s, D66s and the Ety ER-4P/S.

I've also used it with a variety of amps and particularly like the new model with the Corda HA-2 and HD600s. Makes for a great, easily moved system.

Sounds good to me and certainly as good as my MZ-R50 or any of my PCDPs.

[appar111]

Spad-
Are you serious about exporting the iTunes EQ options to the iPod? God, if that were the case, I'd be sold! I have tweaked the EQ in iTunes to where the 7506's and MX500's I have sound perfect-- if only I could tweak the EQ or export some of those setting to an iPod.

Can you tell us in detail how this is done? Also, can this be done with the older iPods or only with the new ones?

Please, let us all know!!!

thanks!
appar111

[Taphil]

No, only the preset EQ settings transfer over to the ipod. If you've set a preset EQ setting for a song, the ipod will playback the song with that preset setting if you put the EQ setting on the ipod to "off" or "flat". Custom EQ settings don't transfer over, much like how the ipod doesn't have a custom EQ.

[Spad]

Originally posted by appar111
Spad-
Are you serious about exporting the iTunes EQ options to the iPod? God, if that were the case, I'd be sold! I have tweaked the EQ in iTunes to where the 7506's and MX500's I have sound perfect-- if only I could tweak the EQ or export some of those setting to an iPod.

Can you tell us in detail how this is done? Also, can this be done with the older iPods or only with the new ones?

Please, let us all know!!!

thanks!
appar111

Hmmm, looks like I'm mistaken, appar111. As I said, I don't use equalization, but I thought I recalled reading somewhere that it could be done as of v1.2.x or thereabouts. I just tried it on my 20 and couldn't get a custom setting to transfer. I didn't try it with the 30, but I expect the same results. Sorry for the false hopes. My bad.

[appar111]

I don't know why they couldn't have let you do that on this version of the iPods-- that would have made them unbeatable in my opinion, but the stock eq settings all sound terrible, and to me, no eq at all (or the flat setting), well, there's no way in hell I would pay almost $500 to hear that sort of sound quality-- I don't care how cool they look...

[jaskin]

Well, no one's putting a gun to your head and telling you to buy it. If it doesn't suit your tastes then get the alternative product. I doubt Apple will do anything soon to make EQ settings totally customizable.