Redwine iMod vs Amp question - Page 5

I use ALE and AAC/320. May I ask why it's important to have error correction turned on? I thought that was just for, say, scratched CD's. And not to go too far off topic, but am I correct in assuming that lossless WAV and lossless ALE should sound identical on an ipod? Thanks.

That's a tough one. I have never tried it. But I would say it would be program material dependant.

Error correction is critical. If it isn't used, you can get real noise in your rips. You cannot always easily see scratches or defects in the surface that might lead to rip errors.

Thanks for your reply. But suppose you have a CD that sounds fine when you play it directly. I.e., suppose you have surface defects that do create errors, but they are small enough that you can't hear them when you play the CD directly. In that case, is there any need to use error correction? For instance, is your point that, upon conversion to, say, ALE, that these errors can take on an entirely different character such that they now will be audible?

Further, is there a danger to error correction -- e.g., that the algorithms used may think there's are error where there is none, and thus introduce artifacts?

No. There is no danger to error correction. If it cannot correct the errors, then you've got a bad rip anyway. Error correction in this case is a lossless algorithm.

So it's all upside except for the fact that the rips might be a little slower.

Again, thanks for your reply. But do you have an answer to my first question? I.e., if you can't hear problems on the original CD, is there any benefit to error correction? The reason I ask is that I've already loaded several CD's into iTunes without error correction; I know the CD's are fine, but I haven't listened closely to the iTunes copies. So, practically, I'm wondering if there is a benefit to re-loading them, but this time with the error correction. [As I mentioned in my last post, it is *plausible* that error correction could improve the sound of the ALE or AAC copies, even if any errors present on the original CD are inaudible; but I don't know for sure, which is why I'm asking.]

Yes, and here is the reason. Your CD player includes error correction. It automatically corrects errors during playback. Some are better at this than others, but they all have it. So you could play a CD on your CD player and have it sound fine, but there are indeed errors being corrected. If you rip without error correction, then these errors can be introduced into the files you made.

Sounds great, but at $200, seems a bit steep.

What is the trturn around time for the RedWine imod???
Is there a way to test the existing battery to decide if it is worth replacing while the case is open??

I beleive the turnaround is 2 weeks. I think.

Can someone clarify exactly what rockbox is and how it fixes the problem of gaps between traks? How does this differ from apple lossless and what is involved in converting the existing apple software to this without affecting your existing music library on the Mac??

Red Wine Mod

Do they still drill a hole in the back of the iPod? I saw a review in the net where the new line out was a dongle off a hole in the back?? Looked pretty bad with the potential to break. From the Red Wine site it looks like they abandoned that part of the mod.

Also if they do all of that work to get the sound so pure, why would they reconnect everything to the old stock headphone jack on the iPod? Do they install a new upgraded head phone jack into the body of the iPod??

They do not use the hold/dongle method anymore. And they have to stick with the iPod jack - there is very little space in there...

Okay, a little off-topic. But I'm wondering, for those of you who have heard the imod, or vinnie yourself, do you find yourself using the ipod as your source of music in your home rig (speakers, receiver and all that fun), or does a soundcard outputting bit-perfect from your computer triumph this?

I use the iMod exclusively in my main headphone rig, playing lossless ("bit perfect") music.

Depends, but there is one person to surely know this. Just ask Vinnie. I'm sure he'll be able to answer your other question, too.

If you're looking for complete iMods (ie. not just the modification service but modded 60 GB iPod Photo's), last time I checked he had those in stock, so that's a 0-day turnaround time.