During testing as instructed by Apple about various problems I've had with the iPod, I trialled the iPod against the Sony NZ90. The NZ90 is not a dedicated MP3 player. It's an organiser which happens to play back MP3's. I hadn't used the MP3 facility for a while. Today though, I did a direct head-to-head test against the iPod with it, using exactly the same sound file.


I was a little let down, to say the least. The sound without EQ was slightly worse on the iPod compared to the NZ90. Extension was fine but the iPod had a noticeably rougher character to the sound overall (unnoticeable on the iPod earphones, pretty noticeable on the unamped SR80 and very noticeable on the unamped ATH-W2002). It was a very fair comparison because the Euro-capped iPod was only slightly louder than the non-Euro-capped NZ90 (rated 5mw, presumably into 16 ohms) at full volume.


The NZ90 is an amazingly good MP3 player in terms of sound (it's just not very convenient), although it's primary purpose is an organiser. I used to even use it with the ATH-W1000 unamped and I got fabulous results. However with the iPod being a dedicated MP3 player, I expected it to beat the NZ90. It didn't. Because the iPod sounds fine if you're listening to it normally, I really didn't expect that and it was quite a shock.


Secondly, since the NZ90 doesn't have an EQ facility I just selected "Bass 2" and compared it against the iPod with 'Bass Booster'. Most of us aren't bassaholics and I must confess I never touch the EQ normally. However the NZ90 outperformed the iPod to a significant level exhibiting no distortion even at maximum volume and high levels of bass. "Bass 3" setting on the NZ90 exhibited distortion which was more akin to the iPod, but it was still less. On the iPod of course you can't select the level of bass you want since the EQ is preset.


My iPod is being returned for repair for the second time. I'm also receiving my third remote after the cable split in exactly the same place and Apple continue to tell me there is no design issue. It doesn't take a genius to work out that the strain relief sleeve is not relieving because it's glued to the cable.


I'm starting to lose faith. I love the overall design. I love the user interface. It sounds perfectly OK sure, but after my comparison I think I'm not unreasonable in expecting a lot better. I'll let you know if the iPod comes back better. I've already managed to return the Powerbook since I bought it as a companion to the iPod (Because of iPod problems I hadn't even set it up for music yet) and I will order another one only if I'm fully satisfied with the iPod.

If all of this ends with your brutal but potentially accurate comparison inciting me to drop sacrilegiously large dollops o' cash on that versatile but exorbitant Sony thingumdadkiswhatsis-ting-ting-ting, I shall have to take a flight to London and belabor you about the head with a rubber bladder. And you'll thank me for it, too. (I read that in a book that someone actually wrote, so it must be true, you naughty, naughty man.)

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Unfortunately the Sony super-duper-multi-plate-juggling-whatsit has a keyboard that is unusable. I take a lot of notes and I've decided I can't live with it as an everyday organiser. As an author you might like to consider that before you buy. Apart from that and the less than stellar battery life, the NZ90 is as we say in the UK "The Dogs Bollocks". The MP3 player is fine but it is a hassle to load up since you have to put the MP3 files in a specific folder on the Memory Stick and you can't have subfolders.


I bought a used CE palmtop (HP Jornada) recently which I'm happier with for work even though it's decidedly old-school, and I also have a Sigmarion http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/info/products/sigmarion3/ on order.


The NZ90 was collecting dust and it was only because I've sold the only other portable player I had that I unpacked it to test it against the iPod. Until the iPod comes back I'll be using it again as an audio player but after that it's likely up for sale.

Who knows when it'll actually be released, but there's a clamshell Sony on the way that is horizontal like the old CE devices that we all know and love. (I do miss my Jornada 680 I must say)

You can read about it over at Brighthand. Yeah, of all the PDAs, the Sony was the best at audio. And is it just me, or does Apple seem to be going down the tubes?

Surprise #2: The used MZ-E900 I just picked up to stand in for the iPod while it's away is ever so slightly louder than the iPod. This is another 5mw into 16 ohms (non Euro capped) unit. Amazing and of course slightly ire-inducing. I'm doing a LAME 192K VBR vs deck-record SP comparison and this is coming out a little less disastrously than yesterday's direct comparison... The MD sounds only a tiny bit better. That's before EQ. With EQ obviously the MD unit walks away with the award, again.


Anyway, they come to pick up the iPod tomorrow then it's undoubtedly another month before I see it again. I'll bet that my replacement iPod remote turns up just after they pick up the iPod.




plainsong, it's all palm sized in Europe and the US. Japan (along with China/Korea/etc??) is probably the only place where people really appreciate keyboards, that is until voice recognition becomes sufficiently accurate to be used anywhere. I've ordered one of the few new Windows CE subnotebooks to still be introduced. I had a hard time deciding between the Sharp and the NTT Docomo unit but eventually I went for the NTT Sigmarion3. There are however pros and cons. I've already bought PCMCIA HDD's (5Gb ones) for the Jornada so I can copy all my oft referenced documents onto it but the Jornada lacks the software support (Acrobat for example) to let me see some of them. The Sigmarion will be all singing but doesn't have a PCMCIA slot so I will have to buy high-capacity CF. Once I have the Sigmarion and the Sony TR1 which I've also ordered, I'll walk around with each for a couple of weeks apiece and sell what I find least useful.

Warning: Off Topic.

Damn, that NTTDoCoMo Sigmarion 3 looks amazing...an 800*480 screen and Windows CE 4.2. Too bad microsoft never released an ActiveSync client for Mac.

Ok, back on topic:

What generation was your iPod? I have heard that the 3rd generation (ultra-skinny) units were a tad worse in the sound dept as compared to the original "scrolly-wheel" units. The 3rd gen units also seem to have more bugs (FW 2.0 is buggy as hell from what I hear).

Hehheh, Microsoft may have never released mactive sync, but they are two companies that have, Pocketmac , and Markspace - I'd recommend Markspace's Missing Sync. Sure it's only it's 1.0 release days (up to 1.0 beta 4) - but it's way more stable than Pocketmac ever was.

I'm using it to sync a Jornada 568 to my imac. It's more stable than Active sync on the pc. Soon I'll be upgrading to the Ipaq 2210. (I use an external foldable keyboard for taking notes in class)

The bad news is that like in the pc world, there's scant support for syncing a Wince clamshell device.

I forgot to say which it was, didn't I? It's the 3rd gen 15gb UK purchased iPod.

I wonder if the UK has the 100dB limit applied to them. I know back in firmware update 1.22, Apple had to comply with European law to lower the sound from 104dB to 100dB.

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Alright, I was just thinking the same thing ... their design for the remote right there is plain DUMB!!! Can I fix it myself? yeah... But would it be as pretty? nope ... HOWEVER if they don't replace my remote (they refused to replace a friend's in the store where he bought the player stating that he must have abused it and the sad part is I bought MY iPod in the exact same store /haven't been there yet/) I'll simply fix the cable the way it's SUPPOSED to be to begin with ...

Even before I bought my iPod I was becoming aware of Apple's user UNfriendlyness but if what my friend says, the Mac people told him, is true then ... WOW ... really.

To the folks that happen to read this and get scared ... don't get scared ... I LOVE my iPod, it's a matter of many things around it being wrong, like if you're a PC user you either must spend many hours re-renaming your tracks because Music Match happens to be a great ripping tool with a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE iPod plugin or else get another software. But the fact is, once the songs are on the iPod without doubles, tripples, quadruples or whatever of each artist and random spaces (best achieved by using Media Center or EphPod) the player is truly great ...

It's the the little things all around it that can get a person rather frustrated.

Nick out.

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I don't get why the iPod remotes seem to have so many problems -- you'd think that after two revisions they'd have figured out how to reinforce that connection.


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Yet another reason why Windows users should hope that iTunes for Windows arrives soon

yeah, I can't believe they didn't do enought testing to figure out the thing EASILY rips at the very same location over and over.

About the iTunes ... I can't wait and I have high hopes, like Apple folks themselves ... while MY high hopes are that I'd finally have a decent software that allows me to use the ALARM feature of the iPod their hopes would be that their song sales would take a jump in the right direction because they've been dropping lately ... sooo I'm sure they'll focus lots on the Internet/song buying/ part of the app, I just hope the iPod syncing's better than Music Match.

Last example of just HOW horrible Music Match syncing is - I have ALL my soundtrack mp3s under the Genere "Soundtrack" (Knowing this for a fact, since I used 2 external ID3 editors to verify that everything's as systematic as possible) yet MusicMatch insists that I have 50 kinds of "Sound track" and "Soundtrack"s that are all somehow different.

oh and about the remote, I keep thinking Apple might save themselves more money by simply recalling all remotes and replacing them with ones that have the sucky part re-done right but whatever...

Nick off 2 bed.

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LOL! Yup, that's one of my gripes with using MusicMatch. Other than that, I love my iPod, but I end up using my MuVo and IRiver IMP 400 about as much.