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Ipod's are a terrible source.

post #1 of 39
1/19/10 at 11:04pm
Thread Starter 
My iPod touch anyway. I plugged my HD25's into it when I first got them and was quickly enjoying them. I just found my old 4GB Samsung K3 and decided to charge it up and plug in the HD25's only to see what music I had on it back then. I turn on the first song and I am blown away. What an upgrade. The bass is punchier with much more depth, all of the sounds are more rich and everything sounds simply better. Much better in fact than my Realtek HD sound card. I though sound upgrades were fibs, idiots spending more money only to come to love the same sound because it costed more. You really have to see to believe. Has anyone had an experience like this?
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post #2 of 39
1/19/10 at 11:07pm
Yep, the iPod Touch sounds bad compared to my Sansa Fuze.
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post #3 of 39
1/19/10 at 11:07pm
Everyone who has bought a decent amp with Sennheisers or AKGs
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post #4 of 39
1/19/10 at 11:48pm
The headphone out is terrible. That's why most use a LOD with an amp. I'm glad I've got a 5G so I've got the Wolfson DAC
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post #5 of 39
1/20/10 at 12:22am
I was impressed with my first gen minidisc player.
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post #6 of 39
1/20/10 at 12:38am
i dont even like the iphone 3g's sound
the N97 has better SQ
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post #7 of 39
1/20/10 at 12:56am
The iphone 3GS has good sound with a VERY low noise flow. I can't stand the wolfson ipods with my shure se530s because of the hissing. The cirrus logic chips used in the latest versions are definitely better.
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post #8 of 39
1/20/10 at 1:10am
Samsung players are known for having built-in eq - that might be what you are hearing. If you want flat (ultra flat), the iPod is among a very few players which does it. Be advised though: iems (balanced armature) will destroy most headphone outs.

In the end, it comes down to preference. The iPod touch (2g and up) technically is superior to the Samsung and Fuze, but it isn't as warm.
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post #9 of 39
1/20/10 at 1:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by shigzeo View Post
Be advised though: iems (balanced armature) will destroy most headphone outs.
What do you mean 'destroy'?
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post #10 of 39
1/20/10 at 1:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by shigzeo View Post
Samsung players are known for having built-in eq - that might be what you are hearing.
That was my first thought. The Samsung probably has some signal processing enabled or it's on by default.
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post #11 of 39
1/20/10 at 1:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rds View Post
What do you mean 'destroy'?
There I go again with laden terms with no reference. I mean that balanced armatures unless they are very tailored, make the headphone output of any protable source lose definition, separation and integrity. Amps are really required for most armatures. I have found that the ER4 series is less stressful to the outputs of portable players and the Sensaphonics 2X-s. Otherwise however, part of the signal where the crossovers are enacted (probably) causes massive spikes or drops in frequency response.

The Sansa fuze is okay for outputting to balanced armatures, but most daps are rubbish. the iPod touch which is great for dynamics (probably the most technically superior) has a hard time with balanced armatures.

But most DAPs rely on very similar output equipment; hating one has less to do with it being bad or good: it has do with personal preferences. There are very few absolutely rubbish sounding daps out there. None of the ones in this thread fit that category.
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post #12 of 39
1/20/10 at 5:46am
You're hearing the effects of the internal amp, most likely. iPods are tuned for maximum battery life rather than output power. More consumers look to the battery life stat than output power.

I find the iPod to be fine with IEMs. It's not the best sound I've heard, but I don't have many expectations from portable gear. I use my 5G iPod with Shure e3cs on the go and have been pretty happy with the combo. It doesn't touch my home rig, but neither does the stock car stereo, and I find them good enough.

The reason I don't mess much with portable or mobile audio is because neither will compare to tubes, full-sized open headphones or floorstanding speakers. I invest in those because I can truly enjoy their sound quality at home. That's not as easy to do in the car, train or airplane. There are too many distractions there.
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post #13 of 39
1/20/10 at 6:32am
another iPod haters thread? To each their own. I am quite satisfied with my iPod. Great for portable use, otherwise I use my home set up and DAC.
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post #14 of 39
1/20/10 at 6:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by shigzeo View Post
Samsung players are known for having built-in eq - that might be what you are hearing. If you want flat (ultra flat), the iPod is among a very few players which does it.
What he said.


Practically every player does flat. Its just that some are more set up for the 'showroom first impression'. Duh.


I can actually tell the difference between colouring and quality. Which is why I use iPods: because in terms of the differences in output quality, the player choice is largely irrelevant (yes, some players react worse than others to some armature IEM's), they're all pretty much within the same ballpark... with some hyped players actually being inferior to the iPod.
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post #15 of 39
1/20/10 at 6:41am
sorry but I think this thread has more to do with fashion when regarding the output from dap HP outs. as shingzeo said they all use fairly similar chips with fairly similar approaches with fairly similar current. sure there is a difference between them, but when people say ipod X sounds rubbish compared to zune X.1 I find that a little humorous. some will have a better lineout with less 'in the way' for use with portable amps. the only ones that break away from this are some of the new generation of daps like the sflo, hifiman HM801, aleXmod etc. I just find its all too fashionable to bash ipods on here, because people like the underdog and apple is so popular. I dont even really use my DIYMOD (rockboxed) that much anymore and although I enjoy the iphone 3G (jailbroken) HP out for super portable, I would certainly not be considered an apple fanatic as far as portable DAPs their computers on the other hand I love and always will
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