OK...so I've done some initial research, and I'm thinking that I want to get an iPod. Please either talk me into or out of it based on the following:

I'm most interested in having the ability to playback at near-cd level quality. To me, that means WAV files ripped at 16/44.1. That means that I'll need a LOT of storage, which makes the 40 gig iPod a likely choice.

I'm not crazy about MP3 because of the loss of resolution, although I'll reserve the right to load it up from time to time with MP3's for the right situation. I'm planning on using it with an external amp (likely the new HeadRoom Total Bit-Head, as it will be an excellent companion for my work PC), so the line out is critical.

Oh yeah....I'm a windows user. Are there any issues with the use of non-MP3 format files on the iPod with the windows OS? Any other windows vs iPod things I should be aware of?

Is the iPod the one for me? Are there other, better alternatives?

"I'm not crazy about MP3 because of the loss of resolution"

Well, that's just a fact of life I would say. To be honest, I doubt you (or most people) would be able to distinguish between a properly encoded mp3 file using LAME and some of the high end presets (-extreme, for example). You'd then be able to store 5 to 10 times as much stuff on the iPod in the same space the WAV files would suck up. If you're that concerned with audio loss then maybe the up and coming AAC format would suffice. Damned near CD quality files and they're smaller than an mp3 at a comparable bitrate. Yes I know AAC isn't *new* but I'm speaking of Apple's decision to be the first portable to support it.

Think of it this way: Sometime in February Pepsi and Apple will use iTunes to give away 100 MILLION SONGS for free. You may or may not even care but it's FREE and they'll be in mp3/AAC format from what I've read. AAC in my opinion is awesome compared to the mp3 format and has lots of plusses. You can head over to:

Hydrogen Audio

and read up more on the best of the best when it comes to audio encoding technologies. Great place to learn the ins and outs of encoding.

Hope this helps,
br0adband

NOTE: As soon as I posted this message I decided to make my almost daily stop over at Hydrogen Audio. Right now their site seems to be offline and may or may not come back up anytime soon. Sorry to direct you someplace that doesn't exist.

Hopefully they'll address whatever issues they have and get back up and running. Here's another site that has a lot of good information about mp3 encoding (especially with LAME which is generally regarded to be the *best* mp3 encoder available):

R3Mix

Good luck...

NOTE #2: I give up. R3Mix is gone too... geezus. What the hell happened in the past few days, my favorite sites have up and vanished like farts in the wind. Oh well, let me end this before I go insane. I'll leave the links in the message just in case something changes.

Playing uncompressed files is also going to completely destroy the battery life of any digital player. I would expect 2-3 hours tops on a single charge. This will also increase the number of times you charge by a lot and risk shortening the overall life of the battery.

I think has to be some compromise when going portable. There's a reason all of the equipement at home takes up space. And while it depends on where you're using the portable player, the listening environment often isn't very good. Loud outside sounds will degrade your sound quality.

Seriously look into mp3 and AAC. Do some testing of your own to see what you can handle.

Elrod-tom, see some of the later posts in the iHP or iPOD thread (page 5) for comparisons, but before giving up on lossy files (especially if you're going to be using the device in portable situations), there's various compression codecs to investigate. As mentioned "--alt-preset extreme" LAME's sound very good. 224 QT AAC's are very nice. Either of these approach CD quality, and still keep your average rock/pop tracks (using 5 minutes as an average) under the iPod's 9 meg recommended track limit for max battery life. Ogg is making a big splash now that it's getting hardware support by the iRiver products. It has similar performance to AAC and has lots of fans. These are the two codecs that may supplant MP3 someday, but again with the right encoder (LAME) and higher bitrates, MP3 is still in the running.

That is if you want "near-CD" performance. If you want actual CD performance (it is the hardware getting in the way on either side now), uncompressed WAV/AIFF or a lossless compression route is the way to go. Right now many support the former. The negatives: space and battery life. The latter just started with FLAC support in the Rio Karma. Assume about a 60-40% saving in space over your WAV/AIFF/CD sizes so your hard disk requirements would be halved. To a lesser extent it's negatives are still space (~300 megs an album), and battery (I haven't seen the influences, but it's likely the same as your buffer will be overrun and the hard disk would have additional spins -the main reason for battery drainage).

You'll see there are many threads comparing the upper models. There are certainly fans of one or the other, so take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Generally the models you should take a look at are the Apple iPods, the iRiver iHP-100/150, the Creative NJB, and the Rio Karma. Figure out how size plays a part, if you need to record, if you want lossless support, do you want a line out on the player or a cradle, how important is a remote, etc.

I personally love my iPod, but each of the above have advantages over the others. There's several thread comparing them recently. Worth checking out (though again keep the salt near by).

Good luck. It is a good time to be buying. Lots of choices.

I've basically skimmed through the replys for now because I'm at work. (Not very busy at the moment)

You'd have to be using some pretty damned high quality cans in order to distinguish the difference between a CD and "CD quality". That's first of all. Secondly, this is portable gear we're talking about isn't it ? And you're expecting audiophile quality for on the go..... When you're in transit, can you really differentiate audiophile quality and a file that has been encoded well ?

That said, perhaps you should investigate the Rio Karma which plays FLAC files. FLAC is a lossless compressed format. Half the size of the original .wav yet lossless. Very cool stuff for those who MUST have portable lossless files.

P.S. Now that I think about it, it's not just the cans that must have some really good dac's but the player must have top notch components/circutry as well, in order for someone who has "golden ears" to appreciate the nature of it. Otherwise, it would seem to me, to be a very narrow margin of relevance.