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Best SQ iPod/iMod

post #1 of 14
3/28/10 at 7:40pm
Thread Starter 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that a modded iPod is better than any other Mp3 Player (in terms of sound quality).

Now my question is what is the best mod for the iPod. Red Wine is too expensive ($250 plus the cable). This site gives you detailed instructions on how to mod your iPod. Are there any other DIY methods? What could you do with a 5th gen or 5.5 gen iPod?

» page one

Would this mod have the same effect as a Red Wine Mod? If not, what difference would there be?

Also would I be able to use this dock with the DIY modded iPod?

SendStation iPod Pocket Dock Line-Out Mini-USB | HeadRoom Audio

Lastly, what would the difference be between using the Line-out from the dock (see above) and modding the iPod? It seems like the effect should be the same and yet it is $30 vs. $250.
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post #2 of 14
3/28/10 at 7:44pm
I think you may get a few arguments from people that ANY iPod has the best sound quality than other MP3 Players.

Cowon, , Zune, Sony Walkman and even SanDisk's Clip and Fuze have all been higher rated than any of the iPods.

It seems to audiophile's that iPod and great Sound Quality are kind of an oxymoron.
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post #3 of 14
3/28/10 at 8:32pm
It's not about the player, it's about taking bit perfect files and bypassing the inner workings amp/dac chip of these players and passing it to a good DAC and amp. In some cases, Wadia, for example, has a license from Apple to be able to do this. I believe the concern of Apple has been with DRM issues (copying). By the way, are you a violin virtuoso?
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post #4 of 14
3/28/10 at 11:05pm
i dont think imod bypass dac chip, u need dock to bypass it, but it become non-portable
Hifiman is far better than imod
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post #5 of 14
3/29/10 at 2:46am
With imod, you bypass internal amps, you take signal directly from ipod dac.

Imod easily beat any other standart mp3 player, like Cowon, Zune, standart ipods and others. You can get on same level of SQ with iriver h120 and ibasso d10. Also there is hifiman, which is even better than imod.

here you can found more info about diy imod:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/app...ano-1g-269604/
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post #6 of 14
3/29/10 at 10:03am
Thread Starter 
It seems like these mods are either non-portable, or require a dock. Would the Sendstation dock work (see original post)? Also what would be the difference between using said dock and line out vs modding the iPod?
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post #7 of 14
3/29/10 at 12:37pm
With imod, you must use line out dock like this: ALO Audio

Differenc to normal line out dock is that, with imod you must use capacitors.

Than you ad some portable amp(you must ad amp, you cant listen without it).

Difference between just line out from normal ipod and lineout from imod is really big.
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post #8 of 14
3/29/10 at 1:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bína View Post
With imod, you must use line out dock like this: ALO Audio

Differenc to normal line out dock is that, with imod you must use capacitors.

Than you ad some portable amp(you must ad amp, you cant listen without it).

Difference between just line out from normal ipod and lineout from imod is really big.
So if I modded the iPod I wouldn't be able to use it without an amp and the ALO Audio interconnect?

What if I substituted the hard drive in the iPod for a flash based memory? That would leave extra room where I could input capacitors, right?
In this case, could I use a normal dock (ex. the Sendstation, the reason I want to use this specific dock is it is cheap, and portable).
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post #9 of 14
3/29/10 at 2:00pm
You dont have to use alo audio lod, just any lod with capacitors(I bought mine for 35$).
After modding, you can use headphone jack if you need to, but it will sound same as ipod with out mod.

About flash and putting caps inside ipod, go and look into diymod thread.
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post #10 of 14
3/29/10 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by violinvirtuoso View Post
What if I substituted the hard drive in the iPod for a flash based memory? That would leave extra room where I could input capacitors, right?
In this case, could I use a normal dock (ex. the Sendstation, the reason I want to use this specific dock is it is cheap, and portable).
If you do the CF mod the Black Gate capacitors will fit inside the Ipod.
RC
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post #11 of 14
3/30/10 at 5:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by boswd View Post
I think you may get a few arguments from people that ANY iPod has the best sound quality than other MP3 Players.
I'm not even an audiophile and I sold my iPod Classic in favor for my 3-4 year older iriver. Why? Because the iPod had absolutely disgusting sound. Lots of annoying noise, terrible bass, bloated everything, and just... yeah, annoying.
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post #12 of 14
3/30/10 at 12:13pm
Here we are talking about imod, not about regular models.
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post #13 of 14
3/30/10 at 12:20pm
Joneeboi did a diymod for me for $100. A nice job and a real gentleman to deal with. Note he is a busy student, so you need to be patient.
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post #14 of 14
3/31/10 at 10:17pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry to go off on a tangent (if nothing comes up, I'll just start a new thread), but does anyone know if it is possible to make a dock/LOD with capacitors inside it? If so, does anyone know how to do this (and make the LOD portable)?
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