Do LODs really make a significant or noticeable difference in sound?

Significant? Depends on the person. I'd say a lod is worth about $50 bucks to me, so if you were to buy a $250 iem and a $450 lod, it would be similar to the $300 model in the same line. Of course you can get it for much cheaper, but that's for me.

Noticeable? Definitely. If you have the option to use your lod, do it, but if you have to choose between the clip+ and fuze, the lod shouldn't be the main deciding factor (well it could, if you want to build an amped system).

I used to think that the Fuze could take SDHC cards and had a lod, which made it superior to the clip+. Turns out it can only take uSDHC which was the deal breaker for me.

no and yes, I bought a $100 LOD and liked the sound of the el cheapo free one I had better. I wouldn't spend more than $30 a LOD now. Don't get a fancy LOD like mixed silver and copper cable or super thick wire. Just get copper in regular sizes like 24-28 AWG which as I said will cost no more than $30.

Ha, I bought the same one 2 days ago...hopefully it's decent, at least better than the 3.5mm jack. I suppose it matters which mini-mini cable you use also, but I don't expect a significant improvement. I think it's more for peace of mind that I'll get the best output from the Fuze...

I thought it improved the sound, especially the bass.

A couple of points though.  At least with mine, Rockbox isn't compatible and replay gain doesn't work either.  But, the sound improvement was worth the trade-off.

Significant/noticeable? Yes although YMMV. Personally, I think it depends on how good the Headphones, amp, and LoD are in that order (in terms of change in SQ). The better your headphones are, the more change you're going to see when you change your amp and/or LoD cable. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater 

^ thats why I specifically went after an LOD without a cable attached, one with just a female end.

 

I bought a great dyi mini to mini for like 25$ from a user here on head fi.  It seems really good quality and solid.  I'll be using Audio Technica WS70s and Sennheiser MX580s on it for portable and around the house stuff, along with a brand new cmoy 2.02 bass boost.

 

Heres hoping for a noticeable improvement! :)

I'll be curious to hear what you think, because I've found the Fuze, Clip, and Clip+ HO to sound quite good. No one had really come up with a Fuze LOD at the time that I sold mine, so I've been curious ever since. It seems to have been the subject of some pretty heated debate, whether or not it is an improvement over the Fuze HO or not.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Young Spade 

Significant/noticeable? Yes although YMMV. Personally, I think it depends on how good the Headphones, amp, and LoD are in that order (in terms of change in SQ). The better your headphones are, the more change you're going to see when you change your amp and/or LoD cable. 

x2

The more transparent your headamp and headphones, the more noticeable the difference, but at maximum it will remain nothing more than a small difference.

If that small change is just right for you, awesome. Though shalt haveth more fun.

Just a question, not to steal the thread, but why are all LOD centre exit and not right angle plugs? Wouldn't right angle plugs create less of a protrusion when you place them in your pockets?

Rather Dependant on the filter caps used.

Some can give more headroom at the top and bottom but then again you're limited by the size of the caps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by T.R.A.N.C.E. 

no and yes, I bought a $100 LOD and liked the sound of the el cheapo free one I had better. I wouldn't spend more than $30 a LOD now. Don't get a fancy LOD like mixed silver and copper cable or super thick wire. Just get copper in regular sizes like 24-28 AWG which as I said will cost no more than $30.

What he said. And your audio chain (for a portable) already has so many pieces, you're likely to hear a very minimal improvement.