Are iPods a no-go for audiophiles? - Page 9

Quote:

Originally Posted by KHansen 

Well the newer iPods have EQ's in it but just the stock ones.  iTunes does have it though.

 

Nothing is perfect haha

I think he was referring to a "customizable" one, like he stated. IE a 5 or 7 band EQ at least. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Young Spade 

I think he was referring to a "customizable" one, like he stated. IE a 5 or 7 band EQ at least. 
 

Yeah I know that's why I stated the stock EQ's such as the R&B, Bass Reducer, Bass Booster etc.

But you can create your own and it was explained last year (I haven't tried it yet with iTunes v9) in this thread. http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/399487/ipod-custom-eq-yes-it-can-be-done

Quote:

Originally Posted by KHansen 

Yeah I know that's why I stated the stock EQ's such as the R&B, Bass Reducer, Bass Booster etc.

 

But you can create your own and it was explained last year (I haven't tried it yet with iTunes v9) in this thread. http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/399487/ipod-custom-eq-yes-it-can-be-done

It seems many of the people in that thread say it doesn't work.
 

For those of you who say the preset EQ clips: Use MP3Gain, AACGain, or apply ReplayGain when converting FLAC to whatever (FB2K, dBpoweramp).

For those of you who don't like iPods: Get something else and stop yakkking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Achmedisdead 

It seems many of the people in that thread say it doesn't work.
 

Haha didn't read it all the way through.... on the 8th post it does say that it is in fact impossible to get custom EQ's other than the 22 stock EQ's.  That's what I get haha.  But I'm just speculating now that a jailbroken iPod Touch or iPhone will have a app that creates a custom EQ.  (But that is too much work for a custom EQ imo)

Portable almost always means that it won't be ideal listening situations so a perfected EQ won't be the most of your worries.  The homeless man snoring next to you on the PATH from Hoboken to 23rd is.

If you're planning to use an LOD and amp I would recommend the Red Wine Audio iMod. Can make a iPod sound pretty clean.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by tolkencatholic 

If you're planning to use an LOD and amp I would recommend the Red Wine Audio iMod. Can make a iPod sound pretty clean.....

First, that applies to a Photo or a Video, not a Classic, Touch, or Nano (as stated on their website). Second, to do that mod you need to dish out a good amount of money. Third, that specialized LOD costs as much, if not more, than the iMod procedure itself. Not an easy decision unless you make 200k+ a year.

Of course you can always do it yourself, but you risk screwing it up. Hey. Just get the Classic and avoid the hassle.

If you refer to specialized LOD as to those recommended for an iMod your right. But, there are options for "regular" iPods. I went for one of the options offered by Senstation. Audio quality is a notch or two above HO ( using an external amp, of course). My setup is pretty simple and on the cheap side: an iPod 5.5 G (240 Gbs), a Sendstation Pocketdock AV, Total Airhead and Shure 530 (I know, I'll create a signature soon. I am a noob here). I have the iPod for 3 years. So the investment has been around $1000 spread over 3 years. For my not so golden (or even silver) ears it is good enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by leninwtigger 

 

 

If you refer to specialized LOD as to those recommended for an iMod your right. But, there are options for "regular" iPods. I went for one of the options offered by Senstation. Audio quality is a notch or two above HO ( using an external amp, of course). My setup is pretty simple and on the cheap side: an iPod 5.5 G (240 Gbs), a Sendstation Pocketdock AV, Total Airhead and Shure 530 (I know, I'll create a signature soon. I am a noob here). I have the iPod for 3 years. So the investment has been around $1000 spread over 3 years. For my not so golden (or even silver) ears it is good enough.

Now, see, you need to chain up the three points in my post. As the previous poster suggested (an iMod), to benefit from it you cannot use a regular LOD (keep reading): you need a capped LOD. If you buy that from ALO that is around $150 (haven't been there recently). For wires with caps? I'd say no way. You can use a regular LOD, but you will have to use a box of caps (such as the ALO Vcap Dock) after that. Bigger size, more expensive. Even no-er way. Then you can do it yourself and save anywhere from a boatload to a sh!tload of ca$h, but you risk screwing it up, both the Pod and the dock (although, granted, a dock costs $4 on the Bay). Running an iMod without DC filtering of some sort will FUBAR your downstream. Either this, or a Classic. Your choice.

I have a Sansa Fuze, a 3rd-gen Nano, and a Sony X (I picked up a serious strain of Head-Fi disease, which also explains why I used to have an AMP3). I bought the iPod before I contracted the dreaded ailment, thinking that anything but an iPod was second-rate. I picked up the Fuze cheap because it has an FM radio (useful in the gym where the TV sound is broadcast) and it cost about the same as an FM radio (the Fuze was on sale on amazon for very short money). Natural selection has relegated the Nano to the car, where road noise dominates. I use the Fuze for the gym and bike rides (FM a big plus), the Sony for serious listening (sounds better, built-in noise cancelling used when travelling).

I wish I had one of those cool car radios that fully integrates the iPod controls, I would enjoy that.  Can't beat the iPod for those kinds of accessories.

If friends ask me for a recommendation, I go with the Fuze. Of course my iPod is seriously out of date now, the model I own went extinct shortly after I bought it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dana789 

 

I wish I had one of those cool car radios that fully integrates the iPod controls, I would enjoy that.  Can't beat the iPod for those kinds of accessories.

 

"Get the best iPhone sound experience thanks to a digital USB Connection and a dedicated 24-Bit Burrbrown D/A converter. "

http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/ida-x305s/

The 303 is cheaper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 

First, that applies to a Photo or a Video, not a Classic, Touch, or Nano (as stated on their website). Second, to do that mod you need to dish out a good amount of money. Third, that specialized LOD costs as much, if not more, than the iMod procedure itself. Not an easy decision unless you make 200k+ a year.

Of course you can always do it yourself, but you risk screwing it up. Hey. Just get the Classic and avoid the hassle.

I never stated that the iMod was cheap. The original question asked if the iPod was or wasn't a worthwhile source. I believe the iMod makes the iPod a worthwhile source. Besides you can always just use their special female dock and use whatever cable you like. Making it much cheaper. "200k+ a year" is an gross exageration. I'm a student who makes less than 10k. So relax....
 

Let's just agree that the iPod needs more money put into it that it is actually worth brand new to sound reasonably... Though you still have to deal with the prison life of iTunes, the lack of decent EQ (even the presets are bad... my S9 presets are actually distinguishable from each other) and the terrible format support.

tolkencatholic: 10K a year and an iMod is an easy decision for you. Whoa. Just whoa.

stevenswall: Well the standard EQ on Pods are quite bad, though not 'indistinguishable from each other' as you implied... and you don't need to put 'more' money into it, lots of high-quality IEMs (universal & custom) are driven comfortably by the Classic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevenswall 

Let's just agree that the iPod needs more money put into it that it is actually worth brand new to sound reasonably... Though you still have to deal with the prison life of iTunes, the lack of decent EQ (even the presets are bad... my S9 presets are actually distinguishable from each other) and the terrible format support.

Although the S9 presets are much better, implying that the iPod's are horrid is a little harsh. The Lounge EQ is a subtle one that is not as extreme as the others IMO, and there are a few OK ones. However some of the bad ones like Piano, POP, Bass Boost, are still pretty bad, but I don't use EQ much. Also, I think if you use dBpoweramp, the iPod supports any codec you want