is the ipod classic the ipod of audiophiles?

160gb 7th gen Ipod classic, my favorite

I would say no, have you noticed the lack of ipod threads?

 

Cowon and Hifiman would be the top teir

 

It mostly seems that people choose ipod classic because of the lod, and the capacity. Yet the Cowon x7 has the same capacity, with a better set up, not a better build though.

 

I've had friends who have ipods, we all have a fiend like that. He liked it has a massive capacity, yet he hated:

Apple warranty and customer service (wet battery, in Vegas?)

Build (everything sctratches)

Small screen for big body

Clunky body

Contorls

UI (I actualy don't mind the UI myself)

SQ

 

you can mod ipods, which makes them better, but not by much

Cowon J3

Ipods have the BEST user interface out of any of the mp3 players i have encountered by far... I personally love the the controls on most ipods, save the latest gen nana.

 

Clunky body? Have you seen pictures of the audiophile favorite HM-801?
 

Its the lethal combination of having massive storage of 160gb, great UI, decent and clean sound when using LOD, great build quality and great looks at a very reasonable price of 230 that makes it the best ipod for audiophiles.

How user friendly do you need an MP3 player to be for chrissake?  Yes, Apple are inuitive, but it only takes about 5 mins to learn the Cowon J3 UI and from then on its easy as pie.

 

I used to be a Classic apostle too, but that changed when my last one kept crapping out on me and i finally got sick of the lack of user-customisable EQ option, no support for flac and the bloatware that is iTunes. The move to Cowon was like a breath of fresh air.  The J3 even has buttons on the side so you can control it in your pocket!  Imagine that!

 

Decent sound?  Thats the criteria for audiophiles?  Cowon players blow Apple out the water when it comes to sound quality and eq-tweaking options, not to mention support for flac.

 

For large capacity players cowon, zune and imod are the best options. Ipod classic 160gb is a good player but when it comes to better SQ the other three options are better. Cowon and Zune UI are just as simple and intuitive as the classic.

In answer to the original question.... I think the classic has the best sound of the iPod range the 4/5th gen classics use the high quality DAC chip.

Copied from the RWA webpage:


The 4th Generation and 5th/5.5 Generation iPods, contain the high-quality internal Wolfson dac chip that is so well respected by the audiophile community.
 
"4th generation iPod utilizes the Wolfson WM8975 DAC, by far the best DAC used so far by Apple on any of the iPod units including the iPod with video."

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so in terms of is the classic the best iPod? I think YES.
In terms of is the classic the best MP3 players? I think NO

1. I prefer Sony, particularly the X10*

 

2. I loathe iTunes. When I mention this, there is a chorus of 'Oh, you should rockbox that thing, dog !' - have you seen the list of iPod models which can be rockboxed ? Give me a break.

 

3. Similarly, Vinnie isnt interested in anything after the older Wolfson-equipped models for the iMod - fair enough, he has his reasons, but those players have got to be getting pretty long in the tooth by now.

 

All in all, great capacity hamstrung by a fairly average headphone out, but there are so many options for bypassing the DAC now that I think its a good option.

I prefer my iMod 5.5g, but like the Cowon players as well.  I have a friend that loves his Hifiman, but I honestly don't care for it at all.  While SQ is the most important quality in a DAP to me, it has to be a complete package at the same time.  aka.. relatively small, decent battery life, good UI..  all requirements for a good DAP.  

never heard a cowon player, but when I traded in my Ipod touch for a sansa fuze, i did not care for the added warmth of the sansa