aroon
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2003
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ive had my ipod for about 2 or 3 weeks now and ive been using it a lot. after two month research project on HD mp3 players i finally settled on the 40gb 3rd gen ipod for various reasons. first, i like the ipod. second, frys didnt have anything else in stock and i had to get rid of that gift certificate. if i had it my way i probably would have gone with the 20gb version becuase its lighter and slimmer but what to do.
in anycase, i just wanna make a few notes about my feelings on the ipod. i took a test drive with a rio karma for about a week before getting my ipod so ill probably make a few comparisons to it too.
sound quality:
ipod sounds great. ive had an interesting experience with it though. i bought a pair of ety er-6's before about a month before i picked up any mp3 players and i used them with my computer. they sounded amazing. most noteable was the bass response. for something so small it definitely packed a punch. when i got my ipod i was living with a friend down in texas and the first thing i did was go play music from the headphone jack to his gaint technics tower speakers through his reciever. the ipod sounded amazing. i was worried about the supposed bass rolloff but someone said the latesly firmware fixed the issue and after hearing the ipod on my friends stereo system my ears were put to ease. oddest thing is that i dont get great bass response on my er-6s. ive been running flat the whole time but i guess it just doesnt have enough power to push my ety's? something inside me says thats not right since they're just 16ohms and are built with the low power portables in mind. also, i know a lot of people use their er-4p's with the ipod and i havnt heard much complaining. in anycase, compared to the karma the ipod sounds much better. clearer and stronger imo.
physical design:
i LOVE the backlight. thats some hot stuff right there. the neat fade in and out feature is just one of those things only an apple engineer would think of tossing in. im still on the fence about the touch sensative controlls though. they seemed too sensitive to me. when i would turn off my ipod i would end up turning it right back on again somehow. the hold button sure is getting a lot of use. i think they could have achieved the same feel by using pressure plates instead of heat sensitive controls. im getting used to it though and ive managed to make use of the _included_ remote which makes things nice and easy. compared to the karma i like the ipod much better. the ipod fits in my pocket MUCH MUCH nicer than the karma ever did. also, may be my hands are just ackward, but i felt strained trying to use the karma in one hand. the volume buttons were just placed in the wrong area. instead of advertising themselves on their own product on the front of their player they should have located the volume controls to the left of the red joystick thing. that would have made things much easier imo. i also find the ipod easier to read, although i didnt have much trouble reading the karma either.
software/gui:
making a gui for a large capacity hd mp3 player when you are restricted to such a small screen is a feat in itself. while i cant say i LOVE any gui ive encountered so far i have to say apple did a good job with theirs. since they were severely limited by the lack of screen space and controls making your experience with the software end of the ipod takes a little work on the users part. if all your id3 tags are in proper order the simply tossing all your music on the ipod works great. the ipod automatically lets you select your music based on artist, album, genre, etc. finding your music shouldnt be too hard even with a full player like mine. unfortunately if you're anything like me your id3 tags will be less than perfect. so using itunes i made smart playlists for all the artists i have music for and i just use that on my ipod. of course, you can do whatever you want. the smart playlist feature in itunes is really really cool.
battery life:
rather than actually test the battery life for the ipod and give quantitave comparisons between players i figured id just see if it was 'enough' or not. so for the past few weeks ive just been using my ipod as i usually would. when im at home my ipod is either in my backpack or in the dock. i use my ipod for at least a few hours everyday for listening. so far ive never been even close to a dead battery. i even used it on two flights with no charges in between. just like any other portable device it seems id only be in trouble if i was going on a long trip in which case id be taking extra batteries with me no matter what device i had. the difference is that carrying around an extra battery with you for your ipod isnt really an option. replacing the battery isnt something you can [or will] do in two seconds on a flight or car trip. but for that occasional trip that lasts that long ill prolly spend some time not listening to music anyway so its not a problem.
the dock and other gripes:
the dock is really nice. i just pop my ipod in and i can add songs etc and let it charge at the same time. it also looks hot and keeps my ipod off the table where its sure to get scratched up or lost under mounds of paper. couple things ive noticed that i absolutely hate about it though. the ipod is rendered completely USELESS when plugged into the computer [im using firewire on my pc and havnt tried usb since id have to purchase a firewire -> usb cable]. that includes the line out on the dock as far as ive seen. even "ejecting" the ipod from your computer in itunes or "safely removing hardware" from windows doesnt allow you to start using your ipod. the ipod screen just says you can safely remove it from the dock and refuses to do anything until you do. the only way to use the line out on the dock is to have the ipod sit in the dock without the computer cable plugged in or to have the firewire cable going straight to the a/c wall adpater to charge. that seems pretty damned backwards if you ask me. a dock should be pretty static. i shouldnt have to move around any cables to use the features on it. of course, this could be fixed in future firmware updates so for now ill just cross my fingers and enjoy my music.
well, i think thats all ive got. bring on the questions!
in anycase, i just wanna make a few notes about my feelings on the ipod. i took a test drive with a rio karma for about a week before getting my ipod so ill probably make a few comparisons to it too.
sound quality:
ipod sounds great. ive had an interesting experience with it though. i bought a pair of ety er-6's before about a month before i picked up any mp3 players and i used them with my computer. they sounded amazing. most noteable was the bass response. for something so small it definitely packed a punch. when i got my ipod i was living with a friend down in texas and the first thing i did was go play music from the headphone jack to his gaint technics tower speakers through his reciever. the ipod sounded amazing. i was worried about the supposed bass rolloff but someone said the latesly firmware fixed the issue and after hearing the ipod on my friends stereo system my ears were put to ease. oddest thing is that i dont get great bass response on my er-6s. ive been running flat the whole time but i guess it just doesnt have enough power to push my ety's? something inside me says thats not right since they're just 16ohms and are built with the low power portables in mind. also, i know a lot of people use their er-4p's with the ipod and i havnt heard much complaining. in anycase, compared to the karma the ipod sounds much better. clearer and stronger imo.
physical design:
i LOVE the backlight. thats some hot stuff right there. the neat fade in and out feature is just one of those things only an apple engineer would think of tossing in. im still on the fence about the touch sensative controlls though. they seemed too sensitive to me. when i would turn off my ipod i would end up turning it right back on again somehow. the hold button sure is getting a lot of use. i think they could have achieved the same feel by using pressure plates instead of heat sensitive controls. im getting used to it though and ive managed to make use of the _included_ remote which makes things nice and easy. compared to the karma i like the ipod much better. the ipod fits in my pocket MUCH MUCH nicer than the karma ever did. also, may be my hands are just ackward, but i felt strained trying to use the karma in one hand. the volume buttons were just placed in the wrong area. instead of advertising themselves on their own product on the front of their player they should have located the volume controls to the left of the red joystick thing. that would have made things much easier imo. i also find the ipod easier to read, although i didnt have much trouble reading the karma either.
software/gui:
making a gui for a large capacity hd mp3 player when you are restricted to such a small screen is a feat in itself. while i cant say i LOVE any gui ive encountered so far i have to say apple did a good job with theirs. since they were severely limited by the lack of screen space and controls making your experience with the software end of the ipod takes a little work on the users part. if all your id3 tags are in proper order the simply tossing all your music on the ipod works great. the ipod automatically lets you select your music based on artist, album, genre, etc. finding your music shouldnt be too hard even with a full player like mine. unfortunately if you're anything like me your id3 tags will be less than perfect. so using itunes i made smart playlists for all the artists i have music for and i just use that on my ipod. of course, you can do whatever you want. the smart playlist feature in itunes is really really cool.
battery life:
rather than actually test the battery life for the ipod and give quantitave comparisons between players i figured id just see if it was 'enough' or not. so for the past few weeks ive just been using my ipod as i usually would. when im at home my ipod is either in my backpack or in the dock. i use my ipod for at least a few hours everyday for listening. so far ive never been even close to a dead battery. i even used it on two flights with no charges in between. just like any other portable device it seems id only be in trouble if i was going on a long trip in which case id be taking extra batteries with me no matter what device i had. the difference is that carrying around an extra battery with you for your ipod isnt really an option. replacing the battery isnt something you can [or will] do in two seconds on a flight or car trip. but for that occasional trip that lasts that long ill prolly spend some time not listening to music anyway so its not a problem.
the dock and other gripes:
the dock is really nice. i just pop my ipod in and i can add songs etc and let it charge at the same time. it also looks hot and keeps my ipod off the table where its sure to get scratched up or lost under mounds of paper. couple things ive noticed that i absolutely hate about it though. the ipod is rendered completely USELESS when plugged into the computer [im using firewire on my pc and havnt tried usb since id have to purchase a firewire -> usb cable]. that includes the line out on the dock as far as ive seen. even "ejecting" the ipod from your computer in itunes or "safely removing hardware" from windows doesnt allow you to start using your ipod. the ipod screen just says you can safely remove it from the dock and refuses to do anything until you do. the only way to use the line out on the dock is to have the ipod sit in the dock without the computer cable plugged in or to have the firewire cable going straight to the a/c wall adpater to charge. that seems pretty damned backwards if you ask me. a dock should be pretty static. i shouldnt have to move around any cables to use the features on it. of course, this could be fixed in future firmware updates so for now ill just cross my fingers and enjoy my music.
well, i think thats all ive got. bring on the questions!
