[Geruvah]

Using the Earsonics SM3, I have a 5.5G ipod and finally, the headphone jack broke (seems to be a common problem but mine lasted quite a few years with heavy use).
 
I love the high capacity of the ipod, and believe me, I use it because I never know what mood I'll be in an hour after I walk out my door. Until my decision is made, I have a Clip+ to hold me off but it's small (capacity-wise) so it's going to be temporary. Maybe even use my iphone 4.
 

• I could just go for the amp since that would bypass the headphone jack anyway. But I use the SM3, and everywhere I read, an amp is completely unnecessary for it and if I choose the wrong one, would even make it sound worse.
• I could buy a new DAP. Really, though the only one that seems like a real upgrade is the Cowon X7 because of its capacity and even better SQ but it sounds like Cowon did what I needed right with it and then decided to go backwards with a lot of things (stability issues, especially for Mac OSX users). Everything else just tries to sell frills and I have my iphone 4 for that kind of stuff. I'd just sell my iPod as-is to someone who'd amp it and my super.fi 5 pro to help fund whatever I'll buy, but I feel like it'll be a parallel trade-off rather than an upgrade since it sounds like anything else high-capacity is lower in SQ (Archos 5) and anything else high-SQ is nearly less than half in capacity.
• I could repair the headphone jack. Cheaper than the other options, but I don't know any opinions on the ipod/SM3 combo. I could rockbox it, but to be honest, I can't figure out how to make a playlist where I can define the order of the songs I want manually from different albums.

 
So that's my conundrum. If I didn't have the SM3, the decision would've been easy, I bet (There's this part of me that's telling me to go the amp route; that'd be the home-audio rig side that I'm more into) but doing that may not be worth it.

 

[BotByte]

Just because I've never liked apple, #2
 
But I advise you to wait for any news on the d3, because it seems to compare really well
 
It may be a problem with the capacity -maximum 64gb-
 
a x7 would be a great improvement, yet I think it's a little large for a portable (big pockets)
 
#1 Maybe good if you like your ipod, and want a amp - get a pico of something-
#3 would be good if you want to save money, which is up to you.
 
 
With a future outlook, get a warranty from Squaretrade for you devices. It would of paid for a new ipod if you had a warranty in the first place

 

[darknessproz]

Is the 5.5g ipod the one able to be modded into the imod? If so, i suggest you go down this road. The sound quality of a imod totally wins the sound quality of a normal ipod > lod > amp, from my short time with it.

 

[Geruvah]

Good advice. Never heard of Squaretrade. Wonder if it'd still be there despite the ipod being as old as 2006-07-ish. I may want the J3 other than the D3. I don't need the bells and whistles of it.

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

Good advice. Never heard of Squaretrade. Wonder if it'd still be there despite the ipod being as old as 2006-07-ish. I may want the J3 other than the D3. I don't need the bells and whistles of it.

 
They won't cover a old product, but they will cover a new, or refurbished product. Check amazon for squaretrade, all you will find are great reviews. Get the accident coverage (you can actually throw the device on the ground, call them up, and get a refund of your money to buy a new one. Then buy a new one, and buy another warranty for it)
 
3 year warranty for a $200 device was around $40, which I would rather have then a case for my zune.
 
I see if your going to invest the money, get the best you can buy.

 

[gimbertt]

I have a Little Dot Mk1+ Gold connected to my 5G via LOD and it sounds sublime through my RE0 and especially my MS-1i. I havn't tried the iMod but it would be hard pressed, in my opinion only(I don't want to offend anyone), to beat the standard in my setup.

 

[darknessproz]

There you have it, you have not actually tried it. I was skeptical at first about the performance benefits of the imod at first, but having tried my friend's unit, i know it was on a another level altogether. I would have gotten one in an instant if not for me scaling back my portable rig and investing in a better home rig.
 
Quote:

I have a Little Dot Mk1+ Gold connected to my 5G via LOD and it sounds sublime through my RE0 and especially my MS-1i. I havn't tried the iMod but it would be hard pressed, in my opinion only(I don't want to offend anyone), to beat the standard in my setup.

 

[Geruvah]

If I do go to the DIYMod route, does anybody have the link where I can do it? The forum's search makes it difficult. (if I go the DIYMod route, I can use the money I'd use for the IMod for the 240GB upgrade)

 

[darknessproz]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/269604/the-apple-diymod-my-take-on-the-famous-imod-56k-killer-featuring-3g-4g-5g-and-nano-1g
 
There you go!