Hybwolf, my own experience with the Classic into my CA integrated is that its better from the LOD connector. Happy to hear that you are enjoying it - many will argue that an amp will only magnify any deficiencies in a player, but the sound that emerges from my (cheap) Dali speakers is transformed. I dont have any EQ on the Classic, but the bass coming out of those little speakers is enormous : too close to the wall, no question, but its obvious from my Grados that it isnt just the speakers that benefit from the signal being fed into a decent amp. I mentioned earlier in this thread that Apple have been sued for causing hearing loss - for me, the amp in the Classic is its weak point.
As an all-round entertainer, the Touch is hard to beat : I downloaded an ep of 'True Blood' last week and watched it on my 1st Gen Touch - still blows me away that you can get such a fantastic result on that tiny screen. Also used it as the remote control for my Mac Mini with a free app from Apple, and I've used the browser in shopping centres and airports all over Asia - from that POV its great. Where it didnt tick my boxes was that it didnt let me store album after album losslessly for (AUD) $2 per GB. For US Head-Fiers, that number is even more attractive (I paid AUD 320 from an Apple Store, and I assume that most of you are getting the Classic for a little over USD 200), and the pendulum swings futher away from the Touch when you start storing something other than music. I'm ripping everything as WAV using EAC and I usually just transfer these files straight onto the Classic - that's a luxury that I've never enjoyed with any other player.