[limathy]

just got an ipod classic, and all i can say is... its surprisingly good,

at 1st it sounded absolutely horrible and tiny, left it connected to power and running for 2 days, and well... it's really opened up quite a bit. its got more clarity then the previous generation, maybe a narrower soundstage, basing this on memory as my 5.5g video died a little while back.

Finding i'm liking the bassier phones a bit more as the classic is fairly lean but sharp sounding?? dont know what to call it. but its really not all that bad. Ksc75's sound alot nicer than i remember them sounding on my last ipod (unamped)

amp'ed not sure which i prefer, as the last generation seemed a fair bit warmer, paired with some warm phones it sounds rather nice.

For the UI and storage space i guess theres not too much to complain about, just cant help but think maybe i'm missing out something compared to a D2 maybe? which has been described as a detailed and slightly cold, which is what i feel the classic sounds like atm.

any comments?

 

[andare]

You bought a new player and you're happy with it: that's cool. Congratulations! It feels so good, doesn't it, knowing you made a choice that's right for you.

I like my Classic too. I pair it with Sennheiser 485's at home and it rocks.
Too bad mine has the EU volume cap (merci beaucoup you French people!) so at 32 ohms the 485's almost always require full volume to output decent listening levels.
I'm planning to get some Sennheiser CX-300 for portable use since the Apple earbuds SUCK big time.

As I said elsewhere I consider the Classic analytical and transparent so the character of the music stands out. Compression artifacts become apparent too, though, but let's not get carried away, it's JUST and mp3 player.

Congratulations again for joining the Apple herd. [bleats]

 

[tom_s252]

I've got a Classic in the post right now, should be here tomorrow. Looking forward to adding my opinions to the discussion

 

[shigzeo]

i am rather tempted but that is even larger than my touch

 

[chris_ah1]

the classic is going to be more robust than the touch - HD excepting of course (which is a big but!!!).

I just got the classic today I've been told. 160GB. black. As long as the battery lasts and it really does gapless, I don't mind the fact it will be analytical - might make my UM2s shine some more.

I hope none of us with classics suffer the woe stories of people who post with the devices - Then again most problems occur via headphone out I think (3 second pauses) and we're all LOD men and women here.

 

[Artemio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_ah1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hope none of us with classics suffer the woe stories of people who post with the devices - Then again most problems occur via headphone out I think (3 second pauses) and we're all LOD men and women here.

The pauses happen everywhere.. using a Yamaha Dock, ALO line out cable, Car using Alpine X001 USB connection... Hope you don't get them though. They are usually present with lossless or higher bitrate files.

 

[dura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by andare /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like my Classic too. I pair it with Sennheiser 485's at home and it rocks. Too bad mine has the EU volume cap (merci beaucoup you French people!) so at 32 ohms the 485's almost always require full volume to output decent listening levels. I'm planning to get some Sennheiser CX-300 for portable use since the Apple earbuds SUCK big time. [bleats]

Did you try the PX100? Same sound signature as the 485, but far easier to drive, so you'll probably get enough volume out of those without having to sacrifice too much in SQ.

 

[chris_ah1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artemio /img/forum/go_quote.gif The pauses happen everywhere.. using a Yamaha Dock, ALO line out cable, Car using Alpine X001 USB connection... Hope you don't get them though. They are usually present with lossless or higher bitrate files.

SMEG me! I had read somewhere that it was a problem with cover-art and also a contact issue via the headphone port.

Since none of my music has coverart and I was using LOD only I thought i was safe.
I have ABR 226kbps MP3 between 192 and 256kbps. Do you think I'll be fine? I guess I'll soon know.

I should've researched for a better mp3 player with Line out I guess.....perhaps a flash model with expandable storage.

 

[The_X]

Oh noes, I need to break in my mp3 players now too?!?! What's next, should I break in notebooks before writing in them?

 

[chris_ah1]

Just started listening to my classic and weirdly it's ok with the UM2 and headphone out. In fact there is less background hiss than with my xin reference and last music player with or without music playing. Haven't tried it amped yet. Need to get my av sendstation first or LOD cable.

Yes, the headphone out isn't great - but my how far audio players have come in just three years in quality!!! Admittedly it is not much smaller than my M3...admittedly with 4x the capacity (good for extra backup).

Overall, it is a bit tubby with my UM2s. A bit messy via headphone out I must admit. Or mushy. Bass is messy, highs bland, but vocals sound amazing. But on the move I wouldn't notice - nor would the perfect ear. ipod classic not the best for classical music so far - and the preset Eqs just make me cry!!!

But this is out of headphone out only!!! omg - I can't wait for my line out XD. I could happily keep my UM2s without an amp on this for casual listening (reminding myself of the music rather than analysing/monitoring it note for note).

Then despite having configurable settings on my iaudio i never used it - nor did I use all the audio trickery (BBE, EQ, mp3boost blah blah blah).

wow. I so hope it doesn't pause or crash or go belly up.
So far gapless. Didn't even notice the gap

WOW - the Um2s can be used ampless!!!!
Not that anyone would want to as they are severly limited :S

 

[muhyidin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by andare /img/forum/go_quote.gif Too bad mine has the EU volume cap (merci beaucoup you French people!) so at 32 ohms[bleats]

when you're old and your ears still work maybe
you 'll thank the french. The limit in order not to destroy
ears is 80DB and the European standard is a 90DB.

 

[monolith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_ah1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif WOW - the Um2s can be used ampless!!!! Not that anyone would want to as they are severly limited :S

They're not limited at all. I have an excellent amp, and the difference between amped and not is certainly not enough to warrant carrying around the amp for day to day use. *Maybe* if you're going to be sitting somewhere for a while or something, and concentrating on the music, but otherwise it's not worth it.

 

[trickywombat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by monolith /img/forum/go_quote.gif They're not limited at all. I have an excellent amp, and the difference between amped and not is certainly not enough to warrant carrying around the amp for day to day use. *Maybe* if you're going to be sitting somewhere for a while or something, and concentrating on the music, but otherwise it's not worth it.

Agree with the above, especially if the environment is noisy and distracting. When I have time to sit down and listen to music in a quiet place, the payoff from using an amp really counts.

 

[chris_ah1]

Yes, i agree which is why I did say earlier in the post:
"But this is out of headphone out only!!! omg - I can't wait for my line out XD. I could happily keep my UM2s without an amp on this for casual listening (reminding myself of the music rather than analysing/monitoring it note for note)."

I should've said later in the post - severely limited for analytical listening without an amp on the ipod classic given it's headphone out isn't great for detail. Not that the UM2s can't work unamped.

Just tried the sendstation AV dock and it is world's apart from my old setup and from headphone out on the classic. But that's sitting at home near a quiet computer with no distraction.

the sendstation even increased quality over headphone out going into a crummy cassette adapter for a car stereo (which is pretty piss poor too).

again, it's not that the headphone out of the classic is bad - it is remarkably good for casual use. but line out on this is even more enjoyable. And i don't think i need to rationalise a $30 purchase either XD

must admit I'm very happy. Don't even want to replace UM2s with anything for the mo.