[mirage]

Since the imod blows away the Ipod/Cryo Dock), I was wondering how the Iriver/amp (no dac) would fare against the Imod/amp. Anyone?

 

[mcmyers]

Well, I'm not sure that I can fully appreciate my imod yet, because I haven't received my Hornet in the mail yet (can't wait!!). Right now I'm using a total airhead. But I did perform an A/B test with my wife. I thought she'd be a more objective judge, since she wasn't the one who'd spent the money on it, and she was pretty skeptical.

The song I chose was "Hotel" by Broken Social Scene from their self-titled album, which I chose because it has this stutter-start opening that the imod handles especially well, putting lots of blackness between the notes. I played it first through the stock 5g ipod and the Total Airhead with my Senn 595s and she said, "Wow, this sounds really good. I can't imagine it could sound much better."

And then I played the same song through the imod and her mouth fell open. Her response: "Oh my god! It sounds like it's being played in a different key! On the other ipod, it was like all the notes were slightly flat, and now they're all in tune!" She was definitely blown away.

So, not very scientific, but I almost think it's more impressive when a non-audiophile can hear and appreciate such a big difference.

 

[lan]

My problem with this is 4G ipod was lackluster in sound IMO. That doesn't mean it sounds bad, just that it's not my preference. I image some people could like this. So there are a few issues which make me dying to hear an iMod.

- If it's a better version of lackluster sound, no thanks.
- If it's neutral "typical" kind of sound, no thanks. That just doesn't work portably for me.

Quality is relative. We all like specifics of sound. Each product can't "win" across the whole board so it's conceivable that the sonic characteristic of the iMod would appeal to some and not to others. For me, I generally don't like iPod sound but it's possible to change the sound. I would imagine it would be hard for somebody to describe the characteristic of the sound.

 

[YoungClayB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan /img/forum/go_quote.gif My problem with this is 4G ipod was lackluster in sound IMO. That doesn't mean it sounds bad, just that it's not my preference. I image some people could like this. So there are a few issues which make me dying to hear an iMod. - If it's a better version of lackluster sound, no thanks. - If it's neutral "typical" kind of sound, no thanks. That just doesn't work portably for me. Quality is relative. We all like specifics of sound. Each product can't "win" across the whole board so it's conceivable that the sonic characteristic of the iMod would appeal to some and not to others. For me, I generally don't like iPod sound but it's possible to change the sound. I would imagine it would be hard for somebody to describe the characteristic of the sound.

How is it humanly possible for someone with over 7000 posts on this board to resist the urge to get an iMod. You sir, have an amazing amount of self control.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by YoungClayB /img/forum/go_quote.gif How is it humanly possible for someone with over 7000 posts on this board to resist the urge to get an iMod. You sir, have an amazing amount of self control.

I've never really liked the iPod sound. I always give things the benefit of the doubt though so I have borrowed some ipods. I have 10 ipods here now for comparision. I have chosen the winner (for my tastes) and now it is modified. I do not buy other people's modded products because I can just do it myself. I have never come across many products which I like so this is unfortunately the road I must travel because I can tailor the sound perfectly to my tastes.

 

[Ooztuncer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EFN /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just out of morbid curiosity, I am building up an iRiver H120/Optical/MicroDAC/Amp rig to see if that can perform as good as an iMod/Amp - but that may take time and $$$$ As how things stand now, iMod blew away any known portable source I have listened to.

Within 3 days, I will be comparing:

iriver h120 > micro dac > xenos 1HA-epc > ety er4p

imod (ear candy mini to mini) > tomahawk > shure e500

2nd gen. nano (alo cotton dock) > tomahawk or xenos > ksc75, sony mdr-ex71 or above iem's


So far, I am listening 1st combo above and it is simply

 

[tw0k1ngs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've never really liked the iPod sound. I always give things the benefit of the doubt though so I have borrowed some ipods. I have 10 ipods here now for comparision. I have chosen the winner (for my tastes) and now it is modified. I do not buy other people's modded products because I can just do it myself. I have never come across many products which I like so this is unfortunately the road I must travel because I can tailor the sound perfectly to my tastes.

I pity the foo who don't use an unmodified iPod.

 

[Jahn]

his 2G Shuffle has Blackgates in it. That's all we need to know >.<

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've never really liked the iPod sound. I always give things the benefit of the doubt though so I have borrowed some ipods. I have 10 ipods here now for comparision. I have chosen the winner (for my tastes) and now it is modified. I do not buy other people's modded products because I can just do it myself. I have never come across many products which I like so this is unfortunately the road I must travel because I can tailor the sound perfectly to my tastes.

But that is the whole beauty of the iMod. There is no "iPod sound" since the modification bypasses the internal headamp altogether. It is just taking the analog signal created by the wolfson DAC. You can tailor the sound with the amp you choose.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warrior05 /img/forum/go_quote.gif But that is the whole beauty of the iMod. There is no "iPod sound" since the modification bypasses the internal headamp altogether. It is just taking the analog signal created by the wolfson DAC. You can tailor the sound with the amp you choose.

Good point, I have to 4th Gen 60 Gb iPods. One has the iMod and the other does not. I can tell the difference w/o even trying, it is so noticable.

 

[Hardwired]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrypt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Used iMods seem somewhat difficult to sell (which will change whenever Vinnie moves them out of production).

This will happen soon. I just ordered an iMod and was told I was lucky because they were on the last load of the 60 GB factory refurbs and there will be no more after this. No idea if they will offer units with smaller hard drives or if they even have any, but the supply is drying up as was inevitable.

I thought about ordering 2 and keeping 1 as an investment, but that kind of thing never works out for me.

I'm looking forward to the sound, paired with a Headroom Micro Amp. I expect to be very pleased.

 

[scrypt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirage /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since the imod blows away the Ipod/Cryo Dock), I was wondering how the Iriver/amp (no dac) would fare against the Imod/amp.

I wouldn't take anyone's assessment as gospel but your own.

That said, a detailed comparison between the H140/DAC, the iPod/ALO and the iMod ought to be forthcoming soon from someone on this thread. If no one else writes it, I suppose I'll have to after breaking down (sob) and having one of my two iPods modded by Portia de Rossi's open-minded tweak-sublimating husband.

I also have in my possession two H140s, a MicroDAC, ALO cotton and silk docks and two RSA portables -- all of which ought to provide sufficient fidelity for a decent Hindemith/Berg/Bartok/Evans/Davis/Betke smackdown.

Edit:

To answer your question in short part, I found the H140/Hornet combination less exciting than the iPod/ALO LOD -- to my auricles, the H140 lacked a slight amount of weight and range unless tweaked artificially (EQ), which I always prefer not to do. However, the H140/Hornet/MicroDAC kicked the Pod's walnuts sufficiently to flavor the lattes of everyone on this thread.

That said, all three rigs sounded quite good. I wouldn't mislead anyone by claiming any of them were deeply unsatisfying. I would only say that about the H140's headphone out, which is actually worse than the iPod's.

Still, it has been a long time since I wrote my Hornet review and I don't trust my recollection of my findings. I can dredge that bit up if someone here requests it.

(Do keep in mind that I, unlike Ian, tend to prefer neutrality and a fairly flat FR.)

 

[EFN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrypt /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wouldn't take anyone's assessment as gospel but your own. That said, a detailed comparison between the H140/DAC, the iPod/ALO and the iMod ought to be forthcoming soon from someone on this thread. If no one else writes it, I suppose I'll have to after breaking down (sob) and having one of my two iPods modded by Portia de Rossi's open-minded tweak-sublimating husband. I also have in my possession two H140s, a MicroDAC, ALO cotton and silk docks and two RSA portables -- all of which ought to provide sufficient fidelity for a decent Hindemith/Berg/Bartok/Evans/Davis/Betke smackdown. Edit: To answer your question in short part, I found the H140/Hornet combination less exciting than the iPod/ALO LOD -- to my auricles, the H140 lacked a slight amount of weight and range unless tweaked artificially (EQ), which I always prefer not to do. However, the H140/Hornet/MicroDAC kicked the Pod's walnuts sufficiently to flavor the lattes of everyone on this thread. That said, all three rigs sounded quite good. I wouldn't mislead anyone by claiming any of them were deeply unsatisfying. I would only say that about the H140's headphone out, which is actually worse than the iPod's. Still, it has been a long time since I wrote my Hornet review and I don't trust my recollection of my findings. I can dredge that bit up if someone here requests it. (Do keep in mind that I, unlike Ian, tend to prefer neutrality and a fairly flat FR.)

Yeah like I said earlier, I will break yet another bank reserve to build H120/Toslink/MicroDAC/AMP just to hear and compare them with iMod - hopefully that will not take too long.

And to be fair both will be amped with my SuperMicro-IV and both will drive ER-4S.

 

[scrypt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EFN /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah like I said earlier, I will break yet another bank reserve to build H120/Toslink/MicroDAC/AMP. . . .

You might want to research the toslink cable aspect with Headroom. Jamie seemed to think glass toslink cables made no difference with the MicroDAC. I didn't follow up by writing him a few days later, as he requested that I do, to find out why precisely.

I also mapped perceived differences between the Hornet and the Hornet M, since both were available to me at the time.

Quote:

And to be fair both will be amped with my SuperMicro-IV and both will drive ER-4S.

My original comparison involved the ER-4S, e4c, HF-1, RS-1, MS-2 and Senn 600. I also used a MAD EAR++ as well as the RSA XP-7. For the sake of symmetry, I'll have to do comparisons with the same gear (whenever I manage to send my other iPod to Vincent R. Rossi).

I do hope you write your comparison first, as I'd rather not focus on my two well-traveled portable rigs yet again.

 

[EFN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrypt /img/forum/go_quote.gif You might want to research the toslink cable aspect with Headroom. Jamie seemed to think glass toslink cables made no difference with the MicroDAC. I didn't follow up by writing him a few days later, as he requested that I do, to find out why precisely. I also mapped perceived differences between the Hornet and the Hornet M, since both were available to me at the time. My original comparison involved the ER-4S, e4c, HF-1, RS-1, MS-2 and Senn 600. I also used a MAD EAR++ as well as the RSA XP-7. For the sake of symmetry, I'll have to do comparisons with the same gear (whenever I manage to send my other iPod to Vincent R. Rossi). I do hope you write your comparison first, as I'd rather not focus on my two well-traveled portable rigs yet again.

Hey thanks for that. But this may take time as I am torn between MicroDAC and HR Desktop Portable Amp/DAC. Now seeking some answers in Amp section. Then I will decide which HR way I want to go