[Dev Avidon]

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@ Dev Avidon, thanks for the great feedback. So far I have only heard my Diymod,
RC

Very welcome!  I'm a huge fan of HiFiman products, some of my favorite IEMs and obviously my favorite DAP.  I also think the RE0/Zeroes are pretty much as good as IEMs get under 100 bucks. 

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Still torn between Hifiman and an imod(with ibasso T3 or mustang p-51)

 

[auris]

 
 
I bought a 5.5 generation iMod initially to save some wear and tear on my old Cal Audio Labs tube output CD player and to use as a music server of sorts for my home system (in conjunction with a V- cap dock).  I liked it enough that I bought another iPod and also had it converted.  It doesn't have quite the easy fullness and bloom of my CD player, but that's not a concern for me.  I don't notice unless the difference unless I'm switching back and forth between the two.  Personally, I don't consider my iMod either mellow sounding or lacking detail, but ymmv. 
 
On the downside, there is the consideration of always needing an amplifier and an LOD with the iMod.  Also, sometime down the road, its hard disc drive will likely fail, just as with a computer.
 
I haven't heard the HiFiman, so I'll leave the comparison between the two to those who have heard both.

 

[Reima]

Quote:

   Also, sometime down the road, its hard disc drive will likely fail, just as with a computer.

You can always replace the hard drive with a CF card. This also has the benefit of extending the battery life.
RC

 

 

[daveDerek]

 
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You can always replace the hard drive with a CF card. This also has the benefit of extending the battery life.
RC
 

What is a CF card?

 
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To me, there is a significant difference.  It's only worth it if you go loss-less IMHO.

 
sorry, digital neophyte questions  - what are the diffs amongst the file types in iTunes and which are acceptable from an audio quality (or any other) standpoint?  i can import into iTunes with the following encoders: AIFF, AAC, Apple Lossless, MP3, WAV.  which formats should i import my cds into iTunes with, and which should i use to put tunes onto an iMod, a nano, and to burn a cd with? thanks.
- dD
 

 

[Hero Kid]

Quote:

What is a CF card?

A CF card is a Compact Flash card. Here's a wikipedia article on it if you wish to read up more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompactFlash
 
 
As for ripping your CDs... I suggest you DON'T rip your CDs using the iTunes burner. Here's why.
 
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I found this quote from a member of another forum, which sums up exactly what I was going to say.
In summary use XLD, set it up correctly and be comforted with the fact that you are maximizing your chances of creating 100% flawless rips.
 
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To the specific benefits, XLD attempts to correct all errors encountered using the appropriately named and highly regarded CDParanoia engine. XLD also informs you of any errors that could NOT be corrected, whereas iTunes does not. With iTunes you find out later, when listening.
 
Secondly, there is the capability to compare your rips to the Accurate Rip database for checksum comparison between other known rips. This is often considered the primary benefit of using XLD, or other rippers with this capability, as this CAN be the ultimate in 'peace of mind', or the source of loss thereof.
 
Additionally, XLD will correct for any offset in the drive itself. The offset correction is automatic, in that XLD defaults to the known settings for most common drives, and you need do nothing. These is (admittedly very) little evidence that offset can affect the sound, despite that it has been reported anecdotally.
 
You can also set up XLD for something called C2 error correction, drive permitting.
 
Finally, XLD offers many options in it's ripping function, seemingly more than anyone could need. For example, the list of available formats to rip to includes formats I didn't know existed. Ditto for options like re-trying with bad disks, scanning disks for potentially bad sectors, etc.
 
With pristine discs, iTunes probably (some would say definitely, and Kent Poom famously said definitively') rips as well as other programs, but gives NO indication of any undesirable behavior with discs that are less than perfect, and thus the aforementioned lack of 'peace of mind'.
 
The developer for XLD is a very dedicated Japanese fellow, who is constantly improving and/or adding features to XLD. There was a release Christmas Day I think.
 
So, in the end you trade one 'peace of mind' for another. With iTunes, you lose peace of mind due to not knowing if your rips are error-free. With XLD (and other programs), you lose 'peace of mind' due to now knowing if you've set all the available options correctly, or when your rip's checksum does not match the Accurate Rip database, or perhaps even due to wondering whether to re-rip now that a new feature offering even more 'peace of mind' is available.

 

As for the different formats. AIFF, ALAC and WAV are all lossless formats. This means that no music (frequencies) is lost during the ripping process. This normally equates to much larger files and arguably better quality. Generally more lossless files mimic CD quality.
MP3 on the other hand cuts certain bits of the music, generally in-audible to the human ear with the result of smaller file capacities. These types of file types are generally known as lossy. You have varying levels of compression and generally the best is V0 which is a variable bit rate of about 256 kbps, which offers a very good sound quality to file size ratio.
 
One important question before I go any further.  Do you use Windows, OSX or otherwise?

 

[Currawong]

Couple of thoughts: The iMod connects the output of the DA chip itself to the line out directly with tiny wires. This means no opamps at all, but also means that you need a LOD (Line Out Dock) with capacitors built in to remove the DC from the line.  Some DIY'ers make iMod LODs for something less than the epic prices charged for the ALO and Whiplash ones.
 
In the above quote, Christmas day doesn't mean anything in Japan, so that release isn't a surprise. Dedication is just part of the culture of Japanese people. 

 

[daveDerek]

 
Quote:

A CF card is a Compact Flash card. Here's a wikipedia article on it if you wish to read up more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompactFlash
 
 
As for ripping your CDs... I suggest you DON'T rip your CDs using the iTunes burner. Here's why.
 

As for the different formats. AIFF, AAC, WAV and Apple Lossless are all lossless formats. This means that no music (frequencies) is lost during the ripping process. This normally equates to much larger files and arguably better quality. Generally more lossless files mimic CD quality.
MP3 on the other hand cuts certain bits of the music, generally in-audible to the human ear with the result of smaller file capacities. These types of file types are generally known as lossy. You have varying levels of compression and generally the best is V0 which is a variable bit rate of about 256 kbps, which offers a very good sound quality to file size ratio.
 
One important question before I go any further.  Do you use Windows, OSX or otherwise?

 
i'm using a mac with osx 10.6.4 & the newest release of itunes that came out a few days ago, v10.
can xld be used in conjunction with itunes, and if so can you choose when you want to use itunes vs xld software? do the above reservations about itunes hold with the latest release?

 
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Couple of thoughts: The iMod connects the output of the DA chip itself to the line out directly with tiny wires. This means no opamps at all, but also means that you need a LOD (Line Out Dock) with capacitors built in to remove the DC from the line.  Some DIY'ers make iMod LODs for something less than the epic prices charged for the ALO and Whiplash ones.

my imod is for a 4th gen, not 5.5gen ipod and therefore does not use a lod,  but rather an interconnect from the headphone jack - simpler, smaller, cheaper.

 

[Hero Kid]

Alrighty then. If you use OSX, XLD is a stand alone program that I recommend you use to rip your cds. That's all the program does and it does it better than iTunes as I outlined above.
So once you rip the cd put it into iTunes and listen to them. It's a bit more complicated to set up and I have a good guide I can provide you with if you decide to use it (XLD).
I'd use XLD to rip ALAC - which is lossless - and use that at home and then use another program like Max to convert your ALAC files to MP3s if you are worried about space on your iMod.
 
Following me?

 

[REDH0RN]

Quote:
 
As for the different formats. AIFF, AAC, WAV and Apple Lossless are all lossless formats. This means that no music (frequencies) is lost during the ripping process. This normally equates to much larger files and arguably better quality. Generally more lossless files mimic CD quality.
 
OK I'm totally lost now. I have a TiBook loaded with 192 kbps AAC's and am trying to decide on a new format / rate to get better SQ from newly acquired AKG 601's. Since at least AAC allows for choices of kbps would that not make it a non-lossless format? Seems the focused choice is lossless or 320. I just want a good compromise of SQ and required disc space while not being disappointed utilizing good phones like I am with 192.

 

[Hero Kid]

Sorry that was a typo. It was meant to read ALAC which is the Apple Lossless Audio Codec.
 
If you want a good format for portable use to use I suggest you use LAME encoded V0. That is - like I said before - a variable bitrate 256kbps mp3.
 
 

 

[tranhieu]

just modded my 5.5g yesterday and I have to wholeheartedly say YES!
I think it depends on which cap you use that whether your improvements are significant or not. I'm using mine with the mcap supreme mkp + k40y-9 for bypassing. They do a great job together.
But again, there're articles lying around telling you not to believe in the miracles of caps (just like cables), so it comes down to your ears in the end~

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Alrighty then. If you use OSX, XLD is a stand alone program that I recommend you use to rip your cds. That's all the program does and it does it better than iTunes as I outlined above.
So once you rip the cd put it into iTunes and listen to them. It's a bit more complicated to set up and I have a good guide I can provide you with if you decide to use it (XLD).
I'd use XLD to rip ALAC - which is lossless - and use that at home and then use another program like Max to convert your ALAC files to MP3s if you are worried about space on your iMod.
 
Following me?

 
an iMod is meant for high quality reproduction supposedly on the level of a decent home unit, so i'm not optimistic about mp3 being of adequate quality for that application. i was thinking that aac (which should be better than mp3, no?) might not even be good enough for this use. so far i've been ripping my discs in AIFF and am trying to see what'll work best for the 3 other applications i've mentioned (burning cds, an iMod, a stock nano). thanks.

 

[Hero Kid]

Ok good... well lossless is the way to go if you have the approach.
AIFF is uncompressed lossless - the same as WAV files. ALAC (the Apple equivelant to FLAC) is a compressed lossles format. This means smaller file size but the exact same ammount of data. Consider ALAC to be a AIFF file in a zipped foler, compressed.
So for use on an iMod I suggest you use ALAC ripped with XLD. I personally would settle for mostly 320cbr mp3 but each to their own.

 

[REDH0RN]

Sound quality between 320 AAC and ALAC is negligible it seems. What is the difference in amount of disc space required? I intend to stick with the standard Apple offerings.