[Azathoth]

I really abhor iTunes, but I do love my ipod nano 3g - working great for almost three years now, and I like its synergy with easy-to-drive cans like the Alessandro MS1i, Koss Portapro/KSC75 straight from the HP out.

 

[joebags]

 
Quote:

Ipod touches and iPhones are way off the mark. As an older audiophile (50s) I have to say they are among the least pleasant mass marketed audio devices I've owned. Much too far on the bright side of neutral. I think someone called them "metallic" sounding. Well, that's not a typical audiophile term, but I think the sound he means is edgy and harsh, rather than euphonic. I agree. The iPod touch sounds very processed - like compressed FM radio. I liked my new iPhone at first, but the brightness of the sound has driven me away from using it as an iPod. I'm planning on getting rid of it. I have warm Sennheiser headphones and use a vintage Total AIrhead (the warmest amp they ever made) and I still can't tame these newer iPod and iPhones. Just way too bright. Apple really degraded the sound in these because they were more interested in putting a boatload of "gizmos" on these devices. The older iPods had much better sound. My 2nd gen players packed a wallop. Powerful and plenty of bass. I might see about fitting a bigger harddrive in one of those, one of these days.Many people think the best sound - among the modern iPods - came to fruition during the "video iPod" line. I can attest to that and recommend you hunt down one of these used if you really care for sound quality, Gen. 5 or 5.5. I recently used my iPhone as a player for three weeks. Then I went back to the same rig with the iPod video as a source. You would not believe how much better the iPod video sounds. If you keep moving forward with the latest ipod on the market, without looking back for comparison, you'd never know the difference. But that's what audiophiles do. We WORK at finding the best sound. I would never give up using an iPod. They are just way too convenient. A great device. But lately sound has suffered seriously in the name of other features. 

 
Is the "metallic" sound still present when you use a line out adapter, or is it 1/8 mini only?
 

 

[vinnievidi]

In my experience, the older iPod models (particularly the Gen 3 which can be modded by Red Wine) had much better sound quality and was able to drive a wider range of headphones straight from the jack better than the latest versions of the iPod Touch and iPhone.  
 
I agree with the post above that they are overly bright sounding (probably due to Apple trying to extend battery life).  Besides concerns over battery life, I do find it strange that Apple went with a bright sound signature—especially considering that most people use them to listen to contemporary popular music and that the current trend in the mass market is for more and more bass. 
 
I don't think that a Touch or iPhone should be considered for critical listening straight from the jack (don't know enough about the Nano or Classic to comment on those models)—thought their line-out to external DAC performance is not bad at all.  Also, the iPhone & iPod Touch lines can't be beat if you're looking for all-around convenience. 

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Quote:

Ipod touches and iPhones are way off the mark. As an older audiophile (50s) I have to say they are among the least pleasant mass marketed audio devices I've owned. Much too far on the bright side of neutral. I think someone called them "metallic" sounding. Well, that's not a typical audiophile term, but I think the sound he means is edgy and harsh, rather than euphonic. I agree. I liked my new iPhone at first, but the brightness of the sound has driven me away from using it as an iPod. I'm planning on getting rid of it. I have warm Sennheiser headphones and use a vintage Total AIrhead (the warmest amp they ever made) and I still can't tame these newer iPod and iPhones. Just way too bright. Apple really degraded the sound in these because they were more interested in putting a boatload of "gizmos" on these devices. The older iPods had much better sound. My 2nd gen players packed a wallop. Powerful and plenty of bass. I might see about fitting a bigger harddrive in one of those, one of these days.Many people think the best sound - among the modern iPods - came to fruition during the "video iPod" line. I can attest to that and recommend you hunt down one of these used if you really care for sound quality, Gen. 5 or 5.5. I recently used my iPhone as a player for three weeks. Then I went back to the same rig with the iPod video as a source. You would not believe how much better the iPod video sounds. If you keep moving forward with the latest ipod on the market, without looking back for comparison, you'd never know the difference. But that's what audiophiles do. We WORK at finding the best sound. I would never give up using an iPod. They are just way too convenient. A great device. But lately sound has suffered seriously in the name of other features. So to answer your question. Yes, iPods are for audiophiles, but the latest ones are not.

I don't get this and other posts about the ipod sound. What is the ipod sound? Is it EQ on or off or flat or jazz or pop or what? An ipod has multiple sounds, so to those who do not like it, are you meaning every single setting?

 

[piesky]

My take on Ipods is, they are great PMPs, highly relevant in 2010. The original ipod design, now evolved into the Ipod Classic, is still selling today with its design (controls, dimensions, UI) essentially unchanged from its debut in 2001. That is testament to the great engineering job Apple did on the player.
 
To date, the original Ipod still has one of the best UIs in the non-touchscreen arena. It's name is also synonymous with the mp3 player genre. I cannot think of another player still selling today from 2001. To me, that is evidence of phenomenal design.
 
If we're talking about true audiophiles, anything less than full-size headphones or highly specialized IEMs are poor sounding, muddy, horrible etc. Those things require desktop size rigs to drive them right. No PMP will satisfy a true audiophile.
 
As for the rest, it's probably because the ipod is rather long in the tooth, too expensive/multi-function (Touch), not powerful enough (Nano) or perhaps simply too passe to post a picture of.
 
Then again, there are better sounding players right out of the box today.

 

[vintagegold]

Quote:

...Then again, there are better sounding players right out of the box today...

piesky, what would you say are some of the other players you feel are betting sounding out of the box?

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I don't get this and other posts about the ipod sound. What is the ipod sound? Is it EQ on or off or flat or jazz or pop or what? An ipod has multiple sounds, so to those who do not like it, are you meaning every single setting?

Anyone commenting on sound signature should be listening at flat EQ.  Doing otherwise would offer little or no help to anyone on these forums unless stated clearly that they are commenting w/ respect to a set EQ on their device.  A devices sound is a signature of that device.  Like a sonic fingerprint, each type of device sounds pretty much unique.

 

[vkvedam]

Quote:

I was replying to the post before me which said 'I love ipods' - the same kind of thing as guys buying them at their launch date. It just makes no sense, why buy a crap product, cause you're in love with it? I love my RH1 and other stuff but it's not an average bad sounding product like ipods. It looks good and sounds great.

Well a bit late on responding. When I said I love my iPod I like it. It doesn't mean that I use each and every piece of gear that Apple releases. And I am not an Apple fan but I appreciate their effort in making things happen. I bought this Classic about 10 days ago after having used my 5.5G Video for more than 3 years. First thing is the capacity, second one is I've a dock which can pull out the digital information out of that. And it sounds decent with a pair of IEMs.

 

[Danneq]

I think that audiophilia and portable DAP:s is kind of an oxymoron. You are never going to get a truly transparent sound.
 
Other than that iPod is an okay DAP. However for me Apple is not far from Scientology, i.e. more of a sect than a company. My view of Apple plus their refusal of putting in a custom EQ is what prevents me from ever getting an iPod.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I think that audiophilia and portable DAP:s is kind of an oxymoron. You are never going to get a truly transparent sound.
 
Other than that iPod is an okay DAP. However for me Apple is not far from Scientology, i.e. more of a sect than a company. My view of Apple plus their refusal of putting in a custom EQ is what prevents me from ever getting an iPod.

You just don't know what's good for you that's all.  Trust Uncle Steve.

 

[White Lotus]

Please take into consideration that the 3GS uses a different DAC, and did not suffer from the low-end roll off that the 3G has.

 

[lilkoolaidman]

What are people talking about when they say iPods? Do you know how many different generations and models there have been? The nano uses a different DAC than the Touch which has a different DAC than the Classic and so on. Apple has also recently stopped using Wolfson DACs, and is now using Cirrus. So, the argument depends on what iPod you're talking about.

 

[Anaxilus]

5.5g Wolfson v. 6g Cirrus
 
http://homepage.mac.com/marc.heijligers/audio/ipod/comparison/measurements/measurements.html
 
It appears also that Wolfson has lost all contracts for Tier 1 customers and its CEO resigned.  The company might be on the verge of insolvency.  The decision to use Cirrus Logic rather than Wolfson seems to be an economic decision rather than a consideration about SQ.  

 

[piesky]

I have direct experience with Sony Walkman A and X series, Cowon D2+ and the Creative Zen X-FI2. They sound much better with few tweaks than say, the Nano. The best sounding Ipod of them all, the Iphone (in airplane mode)/Touch 3GS  compares favorably with these players, but applying a couple of DSP tweaks still distinguishes them from Apple's product.

 

[MuuMuu]

iPods sound good enough for me.  Of course, 95% of the time that I use ipods I'm working off KSC-75s, but these are portable players, not desktop rigs.  I actually don't mind them with my main headphones either, but HD650s and SE530s are both easy on the treble to begin with, so maybe there's some compatibility with the equipment there as well.