[Sasaki]

Mine has arrived here in Japan

Click pictures to enlarge.



I have ordered a Cryo X Silver, a Gold X Silver and an iMod5.5G. I took a short listening as a test. I have used SR-71 and HD25-1/BlueDragon v2.
Cryo Silver is on the left and Gold X Silver is on the right.



The listening was just a verification not an evaluation, but even in the short listening, I found the iMod 5.5G and the Cryo X Silver opens up fairly huge soundstage with crystal clear sound representation.
The Gold X Silver sounds more natural, sweet and full but the soundstage is somewhat smaller.
I like these a lot. Thanks Vinnie san and Ken san!

 

[slwiser]

I am really really enjoying mine. I now have almost all my music on mine in Apple Lossless format.

This is with a Headphile adapter for the headphone and at the moment I am using a Headamp AE-1 portable amp.

 

[nfusion770]

Mine came in yesterday as well- much sooner than expected. Black with Cryo X.

It sounds very good out of the gate. After 10 hours of burn in, it either sounds a little better or my prejudices against unburned equipment have been tempered. When I have time I'll test it against the 4g, but that may be a while.

Putting a Best Skin Ever case over the RWA badge is a PITA. I did the best I could (ruining one of the back pieces), then go back and stick a needle through the bubbled area around the badge to release the air. It turned out OK, but not great- oh well, its protected.

All in all though, very happy to have an imod in this form factor, though. Based on the sound, I am pretty confident it will match the 4g at some point during burn in. Maybe it will actually be better as Ken and Vinnie claim.

 

[mcmyers]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coltrane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Absolutely not. 256kbs is virtually indistinguishable for lossless for the vast majority (almost all) people Only your ears can truly decide, but the sound will still be very VERY good at 256.

I was unable to hear any difference between high bitrate mp3s and lossless when I was listening on a stock 5g ipod. But after I got a 4g iMod and paired it with a Hornet, I was able to hear a fairly significant difference. I don't think the mp3s sound bad, but lossless definitely sounds better.

As far as I can tell, one of the main differences between a stock ipod and an iMod is that the iMod lets you hear all the extra detail contained in that lossless file, which was obscured in the stock ipod. So if you're not planning on listening lossless, I don't think the iMod will provide enough of a sq improvement to justify the price.

 

[ElDanno]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nfusion770 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Putting a Best Skin Ever case over the RWA badge is a PITA. I did the best I could (ruining one of the back pieces), then go back and stick a needle through the bubbled area around the badge to release the air. It turned out OK, but not great- oh well, its protected.

I received mine on Friday and have the same problem. The badge is too thick.

I'll be buying a thicker silicone case which should fit better.

 

[slwiser]

I recieved my iMod and Super Cotton Dock cable on Thursday and it took at least a couple of days getting the iPod tags half-way straight so that I could select what I wanted to listen too. It also took me some time determining whether I wanted to listen to the AAC compressed (300 vbr) files that I had previously thought that I would use when it came. Well I have deleted all those and gone totally Apple Lossless. No contest in telling the difference right out of the box.

Now let me tell you something, this iMod 5.5g thing with the ALO cable is a serious source for your music. Detailed, dark and beautiful and I am not even closed to 100 hours on it yet. WOW, what will it sound like when I get 200 hours on it? I really could not imagine a better portable source than this. I just need a portable amp with the quality of my AT-HA5000. Hurry up, Dr. Xin with that Reference thing.

 

[trose49]

Very good combo with RSA Hornet which I was surprised was capable of powering my new 600ohm DT-880's!

 

[cpk]

I am using the 4g with Original Hornet and Senn HD 600. I will hit 200 hrs tomorrow. Can't wait for the magic.

 

[flashbak]

I'm hoping Vinnie will field this question.
Folks with the new IMod (5.5) are starting to mention issues with various case fits because of the Red Wine IMod plate you're attaching to the back of the IPod.
a) Have you thought about considering giving the customer the option of installing it or not.
b) For existing customers that had it attached, is removal possible without damaging the back of the unit?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[LDMES]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flashbak /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm hoping Vinnie will field this question. Folks with the new IMod (5.5) are starting to mention issues with various case fits because of the Red Wine IMod plate you're attaching to the back of the IPod. a) Have you thought about considering giving the customer the option of installing it or not. b) For existing customers that had it attached, is removal possible without damaging the back of the unit? Thanks, Jeff

Unlike the 4G which has the caps in the unit, the 5G/5.5G iMod doesn't have anything to distinguish it from a regular iPod and with the caps in the ALO cable, the line out voltage could possibly fry other components if used without the iMod cable, and having talked with Vinnie about it in passing, I know that there is a concern that as there is no visible difference between the a non-iMod iPod and the iMod. The possibility of someone not knowing it is an iMod (obviously we're not talking about someone who bought the iMod...imagine a family member, or friend, etc...) and using the line-out could possibly damage their audio components and then there may be a liability issue for both the iMod owner and for RWA. So the badge is a way to distinguish the iMod from a regular iPod. Plus I think they look cool and I wouldn't mind having one for my 4G iMod. Hope this helps.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Good point LDMES. I'm just bummed that it's going to be super annoying trying to get that badge and my BSE cover to live together.

 

[flashbak]

I understand that concern, but the tags added thickness is making if difficult for users to use it with commonly found IPod cases. Perhaps Vinnie needs to look into having the tags thickness reduced.

 

[LDMES]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flashbak /img/forum/go_quote.gif I understand that concern, but the tags added thickness is making if difficult for users to use it with commonly found IPod cases. Perhaps Vinnie needs to look into having the tags thickness reduced.

It sounds like the only type of case that it is having problems working with are the BSE skin type cases. I haven't read any other types of cases not working with the iMod badge. Maybe a possibility is that for those people who want it, Vinnie could offer to have your iMod directly engraved for an extra fee instead of the free badge, which is kind of like what other companies do with regards to custom requests. Though I'm not sure if the case has to be engraved iPod/iMod component free (with regards to the HD and electronics inside - re: heat, vibration, etc...), so it possibly may be a costly and time consuming thing, or not. Note, this is just a thought.

 

[flashbak]

Well if it is just the BSD skins then I'm not as concerned. I was under the impression it was other cases not just skins.

 

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Guys,

LDMES is correct about the reason why ALL 5G/5.5G iMods need to come with the badge. They really are not that thick. I don't know the exact thickness measurement, but it is less than 1/16" thick, or approx 1.5mm. I was able to put my modded 5.5G with the badge in the Yotank case w/o any trouble, and the YoTank is quite the snug fitting case.

Quote:

Maybe a possibility is that for those people who want it, Vinnie could offer to have your iMod directly engraved for an extra fee instead of the free badge

This is a nice idea, but unfortunately I do not have the time to go out and get iPods engraved.

However, if someone sends me a 5G/5.5G iPod "pre-engraved" with "iMod by Red Wine Audio" or something similar, I can then not apply the badge

Hi Sasaki and slwiser,

Very nice pics! Thanks for posting.

Quote:

Honestly, the whole dock connector thing is the big downside with the 5.5 G iMod IMO. I hated them when I still had my video iPod and felt lucky when I finally had everything sold. After I got used to the iMod/amp combo I never regretted having no headphone out any longer.

Hi dr. morton,

A really good thing about the ALO iMod Dock connector is that it makes a very good connection. The dock "snaps" into place and the contacts between the dock jack and plug make a tight and secure electrical connection (unlike the 1/8" stereo jack of the 4G iMod, which can be a little loose with certain cables)... there are no "auto-pause" problems, especially when the iMod is subjected to lots of movement.

Quote:

Now let me tell you something, this iMod 5.5g thing with the ALO cable is a serious source for your music. Detailed, dark and beautiful and I am not even closed to 100 hours on it yet. WOW, what will it sound like when I get 200 hours on it? I really could not imagine a better portable source than this.

Hi slwiser,

Thanks for posting your initial impressions! I'm glad you are enjoying it and it is only going to sound better with 200+ hours.

Thanks again,

Vinnie