[Jeffreybar]

I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed. My iHP-140 crapped out on me about 4 weeks ago...I have an extended warranty and sent the iRiver in for repair, but it's taking them for bleeping ever to fix it, and the lack of portable music was driving me insane, so I decided to spring for an iPod Photo 60GB. I figured I'd keep whichever I liked better when my iRiver came back.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be much of a contest. I've only had the iPod for a day now, so this is very preliminary, but honestly, I just don't like it that much. The user interface is more intuitive initially, but it doesn't get any easier or faster as you go along...unlike the iRiver which I can now navigate with blazing speed (thanks to all the dedicated buttons). The color screen is nice, but I don't spend much time looking at the screen, so what's the point? Aesthetically, I know I'm in the minority, but I think the iRiver looks way cooler than the iPod.

The worst disappointment, however, is the sound. SOOOOO bright. Yikes. I can't hear a damn thing under 200Hz with the iPod...even my 770-80s don't sound like the bass monsters I know that they are. I've switched from my Shure E3s back to my E2s because they at least have some bass presence with the iPod...the E3s just sound incredibly top-heavy. On the iRiver, I can mess with the EQ and get the E3s to sound awesome -- noticeably better than the E2s. But (as has been mentioned here before) the iPod's EQ is awful. The treble reducer helps a bit to cut out the harshness, but the bass booster just distorts the sound terribly. Why don't they fix this? It can't be that hard to put in a decent EQ with all the other crap they've got crammed into that thing.

Anyway, I know lots of you love the iPod, and I'm happy for you, and I'm not trying to slam it, but I'm afraid I'm probably not going to be a convert. We'll see...I'll give it a few more days (or however long it takes me to get my iRiver back) and maybe I'll like it more.

 

[DigDub]

the ipod sounds more neutral and 'clinical' than the irivers. maybe you could have gotten a 'in-between' player like the hd3 or iaudio instead. i had the iriver ihp-100 and thought it sounded dark when i changed to a creative player. but the creative's bass would distort when i turned the bass up too high. then i got the hd3. the bass can be turned up to high levels without distortion and at the same time, the mids and highs are still present. this works very well for the er6i i'm using, since er6i is not known for visceral bass. now i can say i have meaty bass on my er6i with the hd3.

 

[blessingx]

I think there's a difference between 'bright' and 'top heavy'. I may agree with you on the latter, but I can't the former, but in no way are they going to be part of a 'bass monsters' setup.

The iPod may not be for you, but before you give up on it, try MP3/AACGaining a few albums then try the EQ on them. The iPods EQ is not its strong point and basically unusable normally, but with gain adjustment it gets much better.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigDub the ipod sounds more neutral and 'clinical' than the irivers.

I completely agree with this. I used to use a RIO then an RCA Lyra then a Creative Zen junkebox and now I am with the iPOD. I just purchased some E3c's to use with it and I do not find them to be shrill or lacking in bass. At first I did but after the burn in and getting a proper seal - I find that it sounds very natural. Keep in mind that all my Mp3's are at 320kps and encoded with Lame and ripped with EAC.

Try doing that to see if it helps. Otherwise, the only other Mp3 player I like which is out there is the Rio Karma. Give that a try and tell us what you think.

 

[PrototypeX2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF I completely agree with this. I used to use a RIO then an RCA Lyra then a Creative Zen junkebox and now I am with the iPOD. I just purchased some E3c's to use with it and I do not find them to be shrill or lacking in bass. At first I did but after the burn in and getting a proper seal - I find that it sounds very natural. Keep in mind that all my Mp3's are at 320kps and encoded with Lame and ripped with EAC. Try doing that to see if it helps. Otherwise, the only other Mp3 player I like which is out there is the Rio Karma. Give that a try and tell us what you think.

I don't find it Natural at all.
But I find it neutral and flat. (Maybe boring)
There aren't much dynamics.

 

[NeoteriX]

I agree with Blessing -- yes, the iPod EQ implementation sucks goat nuts. The lack of custom configuration with some kind of easy to distort-ness. However, you can work around it by normalizing the MP3s to a lower volume, like 89dB. I've normalized my whole collection, and while I still have no custom EQ, I do at least have some functional use of it.

 

[bioallen]

I have to agree with you on the part about the E3's having WAY to much treble. I couldnt handle it so I had to get rid of mine within less then a month and go back to the stock buds. Ive not upgrade my 3g to a 4g ipod and Im gonna look for some E2's.

Chris

 

[Jeffreybar]

Yeah, I think I'll try mp3gaining a few of my albums, just to see what sort of a difference it makes. I'm not sure that it will be exactly what I want, since I still won't have any control over *how much* bass is EQed in. Really, I'm sure the iPod would be a great little piece of machinery with a decent EQ. Has there been any talk at Apple of actually doing this in some future firmware upgrade or the like?

[edit] Actually, I have a question about mp3gain. Does this mean that all tracks will now be adjusted to the same volume? Because that doesn't make sense -- some tracks are *supposed* to be loud, some are *supposed* to be quiet. Dynamic contrast is important, not just in certain passages of songs, but in the song as a whole.
[edit 2] Nevermind, I figured it out. Album gain.

 

[Jeffreybar]

Ok....listening to mp3gain'd stuff w/ bass booster EQ now. I agree, this is a huge improvement, although now it's a tad on the boomy side. I'm still not sure I like the overall sound signature of the iPod as much as the iRiver (for instance, it's still a bit weak in the lower midrange), but at least it sounds listenable to me now.

 

[hawkfire]

hello,

Way too much treble on the e3?

 

[blessingx]

Jeffreybar I agree about bass booster being boomy (adjustment way too dramatic). Although I shoot for a different sound (why I go Etys over Shures for instance), I usually use Acoustic or Latin for music outside of both those genres. You may want to try them (though they also push the highs). Maybe try a few tests on iTunes (easier there) to see if you prefer any of the other presets.

Also did you euPod volume boost after or just leave as is?

 

[NeoteriX]

I have the e3cs too -- instead of bass boost try "Hip Hop" or "R&B", the differences are subtle, but I prefer R&B. It gives a nice amount of bass impact and shapes the sound a bit nicer too.

 

[Jeffreybar]

Hmmm...yeah, "Hip Hop" and "R&B" sound better on the low end, but they seem to be giving a bit of a boost to the very high treble...I'm really sensitive to sibilance on IEMs, so it may be a bit much, but I'll try them for a while. Latin seems to work pretty well too. Thanks for the suggestions.

Oh...and what's euPod? I'm not familiar with that one.

[edit]: found it. i need to remember to use search.