[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by callanish /img/forum/go_quote.gif I respect your opinion, but my ears don't agree with you. I find the lineout to be an essential part of ipod listening and with all the ipod's I've owned using them with all phones, IEM's, etc. I've owned, connected to the amps I've owned, using an ipod with a lineout in comparison to a direct line in is night and day to me. That became obvious when I started listening to 70's bootleg recorded berlin school music. All the statistics in the world can't tell me otherwise.

I do agree with monolith. My headsix does not add a big difference in sound quality to my iPod using my UM2's. "Not worth the trouble" is a true statement IMHO. Reading multiple posts lead me to believe it made a huge difference. It doesn't. I still use it when by the pool listening to headphones.

 

[monolith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by callanish /img/forum/go_quote.gif Without going into huge detail which after a long day of working, I'm too tired too; I'd say the biggest differences from LOD to headphone-in is obvious to me while listening to some of the worse quality material I have in my collection. The reason I mentioned 70's bootleg Berlin School is that a lot of this material was recorded with old analog equipment under the worse circumstances, but if you are a huge fan of artists like Tangerine Dream, it's still golden. The point is because this material's sound quality was so bad, and I've got probably thousands of hours of this material, the LOD, to my ears, just improved everything about the clarity and got rid of the muffled sound that I was getting from the headphone in. Far from me to challenge specifics, but with how many years I've been listening to this type of music, my ears are pretty sensitive to changes and with this situation I'd say that the LOD does improve clarity. Now, any other type of music is not my field with a debate between LOD and Non LOD as I use my IPOD mostly for that bootleg type of music and I've got an old Creative Zen NX for everything else that I think runs rings around the ipod for sound and it uses the headphone in............ along with a bunch of sansa clips, and three other ipods at this point which are no longer under my control ( family members). Anyway, I'm not bringing anything eye opening to the conversation, just bringing one man's observation with a specific type of music and that's all I can go on.

Remember I'm not debating that there's a difference. I agree there. It's when you say that there's a "night and day" difference that I become skeptical. Such a huge difference implies that there's either something wrong with your iPod's amplifier or the portable amps you're using are colouring the sound so strongly (and evidently beneficially) that the difference is immediately obvious.



Quote:

Originally Posted by Fort_Worth_Keith /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wholeheartedly agree with Callanish. I recently purchased a Decware Zenhead portable amplifier thinking that my 2006 Total Airhead was the weak link in my 2nd Generation Nano, Moon Audio Black Dragon Line Out Dock, Total Airhead portable rig. My new Line Out Dock arrived today from Head Direct and it turns out the Moon Audio Black Dragon Line Out Dock was the weak link and not the Total Airhead. "ZyCable HiEnd IPOD Dock Cable" Head-Direct.com What a huge jump in Sound Quality compared to my Moon Audio Black Dragon Line Out Dock. I should have bought this Line Out Dock a year ago. My DT880/250's finally sound like they are suppose to. The bottom has filled out nicely. In fairness to Moon Audio, the owner did tell me the Blue Dragon (copper) would be a better fit with the Nano and Total Airhead than the Black Dragon (all silver cable) I insisted upon. Also the plug/connector that snaps into the Nano is much better on the Zy LOD than the Moon Audio Connector (it never would lock fully onto the Nano!). If you want a high quality silver/copper cable for $49 and don't want to pay competitor's prices, this is a great choice IMHO. Also, the Decware Zenhead actually has an input gain switch that addresses the low SQ strength of the IPOD Touch. The write-up and pictures are on Audiophile Tube Amps and Tube Gear from DECWARE I don't think you can go wrong buying a solid $50 Line Out Dock from the DIY'ers on Head-Fi or from some of the sponsor sellers. Maybe the $150 plus Line Out Docks sound incredible, I'm not quite ready to spend that for a line out dock yet.

Evidently your Moon Audio cable was defective in some way.

 

[Fort_Worth_Keith]

Evidently your Moon Audio cable was defective in some way.[/QUOTE]

Monolith,

I think you maybe right. The dock connector part never fit my Nano quite right and that might have diminished the Sound Quality. I paid approx $100 for this Line Out Dock hope to bring it to a meet one day to see what other head-fi'ers think the problem is with my Moon Audio LOD.

I also agree with you that my Shure 310 IEMs connected directly to the headphone jack on my Nano sound very very good. They also sound good coming out of my Total Airhead. They both sound good but have a different sound. Its hard for me to explain. I haven't heard IEMs with the Tomahawk or Predator yet. I really need to go to a meet!

There is no comparison however with my Beyer DT880/250 headphone amps. The Beyers sound much better ampliflied with my Total Airhead with fresh batteries and using my new ZyConnect Line Out Dock. I am hoping my Beyers sound even better with my new Zenhead from Decware.

 

[monolith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fort_Worth_Keith /img/forum/go_quote.gif Monolith, I think you maybe right. The dock connector part never fit my Nano quite right and that might have diminished the Sound Quality. I paid approx $100 for this Line Out Dock hope to bring it to a meet one day to see what other head-fi'ers think the problem is with my Moon Audio LOD.

That's a pretty obscene price to pay for an LOD if you ask me, considering the fact that if it's doing its job, it'll perform as well as models you can get for $20. Cable makers on the forums will charge less than that and make them to your specifications. Don't know why anyone would not use a service like that when it's available.

 

[Tmacfan4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by monolith /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's a pretty obscene price to pay for an LOD if you ask me, considering the fact that if it's doing its job, it'll perform as well as models you can get for $20. Cable makers on the forums will charge less than that and make them to your specifications. Don't know why anyone would not use a service like that when it's available.

I feel the same way. Why does the LOD cable cost so much anyway? I am guessing that the components cost less than $10 (as most cables do).

 

[dookiex]

I've always thought the same about these custom LOD cables. Feels like a underground mom & pop boutique version of Monster cables.

 

[Tmacfan4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dookiex /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've always thought the same about these custom LOD cables. Feels like a underground mom & pop boutique version of Monster cables.

It seems like you pay for the nice braiding of the cables. Why doesn't a cheaper cable work?

 

[monolith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tmacfan4321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I feel the same way. Why does the LOD cable cost so much anyway? I am guessing that the components cost less than $10 (as most cables do).

I doubt it cost that little, but it still seems steep. I know for a fact that parts plus shipping on a Jena cryo copper LOD I have is less than $30, however.

Also, apologies for bungling that quote thing in the post you quoted. My original post is now fixed.

 

[Tmacfan4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by monolith /img/forum/go_quote.gif I doubt it cost that little, but it still seems steep. I know for a fact that parts plus shipping on a Jena cryo copper LOD I have is less than $30, however. Also, apologies for bungling that quote thing in the post you quoted. My original post is now fixed.

Yeah? After reading some more, I realize that the components actually cost that much.

I fixed my post as well.

 

[callanish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by monolith /img/forum/go_quote.gif Remember I'm not debating that there's a difference. I agree there. It's when you say that there's a "night and day" difference that I become skeptical. Such a huge difference implies that there's either something wrong with your iPod's amplifier or the portable amps you're using are colouring the sound so strongly (and evidently beneficially) that the difference is immediately obvious. .

Actually, after doing a bit of testing, I think you're right. There is something wrong with my headphone in on my Ipod Classic. After getting one of my old 5.5 Gen IPOD's back from a family member to test, putting some of the same songs on it, and testing between LOD and head-in, the LOD with the 5.5Gen IPOD in comparison to the headphone is still an improvement, but just not as much. I will standby my original claim of night and day, but that's due to having some sort of a problem with the classic; muffled and lacking in clarity is what I originally said, where as the 5.5Gen headphone-in is cleaner and clearer.

It's been such a while since I've listened to a 5.5 Gen which was passed down to a family member, that I didn't realize that I might have had a problem with the headphone-in on the classic. Reason being, it's due to using the LOD from day one. I will say there is still an improvement with the LOD, especially with the type of music I have been listening to on it, just not as much with the 5.5Gen.

I can only think of a few things off the cuff and say either i genuinely have some sort of amp problem, or the 5.5Gen has a better internal amp or changing the 5.5 Gen from the wolfson chip is playing havoc with my ears. Either way, there is a noticeable difference.

 

[Fort_Worth_Keith]

I purchased my Moon Audio LOD in 2006 and at the time it seemed a reasonable alternative to an ALO LOD. In hindsight I wish I would have just purchased an LOD from another vendor or a DIY'er on Head Fi. I'm glad there are many more alternatives available now. Live and learn!