I got my Redwine iMod-ed iPod today,WOW!

[greenleaves]

Just a question to those who own a Redwine iMod 4G. Can you use the iPod EQ to change the tone of the sound in the headphone or the line-out out? Thanks ...

 

[Vinnie R.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenleaves Just a question to those who own a Redwine iMod 4G. Can you use the iPod EQ to change the tone of the sound in the headphone or the line-out out? Thanks ...

Hi greenleaves,

Yes, you can still use the EQ, but I don't recommend it because it adds distortion. I always leave the EQ set to OFF.

Best regards,

Vinnie

 

[greenleaves]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinnie R. Hi greenleaves, Yes, you can still use the EQ, but I don't recommend it because it adds distortion. I always leave the EQ set to OFF. Best regards, Vinnie

Thanks very much for the information.

 

[sniks7]

Where is the eq implemented in the chain? And even if it's off, does the signal still pass through an eq stage? And does that make any difference to the sound?

 

[swifttal]

Does Redwine warrantee their work / parts for the iMod?

 

[scrypt]

I know this sounds cynical, but I'd be interested to see the breakdown of the cost: parts and labor, that sort of thing. It would be nice to answer with facts as well as impressions when others complain of the price.

Just the other day, I spoke to a self-professed genius at the Apple store who seemed quite tempted by the mod until I told him about the bill. If I'd been able to break down the cost of the Black Gates and so froth, he might not have looked so dubious. I'd also like to be able to argue convincingly with my Aussie engineer pal, who always dismisses such mods with a single utterance: "voodoo."

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrypt Just the other day, I spoke to a self-professed genius at the Apple store who seemed quite tempted by the mod until I told him about the bill. If I'd been able to break down the cost of the Black Gates and so froth, he might not have looked so dubious. I'd also like to be able to argue convincingly with my Aussie engineer pal, who always dismisses such mods with a single utterance: "voodoo."

Well, bypassing the entire analog out stage is obviously not voodoo... much less parts in the signal path to color the sound, and it should be obvious why this would sound better. Not sure why an engineer would consider a shorter/cleaner signal path improving the sound to be voodoo.

Re: the cost, I get the impression that much of it is due to labor costs rather than parts. A small operation (one person?) = need to charge a decent amount of money to make the expenditure of time and care worthwhile. I'm sure it's not the easiest thing in the world to work inside a piece of gear like the iPod.

 

[scrypt]

The engineer in question doesn't believe in high-end cables, silver wire, black gates or any of the improvements which for us make all the difference. He's rather typical of that profession in that regard, and not unsuccessful, either. If you've ever listened to Baby Ford or early Aphex Twin, you've probably heard his work (tracking, not production). He's not an idiot; he's the only engineer I've ever met who sits in the studio lounge reading Baudrillard, Deleuze and Virilio instead of espionage novels by paranoid hacks or the heartbreaking grocery lists of the staggeringly sentimental.

I'm not here to agree with my friend (at all!), cast aspersions on the credibility of DIY/modding work or question the result. Only, for the uninitiated, facts increase the credibility of a veteran's subjective impressions. Even if people (like the engineer) can't accept the usefulness of a set of mods, I'd like to be able to show that a modder's estimate is reasonable. This would only increase the legitimacy of the service. It would also impact the work favorably in reviews (one of which I intend to write).

If you're not familiar with the phenomenon I'm referring to, google +"Red Wine Audio" +"iMod" and notice how many threads after Red Wine/iPod news items end in queues of drooling posts dismissing any possibility of improvement in sound. More than one such thread ends with a link to the user who replaced his iPod's molded plastic casing with wood -- as if Vinnie's mods under the hood were interchangeable with hobbyists' cosmetic enhancements. The cretinous comparison isn't relevant to the discussion of any modifications whatsoever, let alone, to Red Wine's in particular. It would be nice to be able to respond to smirking hydrocephaloids in purely practical terms.

BTW: It's quite decent of Vinnie to offer to change one's battery free of charge and guarantee his work with a one-year warranty.

Look, I've just bought a 60gb iPod Photo for the specific purpose of sending it to Vinnie, so I'm hardly skeptical of his modding process. I'm just looking for ammunition to fortify my eventual report of empirical impressions.

 

[robster]

Howdy,
I bought a used Crystal Piccolo 4 ft. Mini to RCA IC off Audiogon,shipped from New Zealand arrived in 5 days. New they cost $399,YIKES!
I paid half that,still YIKES.

My most expensive cable purchase to date.

But the cost was worth it. Before I was using a Signal Cable silver resolution IC which I liked. But heard some very good things about the Crystal cable. So when one came up used,I had to try it out!

The Crystal Piccolo cable imore detailed,extremely clear highs!,I'm hearing nuances I never heard before on my 60GB Photo 4G Redwine Imod iPod. Listening to Steely Dan "Gaucho" and switching to a Mofi copy on my Ah' Njoe Tjoeb CDP w/upsampler and the mids and highs were not any better than the iPod but on the Ah' CDP there was more body and richness in the bass.
But NOW w/Crystal cable my Redwine iMod-ed iPod holds it's on compared to my Ah' CDP! On my CDP I'm using inexpensive copper Belden IC's from Blue Jean's Cables.
On the Redwine web site a silver IC is recommended,I forget which brand and on American Wired they reccommend a silver.
And in my system silver IC's are way too bright and harsh but silver works well with my iPod.

Cheers,
Robert

 

[Vinnie R.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sniks7 Where is the eq implemented in the chain? And even if it's off, does the signal still pass through an eq stage? And does that make any difference to the sound?

Hi sniks7,

The eq is implemented digitally in the CODEC, just before the dac section. If the EQ is off, the digital data is not modified prior to being sent to the DAC.

Leaving the EQ off is much cleaner!

Best regards,

Vinnie

 

[Vinnie R.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swifttal Does Redwine warrantee their work / parts for the iMod?

Hi swifttal,

Yes, I warrantee my work and parts for the iMod for 1 year. If there ever was a problem after the warrantee period (even if it is unrelated to the mod, say...the LCD or battery dies), I can still repair it. The complexity of repairing an iPod is much less than doing the iMod.


Hi scrypt,

The largest portion of the cost of the iMod is the tedious labor working in there. These parts are EXTREMELY small. Some of the resistors and inductors that I remove are like bread crumbs or smaller. The PCB pads that I solder to are tiny, and I need to make sure that I don't drink coffee before modding. A shaky hand is BAD!

To put in bluntly, it is a BITCH.

Hi Fewtch,

Yes, it is in the bypassing of a lot of parts AND using the Black Gate signal coupling caps in the signal path that makes a very noticeable improvement in the sound. The signal path gets simplified to voltage line output of dac > black gates > 1/8" output jack. It doesn't get cleaner that this!

Hi Robster,

I never heard the Crystal Piccolo iPod cable. Glad you are enjoying it with your iMod. Thanks for your report and I'm happy to hear that it is holding its own against your Ah! CDP. Plus, you have 60GB of lossless storage at your fingertips...something that Ah! doesn't have...not to mention running off of CLEAN battery power, no spinning disc, etc. etc.

Cheers!

Vinnie

 

[scrypt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinnie R. The largest portion of the cost of the iMod is the tedious labor working in there. These parts are EXTREMELY small. Some of the resistors and inductors that I remove are like bread crumbs or smaller. The PCB pads that I solder to are tiny, and I need to make sure that I don't drink coffee before modding. A shaky hand is BAD! To put in bluntly, it is a BITCH.

Prepare to be quoted, V. (especially that frightening breadcrumb line). Am I right in gleaning that a single unit takes an hour or two to mod? (Nevermind that it would take most of us several days, assuming (i) we had the faintest sense of what to do and (ii) our fingers weren't useless Parkinsonian stubs.)

Last question: Though the line out is rerouted to the headphone out (which is genius, since it avoids the clutter of docks and DINs), does that preclude other dock functions from being enabled? For example: Could one use a docked battery pack with an iModded 4G? If the answer is yea, that's another attractive feature: the option of dramatically increased battery life in addition to vastly improved sound. No possibility of that with a standard docked line out.

 

[Aural Fixation]

Quote:

Look, I've just bought a 60gb iPod Photo for the specific purpose of sending it to Vinnie, so I'm hardly skeptical of his modding process.

Where did you find the 4G Photo and how much?

 

[boodi]

I've found mine on ebay .
Plenty of 60gb 4g photo there , and some of them are brand new.

 

[robster]

I can answer that question. Yes an external batetry pack works when connected to the dock out on a iMod Redwine iPod. I currently use a battery stick with 4 NiMah batteries,it charges and provides running power.


I think Macmall and PC Mall have 4G's available.
Just checked Mac Mall has 4th Gen. 60GB Photo for $344. Also a fellow head-fi-er wrote that his Apple Store had them for less.

Cheers,
Robert