[mpawluk91]

I was thinking about this Imod thing to get the most out of my dac. I read the with the 5.5 gen ipod you have to always use a certain LOD (gimmicky) but with the 4th gen classic (ipod photo) you can use any LOD cable. So I wanted to know if it would be worth the very expensive price tag

 

[kenman345]

Not sure why you don't need to use caps with the 4th gen iPod iMod, but the Line out is disabled on a 4th gen iMod. The LOD is not gimmicky, it has internal capacitors that remove the DC output of the DAC and leaves the AC that was also in there.
 
It's not gimmicky, I'll let others explain why the iMod may be worth it for you or not. Both versions need an external amp to function properly.

 

[mpawluk91]

Not sure why you don't need to use caps with the 4th gen iPod iMod, but the Line out is disabled on a 4th gen iMod. The LOD is not gimmicky, it has internal capacitors that remove the DC output of the DAC and leaves the AC that was also in there.

It's not gimmicky, I'll let others explain why the iMod may be worth it for you or not. Both versions need an external amp to function properly.

Yeah I know but I absolutely refuse to buy a certain LOD to use it no ******* way! I want to be able to use my fiio L9 cause its compact and cheap and works pretty good. The ipod photo with Imod doesn't require the special LOD so that might be a consideration

 

[kenman345]

http://www.aloaudio.com/imod-faq
 
Looks like the caps are internally placed in the 4th gen iPod iMod.
 
Not sure if you get all the benefits, but....you can use an RSA amp with the 5th gen iMod without a special LOD since it has board protection capacitors on it's input. I don't think you'll get all the benefits of the modification though. But that would work. If used without a special LOD and an unprotected amp, you may hurt internals of the external amp, as well as have issues with channel balance and skipping. I've heard it myself at a head-fi meet up when someone let me try their iMod with their LOD on my pico slim. Their LOD wasn't protected, so I had those symptoms and instantly went to the Head-Amp booth to have Justin look at my amp for damage. Luckily nothing, but I was not happy he didnt know that he didnt have the proper LOD.

 

[mpawluk91]

Ok so here's my set up now ipod 5.5 30gb with c&c bh. I might get the ipod photo to get the Imod and pair it with the c&c bh. I don't know if you can use rockbox with Imod tho

 

[TheKillerPiglet]

Rockbox works with iMod.
 
KP
 

 

[kenman345]

It works, just not officially supported. If their are troubles with the Rockbox system, Red Wine Audio won't support it unless you put the stock OS on the iPod and still have the problem. Or at least that's how I understand it. Their's not exactly much that Red Wine Audio supports software wise on an iMod.
Quote:

Ok so here's my set up now ipod 5.5 30gb with c&c bh. I might get the ipod photo to get the Imod and pair it with the c&c bh. I don't know if you can use rockbox with Imod tho

 
Quote:

Rockbox works with iMod.
 
KP

 

[mpawluk91]

Is the Imod worth it tho I mean have any of you compared it

 

[kenman345]

Worth it is a matter of opinion. If you have an iPod 5th gen, yea, if used properly (as recommended) then it will be a difference. Whether the price is worth it is up to you. I was considering it before I decided to get something entirely different. If I had to buy a new iPod first, then the iMod service, well might not be. You might also want to consider finding a member on the diyMod thread that might be able to put internal caps on the 5th gen iPod so you can use your FiiO LOD. This may also save you money. Essentially the same mod in hte end, just RedWineAudio will not do internal caps for the 5th gen. I've tried asking, he won't do it.
Quote:

Is the Imod worth it tho I mean have any of you compared it

 

[D_4_Dog]

1) iMod from ALO is definitely legit as they're the ones who started doin this at the beginning.
2) 4G iMod was the first to be modded. 5G was introduced later, apparently due to stock running low on the 4Gs.
3) Main difference between the 2 is where the caps are soldered. In the 4G, it's placed internally (ie dac => caps => HP out, and that's why you lose the HP out as this is where the line-out is now directed. this is also the reason why the bottom doc no longer ouputs audio). Obviously sound quality here is limited by the size/quality of the caps you can fit inside a 4G iPod. With the 5G, it's meant to be used with special line-out cables built with caps in series. This why you need a special cable for the 5G iMod. Benefits of doing this are 1) you get to keep your headphone out. 2) you can go nuts using giant caps externally. In fact some people used to have caps inside cases as large as a 4G iPode.
4) Sound quality-wise the general consensus from years ago was that 5G was slightly superior vs the 4G. Both of these in turn are quite a bit better than stock iPod line-out.
 
hope this helps guys

 

[mpawluk91]

I just do t want to buy the 100$ plus cables every time one breaks

 

[D_4_Dog]

well some LODs have the caps installed within the acutal 30 pin connectors themselves so i don't see how this would be more fragile than your usual LODs if made properly. Having said that i've had a 4G myself for years.

 

[kenman345]

Contact Chris_himself for an LOD on the cheap. He'll make it to specifications you like. And you can ask in advance for a price so you can see if its something you want to so. That's what i would do to avoid costs of the LOD

 

[kenman345]

Might wanna even consider this if you're trying to be cheap about it. http://www.head-fi.org/t/646115/audio-minor-5th-gen-mod-30g-copper-silver-lod-pics-updated

 

[mpawluk91]

What would you say sounds better an Imod 4th gen classic using a fiio L9 cord or a regular ipod 5.5 using a fiio L9 cord?