[shigzeo]

i have the ipod touch 2g and now have 3.0, but i will admit that i am not noticing anything vastly different if at all. if there is something different, my constant changing of earphones is probably hindering my perception.

ill listen more. i did enjoy the way to an outlet mall today. armin van buuren's 'imagine' was brilliant.

 

[_j_]

After listening today, I think separation may sound better to me. If it really does or if it's just placebo it's a pretty cool upgrade for teh portable rig

 

[tygger]

A short disclaimer first.

1. I'm aware of the fact that a computer's onboard line input is perhaps the worst option for sound recording.

2. I also know, that a player's HP out is for headphones, not for high-resistance load. To measure and analyse audio output an oscilloscope should be connected to actual headphones or a simulated reactive load with impedance of real cans.

3. In my experience any graph, especially a Headroom FR chart is misleading and can't tell you anything about any audio gear.

Therefore what I did can not be regarded as an accurate experiment. Some may remember the infamous "iPod bass roloff" hype which led to flame wars across many a board on the web, including this one, a couple of years back. The guy who started it simply hooked an ADC to iPod's HP out and got a terrible (and predictable) FR curve.
This said, I, however, do believe that waveforms of different shapes produce different sounds.
I took an iPhone 3G 3.0 and a kid's iTouch 2G 2.2.1 and recorded the playback of one ALAC file (happened to be The Beatles' Help, but could be any) using Mac Pro line in and Audacity. The volume was set to max on both devices. The iPhone's output turned to be louder so I butchered both sequences with Normalize command. Here is a fragment of Audacity waveform analyzer:

iPhone 3.0 on top, iPod Touch 2.2.1 on the bottom. The more complex waveform of the upper graph means more higher harmonics, which leads to better timbre rendition.

Edit: I aligned both waveforms to a millisecond and reposted the image

Sorry for long post.

 

[3X0]

Picked up my 32GB 3GS this morning. First thing I noticed against my iPhone 3G (on 2.2.1 as I need jailbreak and unlock for T-Mobile) is less bass but much greater clarity at all audible volume levels. Hopefully the DAC between the two are the same so my comparison isn't totally off.

 

[.coco]

Yeah, I thought it was just me psyching myself out about 3.0 for the last two days. I guess I am not the only one feeling that it does sound better. Probably something to do with EQing.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif i have the ipod touch 2g and now have 3.0, but i will admit that i am not noticing anything vastly different if at all. if there is something different, my constant changing of earphones is probably hindering my perception.

+1 - I have the 1st Gen Touch, and the 3.0 firmware upgrade has made no significant change to what I perceive through the same canalphones I've been using for weeks. *Possibly* a little more clarity in the upper end, but that could simply be that I am trying to listen critically to the Touch for the first time in quite a while. As I said before, the DAC chip is the single most important part of any portable - would dearly love to hear one of the Pod/Phones with the Cirrus DAC, particularly the current Classic, but it doesnt look like its going to happen. C'est La Vie.

 

[PeterDLai]

I can't remember if I was using a different IEM before, but my iPod touch 2G used to hiss more with sound playback. It was most evident when waking up and unlocking the player because it would then activate the sound output and I would hear the "click" with a prominent amount of background hissing.

Doing the same thing now with the 3.0 upgrade, I can barely tell that there's hissing with my Westone UM3X, but I can't quite remember if I already had gotten past this issue pre-3.0 when I switched to the UM3X.

 

[shigzeo]

i haven't had trouble with hissing with any of my phones and the touch 2g. it hisses, but i have not used a player that hisses less than the touch 2g.

as for os 3.0, i am still wondering. keeping an eye on this thread will be quite a priority for me.

 

[nc8000]

I will say that I find that it has made enough of a difference that I no longer find that the step up the the T4 is worth the added trouble of carrying and using it.

 

[phytonix]

Unfortunately I just sold my iPhone 2G with 3.0 this afternoon. So I could not test this.
But sure it is good news!

Waiting for my 3GS...

 

[Bojamijams]

What is the explanation for this? Unless they used some of the algorithms from that Amarra software thats sold for a crazy $1,500?

 

[4agze]

I have picked up iPhone 3GS 16gb yesterday and compared with my iPod Touch 2G with 2.2.1 FW, I still prefer the 2G sound over the 3GS.

 

[Bojamijams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4agze /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have picked up iPhone 3GS 16gb yesterday and compared with my iPod Touch 2G with 2.2.1 FW, I still prefer the 2G sound over the 3GS.

Oh thank god.. I was seriously starting to succumb to the idea of the iphone being my only player and just using its LOD thinking it'd be the same as the touch 2g.. phew..

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4agze /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have picked up iPhone 3GS 16gb yesterday and compared with my iPod Touch 2G with 2.2.1 FW, I still prefer the 2G sound over the 3GS.

Really? I can't seem to detect the different between the Touch 2G and 3G S. This is out of the headphone-out. I have read at least one other account claiming they sound almost identical (although admittedly it was probably less-than-audiophile).

 

[shigzeo]

less than audiophile is sometimes much better than audiophile. we hear things when there is nothing to hear. i hope that is not true in this case, but we don't know yet for sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Really? I can't seem to detect the different between the Touch 2G and 3G S. This is out of the headphone-out. I have read at least one other account claiming they sound almost identical (although admittedly it was probably less-than-audiophile).