[Lillee]

Hello,
 
I've been trawling through the iPhone 4S thread (which is full of fanboy arguments and "I'll test and get back with more info later" posts) and haven't found anything conclusive.
 
I am not here to argue merits of which phone is best, I simply want to know if others have first hand experience with using an iPhone 4S as the source (specifically 4S as there are reported SQ differences between 4 and 4S) and how if differs if any from a iMod/DIYpod gen5.5? There hasn't been much discussion directly comparing portable source? point me to some...
 
There's lots talking about the iMod from Red Wine Audio but that's like 2006 or something like that. Surely in 6 years there's something better/equal quality?
 
I am aware of the CLAS and Fostex, that's out of the scope of the questions I have.
 
Question 1:
This is the setup which I am wanting to know about:
 
Apple Lossless > iPhone 4S > Custom LOD > RSA Tomahawk > Custom cable > Shure SE535ltd
Apple Lossless > iMod > iMod LOD > RSA Tomahawk > Custom cable > Shure SE535ltd
 
Is there a noticeable difference? how so? I've just purchased an iMod so I will let you know myself in a few weeks if there is a difference, but I want to know what others' impressions are.
 
Question 2:
Aside from carrying a separate DAC, what is the best sounding portable music player out there at the moment? Is it still an Imod from gen 5.5? I need about 100gb storage or more so that is a major requirement too. So what's out there that I need to look at? How does Cowon models compare to 4S or iMod? Hifiman? Sony??
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[JRoMan]

This is not exactly addressing your questions, but I'll just chime in to say the following:
 
I have an iPod photo (4g), which I believe has a similar Wolfson chip to the 5.5g, though I think it is not iMod compatible for other reasons. It's been awhile since I looked into that. I have casually gone back & forth with my iPod and my iPhone 4 (and now 4S) and haven't really heard a difference in SQ from the two sources. Then again, it's not an iMod.
 
However I will say that recently what I've noticed more often when using my iPod (recently installed Rockbox) is the drive noise and also the slower track access speed. For this reason I'm contemplating modding it to flash memory, which should theoretically resolve the speed and the drive noise issues. That would put it more on par with the iPhone and might make a DAC comparison potentially easier to discern. With your storage requirement, flash memory is probably not an upgrade you are likely to consider for your iMod, though.

 

[Lillee]

Hey, thanks for reply.
 
Interesting about the HDD noise. The iMod I purchased has a CF card upgrade so this is not so much an issue then I suppose.
 
Anyway I will receive the iMod soon and give you all a run down.
 
I also threw my wallet in the grinder today and bought a Fostex HP-P1 so I'll let you know how that goes too.
 
Cheers

 

[JRoMan]

 Nice re. the CF upgrade. I want the HP-P1, but can't throw my wallet to the grinder right now, lol.

 

[triodesteve]

My 2 cents:
In descending order:
iPhone 4S: It's a phone for god's sake...but it sounds pretty darn decent. Great for use with phones like the Brainwavz B2, where ultimate resolution is secondary. This is my walking/riding go to combo. A perfect match.
 
diymod 5g with 64g CF card: more like music..I was just listening to this a few minutes ago with my Burson HA-160 and Fostex tr50P headphones. When I think of the small amount of money that I have invested in it, a real bargain. I think the CF card may actually sound better.
 
HP-P1: matched with either my iPhone or 160gb classic, listening thru Etymotic 4s or BD 1350's...really really wonderful! Everything is more natural and relaxed...I stop thinking about hifi and listen to music. The attack of a drumstick on the drum head is pretty awesome. Worth the money? I don't know...all the above are small changes of course....but once I heard the Fostex, it would be tough going back...the dac in that thing is really good. 
 
It's my opinion that this all about proper matching...Sometimes I listen to my phone with the B2's and I ask, why do I need anything else. But the Fostex with the B2's are ho-hum. The Fostex with the DT1350's is a pretty sublime combo. All of the above have their place with the right phones.
 
 
 

 

[Lillee]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I can definitely agree that iPhone headphone out is by far the worse of the three you describe, but my question is how does it do coupled with the burson HA-160 with a LOD in an apples to apples comparison? (sorry about the awful pun)

I would never consider using the iPhone without my tomahawk, my question is is it worth carrying an imod as well as my iPhone and is there a huge SQ difference to do so?

I can imagine the fostex with a 32bit DAC would outdo idevices, that's logical. But iPhone 4s to 5th gen imod?

 

[triodesteve]

Honestly, I've never listened to the iPhone via the lod...it seemed pointless since I already had the Fostex. I'll try to remember to do that and report back.

 

[Lillee]

Yeah that would be great!