[Perplexed]

 
I need a high capacity player, and it's either the 5G or the Classic. Either way I'll be buying used. I'm concerned that any 5G I buy now will have poor battery life and will be likely to break down within weeks. Also the Classic is so much nicer in terms of feel, build quality, battery, modernity and interface. The one thing I think may be an issue is the sound quality.
 
I listen with Ety MC5's, and might be buying some warmer headphones soon. They might have been a mistake, but here's my ideal sound:
 
A full, warm, yet precise sound which surrounds *and* fills my head, not one or the other, has bass which is heard (which isn't always the case with my MC5's!) whilst strong and defined, but not mushy, and has nice clear highs (basically the ideal player ). Harmony is my favourite element of music if that helps. I haven't really been able to test the 5G, but from all the description I've heard, it fits the bill in terms of sound. The Classic sounds amazing with some songs, but with others the soundstage is not that great and it's hard to get the full feel without pushing it up louder than I want.
 
The main factor is the immersion in the music. I don't like the detached feel which comes from a more electronic sound, or a distanced surround-sound. As I said I want it to be around and inside my head at once.
 
That said, I'm no audiophile. I have ripped my CDs to ALAC using iTunes, but can't tell the difference through my earphones on my laptop between that and 320, or even 256
 
Is the Classic really as bad as it's made out to be? I intend this to last me at least through uni (yes, I'm a young 'un) and that is why I'm leaning towards a Classic which wouldn't require any maintenance compared to the now ancient 5G. However I'd hate to spend £££ on a Classic and find that I hate the sound.
 
If it helps, I've got an old nano 3G - is the sound going to be exactly the same on the Classic? (same DAC?)
 
Recommendations? And where could I buy/test a 5G in the UK? All my friends with 5Gs have random bitrate illegal MP3s :O
 
 

 

[lostid]

If I were you, I would buy an used ipod video 5g/5.5g and replace the battery and upgrade the hard drive to 240GB HDD. Not sure where you can find the 5g, but I guess you can look around at the craiglist and ebay. If you are willing to take a little risk, buy a broken one off ebay and likely you can fix it by changing the battery and/or HDD. It's really easier than what you may think to replace those things, including the LCD screen. The battery, HDD and LCD screen are all cheap and available from eBay.
 
Of course you rockbox the babe and play FLAC's. Get a pair of decent IEM's and you will appreciate the benefits from playing FLAC's. Don't just intentionally to A/B the sound difference between the flac's and the 320 kbps and 'force" yourself to find the difference. Simply just play the flac's and over time you WILL hear the sound improvement in terms of details/clarity/dynamic range.
 
I have no comment on the classic as I never had one to compare. But I can tell you to my ears the RB's ipod video sounds much better than iPhone 4s, and I even prefer it over the Cowon J3.
 
 

 

[Perplexed]

I don't want any fuss, I just want to buy, plug in, and listen. The most I'm willing to do is get the battery replaced.
Quote:

If I were you, I would buy an used ipod video 5g/5.5g and replace the battery and upgrade the hard drive to 240GB HDD. Not sure where you can find the 5g, but I guess you can look around at the craiglist and ebay. If you are willing to take a little risk, buy a broken one off ebay and likely you can fix it by changing the battery and/or HDD. It's really easier than what you may think to replace those things, including the LCD screen. The battery, HDD and LCD screen are all cheap and available from eBay.
 
Of course you rockbox the babe and play FLAC's. Get a pair of decent IEM's and you will appreciate the benefits from playing FLAC's. Don't just intentionally to A/B the sound difference between the flac's and the 320 kbps and 'force" yourself to find the difference. Simply just play the flac's and over time you WILL hear the sound improvement in terms of details/clarity/dynamic range.
 
I have no comment on the classic as I never had one to compare. But I can tell you to my ears the RB's ipod video sounds much better than iPhone 4s, and I even prefer it over the Cowon J3.
 
 

 
 

 

[lostid]

 
Quote:

I don't want any fuss, I just want to buy, plug in, and listen. The most I'm willing to do is get the battery replaced.
 
 

 
I used to think that way and stay in my comfort zone. It's natural and understandable.
 
In that case, buy a NEW ipod video (still available from eBay) or classic and have a peace of mind. If you buy an used one, it may die at any given moment due to motherboard, LCD, HDD or phone jack.

 

[skamp]

Is the Classic really as bad as it's made out to be?

No. It sounds great and measures very well (via the LOD and the headphone out). People read all the hype about older iPods with Wolfson DACs, expect the Classic to sound worse, so that's what they hear.

 

[ostewart]

+1 for the classic, but get the newest 7g not 6g. You can pick them up refurbished on the applestore for £160.

5g is overrated.

Rockbox the classic and youll never look back

 

[striker]

 
Either I'm deaf, or the 6th and 7th gen iPod Classics are 99.9% the same. Yes, maybe some minor difference in fullness of sound, but only noticeable when A/Bing, nothing to bother with, especially considering the price difference.
 
The 5G is indeed different, but, again, not in a mind blowing way.
 
Given the OP's description of what he wants in terms of sound, I'd say they both the Classic and the 5G would fit, but in different ways:
-full, warm sound which fills my head - 5G
-precise sound which surrounds my head, bass which is heard whilst strong and defined, but not mushy, and has nice clear highs - Classic
 
I'd prefer the Classic due to the screen, the battery, the size, general construction and the improved software.

 

[ostewart]

 
Quote:

 
Either I'm deaf, or the 6th and 7th gen iPod Classics are 99.9% the same. Yes, maybe some minor difference in fullness of sound, but only noticeable when A/Bing, nothing to bother with, especially considering the price difference.
 
The 5G is indeed different, but, again, not in a mind blowing way.
 
Given the OP's description of what he wants in terms of sound, I'd say they both the Classic and the 5G would fit, but in different ways:
-full, warm sound which fills my head - 5G
-precise sound which surrounds my head, bass which is heard whilst strong and defined, but not mushy, and has nice clear highs - Classic
 
I'd prefer the Classic due to the screen, the battery, the size, general construction and the improved software.

 

ok maybe not a big difference between 6th and 7th G but a little one,
still prefer the 7G
 
i have a 5G, 6G and 7G, i prefer the 7G over all, the 6G also has a blue tint to the screen

 

[lee730]

 
Quote:

 
Either I'm deaf, or the 6th and 7th gen iPod Classics are 99.9% the same. Yes, maybe some minor difference in fullness of sound, but only noticeable when A/Bing, nothing to bother with, especially considering the price difference.
 
The 5G is indeed different, but, again, not in a mind blowing way.
 
Given the OP's description of what he wants in terms of sound, I'd say they both the Classic and the 5G would fit, but in different ways:
-full, warm sound which fills my head - 5G
-precise sound which surrounds my head, bass which is heard whilst strong and defined, but not mushy, and has nice clear highs - Classic
 
I'd prefer the Classic due to the screen, the battery, the size, general construction and the improved software.

 

I prefer the 5G to the current Classic. Strangely I prefer my iphone4 to the 5G though. To be honest the only thing that would draw me to use an ipod is its ease of use. For musical enjoyment there's much better alternatives out there and in some cases you don't have to pay much more than you would for an ipod.

 

[striker]

 
Quote:

I prefer the 5G to the current Classic. Strangely I prefer my iphone4 to the 5G though. To be honest the only thing that would draw me to use an ipod is its ease of use. For musical enjoyment there's much better alternatives out there and in some cases you don't have to pay much more than you would for an ipod.

I would prefer the 5G at certain times and with certain tracks, but the bass roll-off was too much to me. And with more space, better screen, better size and better software on the Classic, that was my choice.
 
Right now I'm using it with a shortened Fiio E1: gives it a little bit more body and I believe it behaves better, in terms of output impedance, with my Westone 4.
 
Quote:

ok maybe not a big difference between 6th and 7th G but a little one,
still prefer the 7G

Yes, given the choice, I'd prefer the 7th gen Classic by a small margin.
 

 
i have a 5G, 6G and 7G, i prefer the 7G over all, the 6G also has a blue tint to the screen

Same here, had the 3 versions to compare. The tint, I believe, varies a lot between devices. Anyway, what you regard as a blue tint may be regarded, by different eyes, as a yellow tint on the 7th gen

 

[lostid]

When the rockbox has a stable version for the classic, I would like to try the classic for my personal comparison.
 
My life now depends on the rockbox. As for portable gear, nothing serves me better than the rockboxed ipod. Yeah other DAP's may have a better sounding (while I believe but you never know, just like I prefer the ipod video over J3. And also don't get too serious about portable music if you know what I mean

), but you can't beat the amount of GB's you can put into an ipod, the wheel I can't live without, the ease of navigating my music without suffering the pain in the ass from using some high end DAP's as reported by others, the perfect size in my hands and pocket. I can't imagine bundling an amp to my ipod for portability.  The RB'd ipod video just does what I need, with a pair of decent IEM's. More importantly, feed the babe with finely recorded fine music.
 
Edit: I noticed the blue tint with my 5.5g/30GB not with the 5g. I like the tint - it's pleasant to my eyes.

 

[lee730]

 
Quote:

When the rockbox has a stable version for the classic, I would like to try the classic for my personal comparison.
 
My life now depends on the rockbox. As for portable gear, nothing serves me better than the rockboxed ipod. Yeah other DAP's may have a better sounding (while I believe but you never know, just like I prefer the ipod video over J3. And also don't get too serious about portable music if you know what I mean

), but you can't beat the amount of GB's you can put into an ipod, the wheel I can't live without, the ease of navigating my music without suffering the pain in the ass from using some high end DAP's as reported by others, the perfect size in my hands and pocket. I can't imagine bundling an amp to my ipod for portability.  The RB'd ipod video just does what I need, with a pair of decent IEM's. More importantly, feed the babe with finely recorded fine music.
 
Edit: I noticed the blue tint with my 5.5g/30GB not with the 5g. I like the tint - it's pleasant to my eyes.

 

True true but considering the updates to the DX100 firmware (the Studio V is super easy to us as is) and the fact that micro SDXC is getting cheaper and will have up to 2TB, its the most convenient and viable option for the future.

 

[lostid]

 
Quote:

 
 

True true but considering the updates to the DX100 firmware (the Studio V is super easy to us as is) and the fact that micro SDXC is getting cheaper and will have up to 2TB, its the most convenient and viable option for the future.

 
Micro SDXC to 2TB? When will that happen and how much will that cost? BTW I just snatched a 120GB HDD for my other ipod video for $65. Not bad, huh?
 
The fact is I am having fun not just listening to the music from the ipods but also playing around the parts inside the ipods. I am in totally control of these bad boys.

 

[lee730]

 
Quote:

 
 
Micro SDXC to 2TB? When will that happen and how much will that cost? BTW I just snatched a 120GB HDD for my other ipod video for $65. Not bad, huh?
 
The fact is I am having fun not just listening to the music from the ipods but also playing around the parts inside the ipods. I am in totally control of these bad boys.

 

It will be of course some time before the 2TB demons are available and affordable lol. But the 64GB cards have really come down in price and I'm sure they'll fall below the $50.00 price range soon. Next would be the 128 GB cards, then 256, etc, etc. What really concerns me about the HD are the fact of moving parts (unless you are using SSD) and dropping the device.

 

[lostid]

 
Quote:

 
 

It will be of course some time before the 2TB demons are available and affordable lol. But the 64GB cards have really come down in price and I'm sure they'll fall below the $50.00 price range soon. Next would be the 128 GB cards, then 256, etc, etc. What really concerns me about the HD are the fact of moving parts (unless you are using SSD) and dropping the device.

 
Last time I checked the 64GB Micro costs $90. So here is the math: my ipod video bought for $30, 120GB HDD for $65 - for $95 I got a 120GB pod with wolf's son. LOL.
 
If you take good care of the stuff the HDD can last long. My 30GB HDD for the original ipod video bought in 2005 is still running strong no sign of failure - that's even after a few drops to the floor as I remember. Well I have now a pair of 120GB ipod videos and I don't care if one of them dies. Even both of them die with failed HDD's, the brand new HDD's are cheap for the ipod videos.
 
I can afford replacing the 120GB HDD every other 5 yrs or even 4 yrs, 3 yrs if have to.