iPod Classic... DAC and output stage info from Vinnie of RWA

[rhymesgalore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by htbyron /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the ipod classic does not support lossless formats.

It supports ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec)

Edit: And wave of course

Silver medal in answering for me at least

 

[Bigmike34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by htbyron /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the ipod classic does not support lossless formats.

Apple Lossless

 

[xnothingpoetic]

What I read is that the 6g without v-caps, sounds almost as good as a 5g imod w/ v-caps.

 

[fierce_freak]

That's the way it read to me, too. I wonder how the headphone outs compare.

 

[htbyron]

oops, my bad -- I was just thinking of FLAC. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[john_deere_boy]

Vinnie, you are the man! Thanks for your honest assessment of the new iPod. I would expect nothing less from you. You are truly a gentleman!

 

[Vinnie R.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xnothingpoetic /img/forum/go_quote.gif What I read is that the 6g without v-caps, sounds almost as good as a 5g imod w/ v-caps.

Let me clarify this a little (just based on my findings):

The 6G iPod line-out sounds closer to the 5G/5.5G iMod with Vcap Dock than the stock 5G/5.5G line-out does, but saying "almost as good" might be going a little too far and may lead to people being disappointed.

I really hope that iMod owners (4th, 5th, and 5.5G iMod owners) will get a chance to listen to the 6G line-out and post their impressions when comparing the two (or doing shoot-outs at headfi meets) and thanks in advance for doing so.

Cheers!

Vinnie

 

[Orcin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinnie R. /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've only spent around 1 to 2 hours of listening to these two units, but so far I already prefer the sound of the iMod 5.5G with Vcap dock... there is a little more weight in the bottom and the top-end is a little warmer/sweeter sounding. The 6G is a little thinner sounding in comparison.

I translate this to mean: iPod 6G without mod sounds almost as good as iMod 5.5G with vcap dock. Pure 6G is a "little" worse.



Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinnie R. /img/forum/go_quote.gif Let me clarify this a little (just based on my findings): The 6G iPod line-out sounds closer to the 5G/5.5G iMod with Vcap Dock than the stock 5G/5.5G line-out does, but saying "almost as good" might be going a little too far and may lead to people being disappointed.

I'm confused.

 

[swt61]

What I come away with is that if you plan on using an iPod stock you'll be happier with the new 6G.
If you want the best possible sound it won't quite compete with an iModded 5.5G, and it probably wouldn't yield the same benifits from Vinnie's mods, so stick with the 5.5G and wait for harddrive prices to drop.

 

[xnothingpoetic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orcin /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm confused.

I think what he said is that the stock 6g sounds closer to a 5g imod w/ v-caps than the stock 5g

So basically 5g imod> stock 6g> stock 5g

How much closer to the 5g imod, I can't tell based on his review.

 

[manaox2]

Anyone want to come to the NC meet on September 23rd to pit my 5.5g iMod and vCap portable dock against their iPod classic using the same ALO line out dock and the Corda Move?

 

[YoungClayB]

Also keep in mind that this comparison was done based on a 5.5 G iMod with the v-cap dock, which was reported to sound better than the 5.5G iMod with the regular iMod dock, which was reported to sound better than the 4G iMods.

Based on this, I wonder how the 6G line out stacks up against a 4G iMod.

 

[Pangaea]

This is all good news. I am glad to see apple is paying some attention to SQ. I just hope they have similar workings in the Touch Model.

 

[tator]

Vinnie,

Am I to understand that you are comparing the stock 6G w/o Vcap dock, to a 5.5g iMod with the Vcap dock? If so, isn't this a little unfair since the Vcap dock will boost the sound quality of the iMod even more? How do the two compare without the Vcap dock in the equation (ie. just the ipods and an amp)? Or forgive me if I misread what you wrote.

 

[philodox]

The 6G does not have coupling caps on the output, so it is impossible for him to compare the two on even terms, unless he was to compare them both using apples native line out... at which point it has nothing to do with the Red Wine Audio mods.

I'm with swt61, the 6G sounds like a great solution if you don't want to mod your iPod. I'm pretty sure there will be lots of comparisons between the 5.5G and 6G as a 'home source' in the days to come for those who are interested in more details. Since I've moved towards a more minimal setup the 6G is definitely interesting based on its capacity and format options alone. Thanks for the technical overview Vinnie!