[nick n]

Line-outs should be better than the headphone-outs. So the end results should be better this way using LOD cable yes..
 
Line out using that LOD cable completely bypass the Ipod internal amp  and let you use whatever external one of choice.Just feeds a straight signal from source( Ipod ) unaltered by internal Ipod volume potentiometer/control and/or internal Ipod amp circuitry.  
 
So long as the LOD cable has the small 1/8 inch end for plugging into the external amp yes definitely try that cable on the cheap, and keep your current setup.
That's why everyone uses the LOD anyhow. Play around with an upgrade to a better amp later.
 
Yes Cowons should be fine also, but I would say keep your current setup you are familiar with, unless it bugs you or something. Depends how fussy you want to get. Then also when you get bored you can always try the rockbox thing I have no idea about what products its compatible with though, and see how that improves it any.

 

[riccardo]

Quote:

Yes Cowons should be fine also, but I would say keep your current setup you are familiar with, unless it bugs you or something. Depends how fussy you want to get. Then also when you get bored you can always try the rockbox thing I have no idea about what products its compatible with though, and see how that improves it any.

 
Rockbox is just a different firmware for your dap (works with ipod and sansa clip+ and idk what else), basically the SQ stays the same but you have better EQ and other minor improvements, I am already using it with my iPod classic.

 

[Marburger]

Quote:

Thanks Skamp, i get what you say. Hifiman 601 might have a nice sound in general, but not in my case. The more I've been reading about the subject of impedance and IEMs the more your suggestions are starting to make sense and I'm understanding why the low impedance is important, more than just the general quality of the dap, as the sound quality might be awesome but if it will accentuate the frequencies I have the most problems with (in my case highs) that will be absolutely bad for me. Of course impedance is not all as probably daps with similar impedance might have quite different SQ due to other specs but I get how I should try and find one with a low impedance.
I think I'll get a sansa clip+ or try out some friends' daps just to try and find out to how much the lower impedance helps the sound.
Ah, if only I hadn't tried out my se535s with other sources than my ipod I'd just be satisfied with how they sound with it (so much better than any previous iems) but having heard them sound even better now I can't rest until my search is over

  You have to consider all the parameters of the sources. There are daps that sound lively and energetic like ipods, on the higher end like Colorfly and dark sounding players like Hifiman. That is why i have recommended  the 601 in your case. Although It`s impedance suggests to plug iems from 32 ohms and upwards. Nothing will be wrong to plug BA based iems, like my custom Miracle at 16 ohm. Because HM601 sounds in general dark and it doesn't emphasize highs on my ciems. Although Miracle is very sensitive to the highs, if you get listen to it with lively sounding players, you will hear sibilance on the Miracle. There is also another factor in the daps like ipods, which "professor skamp" forgot to show at his graphs. ipods normally suffer from weak output level. From my experience i can tell that, either it will sound harsh on the highs and  muffled with lows, since it does not have enough power to control properly the drivers. And yes, in ideal case BA based iems should play more controlled, when the output impedance is lower, say 8ohm. However, I would put the sound quality of the source and sound behavior (dark or lively) of the dap on the first place, and the output impedance on the 2nd. Hifiman is not last word on the SQ, especially it´s UI leaves a lot of questions. But still it is portable enough, than most of stacks of ipod with amps.      

 

[Marburger]

Quote:

None of the iPods I have owned and heard ever sounded "muffled". 

Truth reveals in comparison. I thought quite some time, that ipods sound good with iems, and quite some time i was very satisfied with my ipod video and Monster Turbine Gold combo. Since I have listened to high end daps, there was not going back. 

 

[nick n]

Quote:

 
Rockbox is just a different firmware for your dap (works with ipod and sansa clip+ and idk what else),

yup I haven't a clue what exact models it supports is what i was meaning. Know about it but never used it.

 

[skamp]

Marbuger: your experience doesn't apply to the OP's particular gear, and it's obvious that you still don't understand what we're talking about. High output impedance gear simply cannot drive his IEMs properly, so it doesn't matter if it's "better" in any other way, especially when the OP is complaining precisely about a kind of distortion that would only get worse with the gear that you recommend.

Also, the iPod has more than enough power for IEMs like the OP's.

Riccardo: using the FiiO E6 with either the headphone out or the LOD would both work.

 

[skamp]

The effects of various output impedance values on my Shure SE425s:

Galaxy Nexus (12.5Ω):



Note that the GN has a slight treble rolloff to begin with, so the effect is slightly less than it would have been.

EMU 0204 USB (23Ω):



My laptop (74Ω):

 

[Todd R]

Can I ask a really dumb obvious question? 
Have you checked your iTunes settings to make sure you're not down converting the music that is transferred to your iPod? 
(Plug in iPod > Select it from the list > clear the checkbox that says "convert higher bit rate songs to....")
If it's been knocking your music down to a highly compressed format, that might be where some of your poor sound is coming from. 
 
My Classic sounds fairly decent with my JH Audio 13's. 

 

[riccardo]

Quote:

Can I ask a really dumb obvious question? 
Have you checked your iTunes settings to make sure you're not down converting the music that is transferred to your iPod? 
(Plug in iPod > Select it from the list > clear the checkbox that says "convert higher bit rate songs to....")
If it's been knocking your music down to a highly compressed format, that might be where some of your poor sound is coming from. 
 
My Classic sounds fairly decent with my JH Audio 13's. 

 
Yes, I do have some poorly converted music (which I'm ripping again) but I've been checking the sound with 320kbps mp3s. Besides I'm also comparing the sound from my ipod and other sources using the exact same track, it's not like I'm comparing CD quality music with poor quality mp3s.
 
Also, just to add another fact, right now I'm not using the 535s straight out of the ipod but I'm using the volume control that came in the box between the ipod headphone out and the 535s cable. When I was using them without it, the sibiliance was so much that I could barely use the iems and I was thinking about sending them back, but I read somewhere in internet that the volume control works also as in inline resistor (which I'm not sure technically what that does) and that it could help. It actually did help quite a lot, so maybe in my initial post I was a bit too harsh, I'm not saying that the sound is "poor", just that I've heard the 535s sound even better with other sources and I was wondering how I could make them sound better with a portable source too.

 

[riccardo]

Quote:

Also, the iPod has more than enough power for IEMs like the OP's.

Riccardo: using the FiiO E6 with either the headphone out or the LOD would both work.

 
I agree about the power, I feel it's more than enough too.
 
Are you saying using the Fiio out of the headphone and the LOD would give me the same results? Just impedance wise or even the same overall sound?

 

[skamp]

Same overall sound, just crank up the volume to 0 dB in Rockbox.

 

[eric0531]

Quote:

Same overall sound, just crank up the volume to 0 dB in Rockbox.

I disagree. I have a Classic and a fiio E11, and there is no question that it sounds better using an LOD rather than feeding the E11 from the headphone out of the iPod.
 
If the OP is otherwise happy with the Classic (storage, interface, syncing) then I think a portable amp & LOD is the way to go.

 

[Retrias]

Look OP, if you thinkyou just want a straight up improvement from the ipod.... get an RWA if you can get a 5.5/4th gen ipod, you ca then install your own HDD/SSD, audiophile quality, good user interface, huge capacity (you need to pair it with amp though)

 

[riccardo]

Quote:

Look OP, if you thinkyou just want a straight up improvement from the ipod.... get an RWA if you can get a 5.5/4th gen ipod, you ca then install your own HDD/SSD, audiophile quality, good user interface, huge capacity (you need to pair it with amp though)

I used to have one, back when I didn't have high-end iems though. Now I passed it to my sister, the first time I get the chance I'll ask her to lend it to me and I'll check for improvements in the SQ.

 

[riccardo]

Quote:

Same overall sound, just crank up the volume to 0 dB in Rockbox.

 
I just did that, the sound with the fiio is not much different, just a tad warmer, you can hear the bass a little more in rock songs for instance (this without any EQ on the fiio). It's not bad at all but i prefer the bass to be more neutral.
I think I'll just try for a few days the ipod + volume switch/inline resistor (without it, straight from the ipod, imho the sibilance is quite bad, and it also limits the hiss) and nothing else. Because I think it might be just me and my preferred sound signatures rather than the ipod being bad. For example I realized that straight from my sony hifi the 535s are apparently much better as what I immediately hear is no sibilance but if I pay attention the highs are rolled off and the sound is generally a bit darker which isn't exactly "good" either. So it's more like you gain some and lose some.