iPod Classic stomps all over 5th gen

[IPodPJ]

Well, I got my iPod Classic 80gig today. (Classic, haha, funny word to use. It's not like it's Classic Coke and is 100 years old, it's a freaking iPod that's not even been around a decade).

The first thing I noticed is the finish on the unit. It is excellent. It is a good, durable, finish. There is no gloss sheen on it that will scratch from the slightest touch like there was on the 5g. The screen doesn't have that gloss finish on it either.

The second thing I noticed is that they put the wrong USB cable in my box. They gave me the old style USB cable, the one that came with the 5g. It was supposed to come with the new shorter format cable that just snaps in and doesn't have buttons on the side. I was on the phone for an hour getting that issue resolved. Just like Dell, Apple farms out their tech support to India which pissed me off. The guy couldn't understand basic things I was saying to him like, "the dock connection on this cable is the wrong size. It is big like the old cable from the last generation of iPods. It is supposed to be the new shorter format ones." No matter what I said, he countered with "How you know it not right one if you just took it out of the box?" "I HAVE TWO EYES AND I CAN SEE IT, FOR ****** SAKE!!!" He finally got me "advanced" tech support, which was a man in Canada. He knew exactly what I was saying and shipped me out the proper cable. One thing you also might notice when you open your box is that it no longer comes with a velvet-type pouch.

If anyone else has this cable issue, please report it to Apple so they can look into it. I bought mine from Amazon.com, and it was the 80gig Classic (black). I have no idea how an old-style cable worked its way into the production line to be placed into these boxes in the first place!

I let the iPod charge all day on my work computer, which is a Mac. You can't use a Mac formatted iPod on a PC, so I had to reformat it when I got home. Anyway, so then I updated the iPod to the new 1.0.1 update. I then spent about 2 hours loading all my music onto it (about 52 gigs of music... 85% Apple Lossless, 10% AIFF, and about 5% in 320kbit MP3).

I've been listening now for over an hour and I'm just blown away! This iPod stomps all over the 5th gen. The audio is so much cleaner and transparent, the soundstage is wider and more 3-dimensional (and so I can only imagine how much more realistic sounding a good DAC would be), and the frequency response sounds more neutral (not muddy like the 5th gen), with slightly more dB output in the highs. I haven't decided on the treble yet; there are elements I like more about this one than the 5th gen, and elements of the treble on the 5th gen I like more than this one. Some songs sound very splashy on the Classic. The mids and lows on this one I find to be more accurate and pleasing to the ear.

There is not the same level of distortion like I experienced with my 30gig 5th gen. Certain songs can reach distortion points if they have peak levels, but it is not nearly as bad as the 5th gen was. The 5th gen just muddied it up more so you couldn't quite always tell. Perhaps it's easier to discern the distortion (when it happens) on the Classic because it has a cleaner signal path, and maybe a better DAC too. I'm not sure. The tech support guy at Apple told me this unit has a better CODEC than the 5th gen though.

What is also very interesting is that the headphone output sounds almost as clean as the line out dock, only allowing the volume control to get in the way of the signal path. This is great for people who want to use their iPod with IEMs but without an amp.

Aside from the sound quality, the graphic interface of the iPod Classic is worlds better than the 5th gen. Cover Flow is awesome, and so is the regular Artist menu. Once you select your artist, it shows you a list of all the albums with the album art right next to it.

The only thing I wish this iPod had (as I wish with all iPods) is a digital out (mini TOSlink optical, or a mini-coax.... or any kind of output that delivers an S/PDIF [Sony/Philips Digital Interface] signal, so long as an adaptor can be used with it.

Just when I was beginning to lose faith in Apple's products, they came out with this iPod Classic. I wasn't sure weather I was going to buy one or not, but I'm very glad I did. It is a step in the right direction for Apple, unlike the iPod Touch (flop, flop, flop). It will certainly tide me over until I purchase a Meier Opera. The iPod Classic is the best sounding stock iPod I have heard to date. Audition one for yourself and find out!

I can just picture the next line up: iPods for Audiophiles edition: iPod Optical (with an optical output), and iPod Tube (with pencil tubes for amplification). Sadly, I don't think these visions of mine will ever be realized by Apple.

 

[bigshot]

The thin ended connector comes with the iPhone. My Classic came with a regular USB cable. As far as I know, they're interchangable.

See ya
Steve

 

[NeObliviscaris]

I got the same old-style dock cord. I didn't see the issue?

 

[choomanchoo]

I just got my 80gig Classic last night, And I'm very impressed, but then again this is my second Ipod, my first was a green 8gig nano that I owned for about an hour and a half, then upgraded before I made it home, i know sheeesh, well so far I'm very happy

 

[Buckster]

glad you are happy with it ...

Apple said "The tech support guy at Apple told me this unit has a better CODEC than the 5th gen though." ???

better CODEC in this one ? has the Classic added FLAC ????

Mark.

 

[zeckwsr]

hey there...thanks for ur post...so i hv rather similar ears to u

except that i think they sound thinner(forgot by how much..it was my friend's 5G)

n btw i hv got the old cable as well...

 

[INGRAMLI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckster /img/forum/go_quote.gif glad you are happy with it ... Apple said "The tech support guy at Apple told me this unit has a better CODEC than the 5th gen though." ??? better CODEC in this one ? has the Classic added FLAC ???? Mark.

The "CODEC" tech support mentioned about refers to the DAC in the player, as u may or may not know, most(if not all) DAPs on the market do not use a stand-alone DAC chip, instead a "CODEC" that have the function of decoding mp3, D to A conversion, headphone amplifier and volume control are intregrated into a single small package, saving cost and space. Of course the SQ is compromised for a certain degree, though.

 

[Varma]

Thanks for sharing. Just ordered an 160 GB one.

 

[Blaine]

The iPod Classic Complaints Thread at Apple support

There are a whole bunch more at Apple support and iLounge.

My own particular beef is the the absence of a compilations feature. Without that my artists list would be utterly unmanageable.

 

[Mansize_tissue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaine /img/forum/go_quote.gif My own particular beef is the the absence of a compilations feature. Without that my artists list would be utterly unmanageable.

That's pretty annoying; is this a problem with all iPods? In iTunes, I just get around it by renaming all of the artists for every song in a compilation album to the name of the record label for that particular album. By doing this, I should be able to get around this problem if I get one of the new Nanos, right?

 

[Blaine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mansize_tissue /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's pretty annoying; is this a problem with all iPods? In iTunes, I just get around it by renaming all of the artists for every song in a compilation album to the name of the record label for that particular album. By doing this, I should be able to get around this problem if I get one of the new Nanos, right?

1) Nope, it's not a problem with the 5.5 video iPod. That's the chief reason why I just bought another 80GB 5.5 to add to my original one instead of the 160GB Classic (space was an issue and I would really have liked the larger capacity iPod, but I needed an extra iPod in any event).

2) Yes, I suppose it is a way around the problem, but then you don't get to see the artists in the compilation album.

3) To make a proper compilation album, at least in iTunes, do the following:

i) Go to Edit->Preferences->General in iTunes and make sure the "Group compilations when browsing" box has been ticked.

ii) Highlight all tracks in the relevant album, then right click and go to "get info" and using the drop down box put "yes" in the Compilation box (bottom left).

iii) Your compilation albums will then appear under "Compilations" in the Artist column.

 

[Mansize_tissue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaine /img/forum/go_quote.gif 3) To make a proper compilation album, at least in iTunes, do the following: i) Go to Edit->Preferences->General in iTunes and make sure the "Group compilations when browsing" box has been ticked. ii) Highlight all tracks in the relevant album, then right click and go to "get info" and using the drop down box put "yes" in the Compilation box (bottom left). iii) Your compilation albums will then appear under "Compilations" in the Artist column.

Thank you. I believe I tried this before, but it didn't work correctly. Unfortunately, all of my compilation albums have had each individual artist name renamed to the record label for that album so I'll have to wait until I re-rip another compilation before I try it out. Thanks, nonetheless.

 

[MonolithTMA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaine /img/forum/go_quote.gif The iPod Classic Complaints Thread at Apple support There are a whole bunch more at Apple support and iLounge. My own particular beef is the the absence of a compilations feature. Without that my artists list would be utterly unmanageable.

My work around for that one is to put each artist on the compilation CD in the Album Artist tag. I recently ripped the soundtrack to Across The Universe. I copied all the Artist tags to the Album Artist tags using one of Doug's Applescripts (I run iTunes on my Mac). I then changed the artist tag to Across The Universe Cast. I did this after seeing what the iPod artist view looked like, since that is the way I access most of my music. I have a 2G Nano.

 

[Buckster]

ah I see what they mean now- thanks.

my opinions are that I prefer the 5.5G sound - but I can see how people could like the 6G sound - its definately more open etc - just the siblance on the highs I found too too annoying.

I get the impression the amp stage of the 6G is a lot better, but the actual DAC/CODEC is not quite as good (personal preference of course)

the 5.5G by comparison does sound quite shut-in, but its very listenable to.

I've an amp and ALO arriving soon - so will be interesting to see how the lin-out compares to HO - I wish I still had the 6G (went back to Apple yesterday) to compare the 2's lineouts.

as with all these things - a lot is personal preference + the overall system (ie what headphones/speakers etc you are using) - some cd players are very warm (NAD) - some are very bright - just depends on what people like.

Mark.

Quote:

Originally Posted by INGRAMLI /img/forum/go_quote.gif The "CODEC" tech support mentioned about refers to the DAC in the player, as u may or may not know, most(if not all) DAPs on the market do not use a stand-alone DAC chip, instead a "CODEC" that have the function of decoding mp3, D to A conversion, headphone amplifier and volume control are intregrated into a single small package, saving cost and space. Of course the SQ is compromised for a certain degree, though.

 

[SactoMan101]

I think despite all the griping about Apple going to a "cheaper" DAC on the iPod classic and 3G iPod nano, you have to agree that on the direct headphone output, the sound quality is excellent. I noticed that immediately compared to my (now retired) 2G iPod nano, where the midrange sound was much clearer and spoken word podcasts sounded really good on my newer nano.