iPod Classic stomps all over 5th gen

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akira281 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Midbass hump on the 5G? The evidence does not appear to support your statement. In fact the frequency response curves through that range are identical.

Those graphs aren't evidence of a lack of a midbass hump though since the early bass roll-off you see in Marc's graphs are related to his measurement hardware, not the iPods. I don't have a 5G around to test but I measured the Classic's bass response as essentially flat down to 10Hz.

 

[akira281]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirumu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Those graphs aren't evidence of a lack of a midbass hump though since the early bass roll-off you see in Marc's graphs are related to his measurement hardware, not the iPods. I don't have a 5G around to test but I measured the Classic's bass response as essentially flat down to 10Hz.

mirumu, when superimosed both Marc's charts are identical. If the 5G had a midbass hump relative to the 6G then it would show at this point but it doesn't. Also Marc points to a German poster's chart which does show the bass flatness of your 6G. However, here again the 5G does not show a midbass hump. In fact, both charts show, sadly, a midbass rolloff.

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Using my E500s, with exactly the same rips (pulled from my 5G with YamiPod and put onto my 6G) there is definitely a difference with treble response, midrange warmth, and bass tightness.

Are you comparing a level balanced output from the line outs? Because if you aren't it may be a headphone impedence issue, not a sound quality one.

See ya
Steve

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Someone also mentioned what I had said about the soundstage with the headphone output. It is cockeyed, and sounds like it is coming from the rear. I only noticed this from the left channel. Perhaps this is a problem with some units and not with others?

Assuming it isn't compression artifacting, that could be a couple of things... The phase could be reversed in either your iPod or your cans. Or you might be wearing your cans too far back on your head. The sound should point directly into your ear canal.

See ya
Steve

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akira281 /img/forum/go_quote.gif mirumu, when superimosed both Marc's charts are identical. If the 5G had a midbass hump relative to the 6G then it would show at this point but it doesn't. Also Marc points to a German poster's chart which does show the bass flatness of your 6G. However, here again the 5G does not show a midbass hump. In fact, both charts show, sadly, a midbass rolloff.

Sure, I'm not saying there is a hump. I'm just saying that you couldn't tell from Marc's graph. The fact they appear identical and you don't see a relative hump doesn't mean a lot, it just means that's where his Powermac G5's line input rolls off. It may not be capable of showing a relative mid bass hump, we wouldn't know without trying it and seeing what the graph looks like. The German poster's chart though certainly seems conclusive to me.

 

[Stoney]

Has anyone measured the output impedance of the iPods? A midbass hump can arise because of headphone impedance changes, even though driving into a resistor or a scope probe will show flat response. The lower the output impedance, and the higher the headphone impedance, the less would be the hump.

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stoney /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone measured the output impedance of the iPods? A midbass hump can arise because of headphone impedance changes, even though driving into a resistor or a scope probe will show flat response. The lower the output impedance, and the higher the headphone impedance, the less would be the hump.

While not a measurement of output impedance, Marc's page does show frequency graphs of the 6G under load by various headphones effectively measuring the results of output impedance changes on the response. Some of the graphs do suggest midbass humps, but as he points out how audible this is would depend on the headphone's output response curve as well. There are no 5G graphs to compare since he no longer has his 5G. In theory a push pull amp design like the Classic apparently has should be good at handling headphone impedance changes and his results do tend to agree with this. I don't know about the 5G but certainly other iPods in the past have had substantial problems with headphone impedance changes.

 

[karmypolitics]

I just received my 160gb classic. Best purchase in a long time. I was coming from an Rockbox'd Iriver, which was good for what it was, but the Classic has album art, the cover flow is pretty good, a bit slow, but who cares? I found it to be pretty responsive, it has a clock and alarm, but the best part is the shuffle! OMG, I am discovering soooo many songs in my collection.

Oh, and the sound. Really, the difference in sound between models is like 5%, I can tell that there is something different, but it doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of the device, it's really a minor issue and it shouldn't affect your purchase decision. It's not worse...just different

 

[Stoney]

Quote:

Really, the difference in sound between models is like 5%, I can tell that there is something different, but it doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of the device, it's really a minor issue and it shouldn't affect your purchase decision. It's not worse...just different

That is really a question each person has to ask and answer. And it depends on personal sensitivities, headphone choice, etc. We can debate the sound quality, but even if we all agreed, the value of those differences is always a personal judgment.

Enjoy all that storage capacity!

 

[tomjtx]

For fun I hooked up my 160gb classic to my Meier Cantate through the line out
into my K701's
It sounds very good so I did some comparisons with my 4G and 5.5G.

I find the Classic sounding better in most ways in my setup.

The bass seems better defined and the highs are not edgy.

All in all I am very happy with the SQ and it is a nice improvement over previous generations in my system.

I also like it better standalone with my YuinPK1 , the classic drives these fairly well although they sound better through a portable amp.

I think Apple did a pretty good job on this one.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot /img/forum/go_quote.gif Assuming it isn't compression artifacting, that could be a couple of things... The phase could be reversed in either your iPod or your cans. Or you might be wearing your cans too far back on your head. The sound should point directly into your ear canal. See ya Steve

No, I know how to properly wear headphones.

The soundstage problem was first noticed with my Triple.Fi. Then with my cans. The 5g headphone out did not have this problem. And it didn't sound like a phase inversion either, which I used to use often on my subwoofer in my $16K car audio system (which I no longer have). The reason for the phase inversion on the sub was because with the subs being in the trunk, when inversed they sounded like they were being projected from the front of the car.

 

[Duncan]

Maybe it isn't for this thread, maybe it is... but from a functionality standpoint (I really don't know if this has already been mentioned) - They definitely need to update their firmware to fully accept the [Apple] remote - If you hold down FF / REW for more than a second on the remote, there is no way to stop it skipping through the songs until you press and release pause... Thats a bit crappy (and was certainly not an issue with the 5G)...

...Other than that, I am really liking the SQ with the Shures, probably now (with more time on the clock) better than the 5G, which is comparison is a bit syrupy...

 

[acp6s]

thanks for the update. if sound quality has improved then i may just be interested in one, i was going to go with an iaudio which is supposed to have the best sound

 

[Stoney]

I could see the sound spectral balance of the 6G going well with the E500s.

 

[Barry]

I was just at the Apple store listening to the iPod through my pk2 buds. It was painful. Shreaky and peircing. Don't know what was going on. I thought I was going to like it and buy it. Not if is going to be piercing. I wonder what is going on.