[Carlosfandango]

Is the iPod a 6th or 7th gen?

If so, I wouldn't attempt a repair of the headphone jack yourself. If it's a 5th gen then repair is easy peasy and that could be your problem solved.

Alternatively I'm with the LOD + amp solution. Gives you far more flexibility in the future and you can upgrade the LOD or amp as money allows.

 

[legcramp]

Fiio E1 and call it a day if you don't want to spend a lot of money on LOD + amp. 

 

 

[kova4a]

+1 For Fiio E1 if you don't want to spend a lot of money right now. It cost like 20 bucks. You won't get huge improvement over the headphone jack output but at least its cheap, it doesn't sound worse than the headphone jack, it won't destroy your headphones and you'll have volume control - the only downside is a shorter battery life of the ipod but nothing big - maybe around few hours less. Or if you want to start with an expensive amp you should check out some of the threads hear to see which amps have good synergy with the ie8 (coz u said u're getting one), so you can get the best out of the headphones.

 

[Tilpo]

Is the iPod a 6th or 7th gen?

If so, I wouldn't attempt a repair of the headphone jack yourself. If it's a 5th gen then repair is easy peasy and that could be your problem solved.

Alternatively I'm with the LOD + amp solution. Gives you far more flexibility in the future and you can upgrade the LOD or amp as money allows.

As stated in the OP it's the iPod Clasic 120GB. There is only one 120GB version which is 6g (first revision). And there actually isn't a 7th generation iPod classic yet. I hope it will come someday but I'm not counting on it.
Apple is letting us audiophiles down, who want a hi/mid-fi DAP with >100GB storage.

Also regarding which amp I'm going to buy: I don't require suggestions. I think the answer as to which amp to buy will be best answered by 10-20hours of lurking the portable amp forum
That way I get a better answer and I learn more.
Lurking is useful, as after countless hours of lurking one can transmit the knowledge to other people, starting a thread and wining (without even using google or the built in search function!) won't get the complete picture, and won't actually learn a lot.

In other words: I think my question has been answered thoroughly enough, and I will get an amp + LOD somewhere in the future.
Thank you guys for the useful input.

 

[TheRockies]

Another option that's quick, low cost (less than $20) and less invasive than repairing your ipod classic is to purchase a Griffin Navigate Inline Remote Controller and FM Radio for iPhone and iPod.  Plugs right into your dock connector and provides:

1. Compact inline remote control and radio for iPhone and iPod
2. Built-in OLED shows screen info from your iPod
3. Provides Playlist, EQ, and Shuffle Mode navigation
4. Play, Stop, Pause, Forward, Backward, and Scan controls that your fingers can locate by touch
5. FM stereo radio with RDS track info display and 4 station presets

 

 

[Tilpo]

Another option that's quick, low cost (less than $20) and less invasive than repairing your ipod classic is to purchase a Griffin Navigate Inline Remote Controller and FM Radio for iPhone and iPod.  Plugs right into your dock connector and provides:

1. Compact inline remote control and radio for iPhone and iPod
2. Built-in OLED shows screen info from your iPod
3. Provides Playlist, EQ, and Shuffle Mode navigation
4. Play, Stop, Pause, Forward, Backward, and Scan controls that your fingers can locate by touch
5. FM stereo radio with RDS track info display and 4 station presets

 

You sound like your trying to sell that thing, and i just don't need it.
Especially as I imagine a CMoy or E5 + LOD would sound better, while costing the same.
And why would I want a radio on my iPod? This is head-FI we want hi-fi, not crappy radio.
And don't tell me it sounds great as I have heard similar things for an iPod that are 5 times more expensive, and the radio still is far from as good sounding as v0 mp3.

 

[kova4a]

+1 for cMoy it blows away the fiio e5 but at the cost of a way bigger size. I have the JDS labs one http://www.jdslabs.com/store.php and it sounds awesome. Though from what I read here some people say that the emelline amps and the ie8 have great synergy - that's of course, if you're ready to shell out 600 bucks for an amp 

 

[TheRockies]

As stated in your original post:
 
Quote:

Portable noob here,

I have a serious problem where my iPod Classic 120GB kills every 3.5mm plug inserted over time. It has happened to 8 headphones already (4 iBuds, 2 CX-300's, 1 creative stock earbud, 1 Pioneer SE-CLX50)

My current temporary solution I had come up with after the eighth destruction is putting in a crappy dealextreme 3.5mm splitter, so that the splitter will be massacred, and not my IEM's. But I want a more permanent solution, if possible, because I will buy an IE 8 in the near future. This means that an el-cheapo splitter just won't cut it.

My warranty has passed (it's over 3 years old) so I can't demand repair either from Apple. So the only permanent solution I saw was getting a portable amp and an LOD JUST to bypass that destructive jacket. But this cost money, which I am willing to spend if necessary, but I prefer a cheaper solution as I heard IE 8's don't really benefit all that much from an amp, and that's leaving out the fact that it's impractical with the extra devices and batteries and what not.

Might it also be possible to send it to Apple for repairs, and actually pay for the repairs? How much would this cost me? If it costs more than $100 I might just as well buy an amp.

Thanks, Tilpo

In your own words, you were originally concerned about costs and the impracticality of extra devices, et al.
 
Quote:

Quote:

Another option that's quick, low cost (less than $20) and less invasive than repairing your ipod classic is to purchase a Griffin Navigate Inline Remote Controller and FM Radio for iPhone and iPod.  Plugs right into your dock connector and provides:

1. Compact inline remote control and radio for iPhone and iPod
2. Built-in OLED shows screen info from your iPod
3. Provides Playlist, EQ, and Shuffle Mode navigation
4. Play, Stop, Pause, Forward, Backward, and Scan controls that your fingers can locate by touch
5. FM stereo radio with RDS track info display and 4 station presets

 

You sound like your trying to sell that thing, and i just don't need it.
Especially as I imagine a CMoy or E5 + LOD would sound better, while costing the same.
And why would I want a radio on my iPod? This is head-FI we want hi-fi, not crappy radio.
And don't tell me it sounds great as I have heard similar things for an iPod that are 5 times more expensive, and the radio still is far from as good sounding as v0 mp3.

 
LOL!  Nope, I wouldn't want to sell you anything.  If I did, I would have sent you a link.

 
You will learn that the beauty of head-fi.org is the gracious sharing of audio information that can help others see different solutions to their audio problems.  Someone else seeking help with a broken iPod headphone jack may stumble upon this thread (while searching first before starting a thread) and view my post in a positive light.  Hopefully, it will all culminate into a blissful audio experience -- which is unique to each individual -- as we find the right equipment that doesn't eventually leave us broke and destitute. 
Do we need all of this audio equipment?  Probably not unless we are using it to make a living.  But do we want it?  HELL YEAH!!!  

 
As for radio, if there is a national crisis, etc., my mp3/flac/ogg/wav/wma/ape/aac files won't have the current status but a radio station might...

  At that point, I won't care if it's mono or stereo as I just want the info. 
 
Good luck in your search for the right audio equipment that will compliment your favorite music genres. Hopefully, you won't purchase and keep faulty equipment again.

 

[skree]

if it was me i'd take it to a little electronics shop - either a family run component shop or like a tv repair shop and ask them if they can fit a new socket on it for you/how much would it cost. It shouldn't be too much, disassembling the Ipod is the hardest bit.

You may even be able to pick your own, not cheap tat socket.