aos
May one day solve the Mystery of the Whoosh
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2001
- Posts
- 1,841
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- 13
I'm kind of surprised that I haven't seen more threads about iPod. I got one of them 2 weeks ago and am still in awe. I think I can understand now the Apple appeal. This thing is designed for USE, not for geek show-off. Therefore, it has ease of use and intuitive interface - it does what it's supposed to do without much effort from the user, having both slender learning curve and low hassle factor afterwards - and it looks really cool. Furthermore, while one can certainly argue that Mac computers don't quite have the raw power of a good PC, that argument is much harder
to use here as iPod doesn't yield ground to anything.
It is exactly what it's supposed to be - a portable music player - and it behaves as such, a hassle-free low-maintenance unit that does its job and lets you enjoy the music instead of worrying about how to use it.
There are many small touches that show the class of this product. These days there aren't that many electronics (or otherwise) products that are thoroughly well engineered, designed and implemented. iPod on the other hand doesn't leave impression that there was skimping in choosing its parts to keep the cost down. It has a very small and quite light case yet very large capacity. Screen is large and high resolution - probably better than my Palm Pilot. Back light is way cool. Jog dial - now non-mechanic - works splendidly to reduce time spent on operating the device.
And as an audiophile myself, I am quite surprised at the sound quality provided by the iPod. Earphones are certainly the best I've ever heard (a 10 year old Aiwa earphone is the only left in good memory so far) , so in many cases you won't need to carry anything else. You want to be able to just grab the thing and store it in the pocket or clip on the belt, and anything larger than earphones or perhaps Ety's kills the portability factor. There doesn't seem to be much coloration - which is the thing I hate the most - and some instruments sound pretty amazing. I can't recall too many headphones, even expensive ones, that make a solo violin sound good but this earphone does.
But in the end, the biggest draw for me was convenience - I don't carry PCDP's around these days, as the amount of space needed in my bag to stuff a PCDP, along with headphones and perhaps an amp or PDAC into it, plus the massive weight, puts it off too much without even considering the most important factor of them all - music selection. So often I had trouble choosing CDs in the morning that it delays my departure to work, and then when you're there you don't feel like listening to any of those 3-4 CDs that you took 10 minutes to choose.
Also, if you want to go out for a walk outside or just go shopping, preparing the same above equipment in its own bag often gets too frustrating, so it happens less and less until it doesn't happen at all.
No such problems with iPod. As long as it's charged, it can store enough of different kinds of music that you'll always find some suiting your current mood. And all you need to do is clip it on your belt, stuff earphones into your pocket or - hell - right into the ears, and off you go.
And while iPod can't replace my massive speakers and custom DACs, and mp3's are not really CD quality, we so often get lost in seeking that ultimate sound that we forget the reason for doing so - and that's enjoyment of the music. This is an abused phrase, I know, but so are many others in life; people claim that this or that is what really matters, yet still ignore it in daily lives.
to use here as iPod doesn't yield ground to anything.
It is exactly what it's supposed to be - a portable music player - and it behaves as such, a hassle-free low-maintenance unit that does its job and lets you enjoy the music instead of worrying about how to use it.
There are many small touches that show the class of this product. These days there aren't that many electronics (or otherwise) products that are thoroughly well engineered, designed and implemented. iPod on the other hand doesn't leave impression that there was skimping in choosing its parts to keep the cost down. It has a very small and quite light case yet very large capacity. Screen is large and high resolution - probably better than my Palm Pilot. Back light is way cool. Jog dial - now non-mechanic - works splendidly to reduce time spent on operating the device.
And as an audiophile myself, I am quite surprised at the sound quality provided by the iPod. Earphones are certainly the best I've ever heard (a 10 year old Aiwa earphone is the only left in good memory so far) , so in many cases you won't need to carry anything else. You want to be able to just grab the thing and store it in the pocket or clip on the belt, and anything larger than earphones or perhaps Ety's kills the portability factor. There doesn't seem to be much coloration - which is the thing I hate the most - and some instruments sound pretty amazing. I can't recall too many headphones, even expensive ones, that make a solo violin sound good but this earphone does.
But in the end, the biggest draw for me was convenience - I don't carry PCDP's around these days, as the amount of space needed in my bag to stuff a PCDP, along with headphones and perhaps an amp or PDAC into it, plus the massive weight, puts it off too much without even considering the most important factor of them all - music selection. So often I had trouble choosing CDs in the morning that it delays my departure to work, and then when you're there you don't feel like listening to any of those 3-4 CDs that you took 10 minutes to choose.
Also, if you want to go out for a walk outside or just go shopping, preparing the same above equipment in its own bag often gets too frustrating, so it happens less and less until it doesn't happen at all.
No such problems with iPod. As long as it's charged, it can store enough of different kinds of music that you'll always find some suiting your current mood. And all you need to do is clip it on your belt, stuff earphones into your pocket or - hell - right into the ears, and off you go.
And while iPod can't replace my massive speakers and custom DACs, and mp3's are not really CD quality, we so often get lost in seeking that ultimate sound that we forget the reason for doing so - and that's enjoyment of the music. This is an abused phrase, I know, but so are many others in life; people claim that this or that is what really matters, yet still ignore it in daily lives.
