[shigzeo]

the imod of course significantly modifies the output of the dock connector to make it truly another beast but even so, if the imod/amp is not for you for whatever reason, it is indeed not for you. i prefer to go straight from headphone out of any dap as it is portable, light and no worry of sudden volume peaks. if anything, i use an impedence cable as is available from head-direct or from ebay.

much more cost effective and will unlike amp, quiet hiss rather than introduce own hiss.

 

[Navyblue]

Heading to town now for the kill.

Will I be home with the Fuze? the Classic? others? or will I be home empty handed?

If you guys have any more inputs now would probably the last chance to shoot them to me.

 

[Navyblue]

Ok, I came home empty handed. I was intending to get the Classic, but the Zune 120 suddenly caught my attention.

I auditioned the Classic 120GB and the 4G Nano, I found it weird that the Nano sounds noticeably brighter than the Classic with Westone 3. I listened to the "Not too late" by Norah Jones (I pick this track because I have the CD) that is the demo track in both players. I assume that both tracks are identical, the Nano seems to have no bass. I wanted to compare the 2G Touch but it doesn't have the same demo track, but with the Pavarotti live demo track in it I thought it sounds pretty good, with my Westone 3 the sound stage is very very huge.

I somehow felt the Classic sounds weird, seems that there is some uneveness in the frequency response but can't put a finger to it, it could be that I'm just too used to the Sony sound.

Now I seems to have reservation about everything in the market and more confused than ever.

Which is probably why I am reconsidering the Zune, which I have not physically see as I am not sure if it is available locally.

 

[shigzeo]

well, go for what sounds good to you. i have loved my sony for what it is but after listening to ipod over and over again, it is hard for me to get back to the sony.

what i do like is the intimate sound of the sony: the ipod is more of a sterile player and the sony more of a cuddly blanket. i guess if i listened only to the sony, i would have an adverse reaction. the sony is more bassy but not much more than my touch 2g.

 

[Navyblue]

I ordered the Zune 120, I didn't really thought I'd pick this just two days ago. I hope I don't get import duty.

 

[shigzeo]

import duties depend on many things: mostly what is written on the box. gift does not matter in canada and many other countries. i have received gifts that incurred expenses but other times, have received non-gifts that did not.

you will get duties if you object is over 36$ (i think) and written as worth that on the box. if it is a sample or repair for instance, you should be fine but if it is understood it is a sale, forget about it. if there is no way for the customs to figure it out how to price the object if they deem it necessary, you may be totally effed up.

i had a nintendo ds sold to me and the agreed price was 100$ but canada customs looked at it and re-evaluated it to be worth 250$ and charged me 68$ customs, tax and handling duty. it was too late as the process they wanted to re assess my ds was too lengthy to get done.

i will get probably another hit soon but i hope i get lucky.

 

[Navyblue]

The total cost (includes shipping) happens to be a few dollars higher than the tax free limit and I was told that I' have 50% chance of getting taxed. Let's see.

 

[shigzeo]

where do you live? certainly not canada!

 

[Navyblue]

Singapore.

The limit is SGD 400 which works out to be about USD 26x. My total is about USD 272. May be I should find a seller that would under declare that few dollars, but I didn't.

Yea I remember the limit for Canada is like $30 or so, and it sucks.

But nothing beats living in the US.

 

[shigzeo]

japan is not bad as well... very very good system. if you live in the us though, you still have to put up with slow mail and expensive posting fees. i sent from japan to spain which arrived in 7 days and cost only 8$ cdn but the same package from us or canada would have been about 14 usd and probably not have arrived as safe nor as quickly.

 

[qusp]

australia has a $1000AUD ($650USD) limit before any tax or duty

 

[Navyblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif australia has a $1000AUD ($650USD) limit before any tax or duty

Shoo, I hate Australians.

Btw, after a full working day B&H still hasn't ship my order, is it a sign that I should cancel it and get a used iMod that is floating around in a local forum?

 

[Zhdude]

As an Ipod classic owner, the only reason why I have it, is because it has a huge capacity, and battery life is top notch, but the main reason I stayed with apple is for my set up. I like having my Klipsch Igroove charging it, and the sound, size, price of the Igroove had no competitors when I bought it, and still doesn't. But I think it's better to get a flash drive now a days. The Classic is very slow if you look at speed of Flash drives in comparison. I'd go for the Creative Zen X-fi if 32 gigs is big enough for you? Or get the 16 gigs, and you can make it up with SD card. But heard it wasn't so great with the SD card. Check it out. The Creative Zen does have great SQ, and plus the earphones that come with, are very decent.

 

[matt_wants]

RE iPod Dock Line Outs;

I have an 80gb Classic, that I use with the original iPod dock, which I got when I bought my first full-size iPod in April 2005. The line-out in this model is unaffected by the volume control on the iPod and that includes with the original 30gb Photo this Classic replaced. The older model has been driven through my JVC stereo from the Line Out, where I found it to be too quiet for my usual listening level (13 out of 40), so it's possible it could be a true Line Out in these older docks?

The only slight downside is that it has the insert for a 40gb iPod 4G, but as it's the same width, it's only held on by the dock connecter and not supported by the shape of the dock insert. It can fall out if man-handled, but like I say, it's a small downside for a line-out. It may be wise to seek one of these out on eBay.

Also, Headphone-out is better than I remember on the Photo, even the Apple buds sound better than they did on that model, but then these are the re-shaped ones, whilst the others were the thin arm version. (I use them sometime for the 'look' whilst walking. Poseur, I know!)

 

[vkvedam]

Nothing more to add from my side as Shigzeo has answered almost everything. But I would like to mention the fact that iPod's LOD isn't same as the HP out and it's much better in terms of SQ. For instance there is zero hiss and a clean presentation of the entire spectrum.