[morgenstern82]

I got the 7th gen nano two weeks ago and have loved it.  I've got it hooked up to my Etymotic ER4S via a Headstage Arrow G4 with most of my music in AIFF and some in ALAC and have been very pleased with the SQ.  I also own an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, 1st gen Shuffle, 1st gen Nano, 6th gen Nano and iPod Classic 6th gen and perhaps my ears are not that sensitive but the SQ has been right up there with those if not better.
 
While I like the design of my 6th gen Nano because I use it as a watch, I do prefer the design of the 7th gen Nano as it straps to my Arrow G4 perfectly for a very nice ultra-portable rig.

 

[jazzman7]

I own the Nano 7G as well as the Nano 1G and Nano 3G.
 
The Nano 1G sounds better than the Nano 3G from the headphone out. The former can also be Rockboxed (and is, in my case).    
 
I have compared the three Nanos playing music out the standard Apple OS on each, with the same music and headphones.  The ranking I'd put them into currently is 
 
Nano 1G > Nano 3G >> Nano 7G. 
 
In particular, the Nano 7G seems to have problems with very dense, complicated sound mixes.   Stereo imaging seems to suffer a bit during these on the 7G, and the sound takes on a slight garbled character (and this is with Apple Lossless tracks where no perceptual stuff is going on).  The 1G remains rock solid, and the 3G is not too far behind, although the treble on the 3G sounds a bit harsher.  
 
I use the 7G for podcasts only.  It is great for that -- especially video podcasts, where a postage-stamp sized viewer is fine.  The lightness of the 7G cannot be beat, and speech playback is just fine.  

 

[Asuriel]

[size=13.0pt]And that’s the exact reason for which I decided to write my opinions. I bought the nano because It is supposed to be a good audio player. Personally, I've never thought that the iPods audio device have a good headphone audio quality. However, like somebody think, I consider the line out of the iPod devices very good. In fact, I usually listen the iPhone 3Gs (but I have also an iPod Nano 1G) with Fiio E11 and the dock connection and it sounds amazing… great sound, in my opinion. I don’t want to open a discussion on which DAC is better or which iPod has the best sound. I think that an audio device, especially its music timbre, should be a personal and subjective choice. I mean, until the music continue to give you strong emotions. But when an audio device is not able to offer a clear stereo imaging (quoting jazzman7) the instruments that you would like to grab and taste in you audio track become confused. In this situation you can’t really enjoy the music because it sounds like a mix of something artificial. I’d like to say is that Nano 7 th generation don’t make me confortable in listening, unlike to 3GS which is one or two steps better ([/size]I mean [size=13pt]with the headphone output ).[/size]
[size=13.0pt]At least, it should have kept the line out of the last ipods (I want to underline that the new adaptor has and objective worse audio quality).  [/size]
[size=13.0pt]I’d like Nano for the new touch screen, for the possibility to watch video, for the general usability, for the astonishing radio quality (I’ve never listen something like that) [/size]but, [size=13pt]I’m sorry, not as mp3 player. Of course, that’s only my personal opinion.        [/size]

 

[Blackmore]

Reading some negative impressions about the sound quality of 7G Nano make me wonder if I better go and buy Cowon instead, however, this is not for me and I was looking for something that very easy in use, want to give it as present to my wife, but now I dont know, any idea about alternative?
 
THX

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

Reading some negative impressions about the sound quality of 7G Nano make me wonder if I better go and buy Cowon instead, however, this is not for me and I was looking for something that very easy in use, want to give it as present to my wife, but now I dont know, any idea about alternative?
 
THX

Cowon UI's are notorious for being not intuitive at all.....just the opposite on an iPod. 

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

Cowon UI's are notorious for being not intuitive at all.....just the opposite on an iPod. 

 
The Cowon interface isn't as good as an iPod, but "not intuitive at all"? There's a play button for play, an obvious track skip, the progress/jump to position bar as YouTube, my J3 has physical buttons for volume - in fact, the main player screen is pretty much the one everyone is used to from YouTube and a PC. Really, if you don't find anything about this intuitive, then you are out of 'tuit.
 
Other nice stuff: you can navigate using tags or folder structure (i.e. just like a PC) and the EQ interface is excellent.
 
The weakest points are the tucked away interface for setting stuff like shuffle play and repeat/don't repeat album and the symbols used, and playlist making:
 
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56586
 
Overall, I'd call it a B- interface, with the Apple a B at most, because the equalizer interface is dumbed down to uselessness. Someone with different priorities would certainly give different scores, but "Not intuitive at all" is hyperbole.

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

Reading some negative impressions about the sound quality of 7G Nano make me wonder if I better go and buy Cowon instead, however, this is not for me and I was looking for something that very easy in use, want to give it as present to my wife, but now I dont know, any idea about alternative?
 
THX

 
The obvious alternative to a Nano is a Sansa Clip+. Excellent sound quality, micro sd slot for up to a 64GB card, full interface instead of shuffle play, extremely cheap, plays lots of formats. There's no point paying extra for the 8GB player instead of the 4GB - the card slot makes the tiny memory difference irrelevant.
 
Downside: screen is on the small side if you have eyesight problems.

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

 
The Cowon interface isn't as good as an iPod, but "not intuitive at all"? There's a play button for play, an obvious track skip, the progress/jump to position bar as YouTube, my J3 has physical buttons for volume - in fact, the main player screen is pretty much the one everyone is used to from YouTube and a PC. Really, if you don't find anything about this intuitive, then you are out of 'tuit.
 
Other nice stuff: you can navigate using tags or folder structure (i.e. just like a PC) and the EQ interface is excellent.
 
The weakest points are the tucked away interface for setting stuff like shuffle play and repeat/don't repeat album and the symbols used, and playlist making:
 
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56586
 
Overall, I'd call it a B- interface, with the Apple a B at most, because the equalizer interface is dumbed down to uselessness. Someone with different priorities would certainly give different scores, but "Not intuitive at all" is hyperbole.

 
My last one was the i9, and the section I highlighted above was a nightmare. I may be willing to soften my stance if the X9 I have coming is set up differently.
Also, you're assuming everyone tinkers with the equalizer on their player.....and that is not the case. I personally do, if my headphones need some adjustment. 

 

[Magicman74]

Haven't heard the 1g nano, But from what I've heard the 3g nano sounds the best. Even beating the 5.5 and Touches  3rd, 4th and 5th G...I have them all here and by far the 3G nano sounds better then them all.  No contest really!!

 

[Blackmore]

Many thanks guys, great info, really appeciate.
 
For many years, iAudio X5L is my player and not that long ago I sent it to Cowon Korea for headphone jack and battery replacement, fantastic service by the way, still using and it still sounds great to me.
The reason I was asking, is because  I want to give it as present to my wife and she is not that picky as we all are up here, so, I thought Apple will be much easier in use with interface, also small and stylish with nice battery life, thats all.
 
THX

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

 
My last one was the i9, and the section I highlighted above was a nightmare. I may be willing to soften my stance if the X9 I have coming is set up differently.
 

 
I am sceptical that the tiny area of the GUI responsible for selecting shuffle or non-shuffle play can be sufficiently bad for a person of reasonable non-klutziness to say that it makes the entire GUI a "nightmare" and "completly non-intuitive". What with it being only around 0.1% of the use most people make of a GUI, and surely not more than 5% for anyone not suffering from OCD. Plus there are only about 3 things there, and the symbols aren't THAT bad - random play should teach you what they mean in 5 minutes.
 

 
Also, you're assuming everyone tinkers with the equalizer on their player.....and that is not the case. I personally do, if my headphones need some adjustment. 

 
No, I'm not assuming that - I specifically said Someone with different priorities would certainly give different scores, but "Not intuitive at all" is hyperbole.
 
But to be honest, if you're not using EQ aqnd BEE, then a Cowon is almost certainly a waste of money and you'd almost  be better off with a Rockboxed Clip. 

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

 
I am sceptical that the tiny area of the GUI responsible for selecting shuffle or non-shuffle play can be sufficiently bad for a person of reasonable non-klutziness to say that it makes the entire GUI a "nightmare" and "completly non-intuitive". What with it being only around 0.1% of the use most people make of a GUI, and surely not more than 5% for anyone not suffering from OCD. Plus there are only about 3 things there, and the symbols aren't THAT bad - random play should teach you what they mean in 5 minutes.
 
 
No, I'm not assuming that - I specifically said Someone with different priorities would certainly give different scores, but "Not intuitive at all" is hyperbole.
 
But to be honest, if you're not using EQ aqnd BEE, then a Cowon is almost certainly a waste of money and you'd almost  be better off with a Rockboxed Clip. 

 
I've had a bunch of Rockboxed Clips, and I do enjoy them....still do have two of them and a Rockboxed iPod and e280 as well. But, to get back to the point of the UI, here's a quote from someone who just tried Rockbox for the first time yesterday.....
 
 

Rockbox is very confusing. It is hard to remember which setting is in which menu and how to get there.

 

[jazzman7]

Haven't heard the 1g nano, But from what I've heard the 3g nano sounds the best. Even beating the 5.5 and Touches  3rd, 4th and 5th G...I have them all here and by far the 3G nano sounds better then them all.  No contest really!!

One thing to point out about all the Nano models EXCEPT the 7G is the availability of an unamped line out via the 30-pin dock connector. The Lightning connector on the 7G is digital and means you cannot easily bypass the headphone amp.

 

[Blackmore]

I just placed an order on Cowon iAudio i10 32GB, cant beat their sound and flexible file use anyway.
 
THX

 

[Annafrancesca]

Got a nano 7th gen 11am - put it up for sale at 12:30pm.
I know iPods aren't known for their sound quality, but this is thin sounding and grainy up top. vocals sounds flimsy without body. complex passages sound like a mess and overall clarity and soundstage just suffers with anything more than a simple piano progression. Good thing I saw an ad for a brand new 6th gen Nano from the replacement program. In my opinion sounds a lot better than the 7th gen.