[thesuperguy]

I have only recently become involved in this audiophiliac behavior and I'm beginning to shave off the rough edges of my what you would call "rig". I purchased the vsonic gr99 and my only source of music is currently my ipod touch 4th gen. Now I'm pretty sure my ipod can handle driving my vsonic but I'm wondering how the ipod compares to other portable sources and if there is any way to improve the ipod as a source in the first place. I have already loaded my ipod with ALAC.

 

[tzjin]

iPod's are fairly decent as portable sources. Until you start spending a lot more money, you are unlikely to hear much of a difference from a better source. The one problem that you might have is a little bit of hiss with your IEM.

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

I have only recently become involved in this audiophiliac behavior and I'm beginning to shave off the rough edges of my what you would call "rig". I purchased the vsonic gr99 and my only source of music is currently my ipod touch 4th gen. Now I'm pretty sure my ipod can handle driving my vsonic but I'm wondering how the ipod compares to other portable sources and if there is any way to improve the ipod as a source in the first place. I have already loaded my ipod with ALAC.

 
You have to spend a lot more money to get a player significantly better than the 4th gen Touch. 
 
One inexpensive thing you could do is explore one of the many equalizer apps available. Then, if you still feel like you need to do more, you could explore the line-out cable-->portable amp method, which is quite popular. But take it slow.....don't upgrade just because you can, only do it if you are unhappy with what you are hearing. It's easy to spend way too much money on this hobby.

 

[thesuperguy]

I've heard that the audio processor in the older ipods made by wolfson is better than the ones made by cirrus. Is this still the case? My ipod currently hosts the Cirrus Logic CS42L61.
 

 

[tzjin]

I'm not sure, but the current iPhone 4/4s have a very nice audio section.

 

[thesuperguy]

The ipod touch 4th gen and the iphone 4 both have the Cirrus Logic CS42L61 but the newer iphone 4s has the Cirrus Logic CLI1560B0.
 
I doubt that we would hear a significant difference between these processors.

 

[tattoohooligan]

What's the word on say a 2nd Gen iPod Touch then?

 

[tzjin]

In general, iPods are good, not great. They should be fine for any music listening without headphones that are too demanding or revealing.

 

[firstfall]

What would be a good portable source that offers lots of memory as well?
 

 

[tzjin]

I don't think there's much of a point, Your headphones won't show much of a difference. After you upgrade those, then think about upping your source.

 

[Emospence]

The iPod will do just fine.
 
A much more effective upgrade route to go would be the head/earphones themselves

 

[R300]

My wife has an iTouch 4g and I've tried the LOD into my portable amp and triple-fis.
 
Pro:
- Bass is tight with great exension
- Bass, mids and highs well balanced
- Good instrument separation
 
Con:
- At first you think it's very detailed, but after repeated listening, detail resolution is just acceptable
- A bit artificial sounding (possibly an attempt to give the impression of better detail resolution)
- Not the most musical source I've ever heard
 
The only sources I can compare it to are my Rio Karma and various CD players, all of which were more musical than the iTouch. However I would still rate the iTouch 4g as a great portable source - and I am a self confessed Apple-phobe!
 
(Running my triple-fi from the headphone out, everything sounded loser and more congested, but still not bad)