[GerGa]

Hi, I want to upgrade from my Sansa Fuze to an Ipod Touch 4g for the functionality. The only thing I'm worried about is sound quality. Will I be disappointing in the sound quality of the Touch vs my fuze or are they not very different? I use them for line out in my car and for a little bit of headphone use. Thanks!

 

[Inks]

I actually think the line-out on the 4g Touch is far superior. Out of the HO, I also prefer the Touch but taste is a factor to consider. The Touch is more detailed and cold while the Fuze is a warmer sound. 

 

[Berkovajazz]

i don't feel Fuze warm

 

[J.Pocalypse]

I have both, but never used the line out in my iPod ( yet ) but IMO, the Fuze sounds better with the headphone out. Sounds kinda odd, but I think the Fuze sounds more purpose built then my iPod. Cleaner, fuller, etc.

 

[Zabardo]

I've run some tests on a Fuze plus I have a Clip+ which is closely almost the same sound as the fuze, using v0 vbr mp3s of my owns cds Pop, Jazz, House, Electronic, Classical genres and it goes like this:
 
Fuze headphone out vs touch headphone out = Fuze wins, delivers a clearer more brighter and clean audio.
 
Fuze headphone out vs touch using a dedicated player like EQu or Equalizer = nearly on the same level just that the touch gives a more warmer sound and tends to distort if you haven't adjusted the gain on the mp3s.
 
Fuze headphone out vs touch using LOD + EQu/Equalizer = hands down Touch.
 
Fuze LOD vs Touch Lod + EQu/Equalizer = back to point 2, but at this point I still verge towards the touch due to the fact I absolutely love using EQu and the warm sound fits my current headphones.
 
As for car audio I have a Kenwood KVT-546DVD with the Ipod cable interface, so mainly my ipod is just feeding the files thru the dock connector and just sitting there being cute, everything else is done by the radio.
 
 
 

 

[Palm Springs]

I have the clip which is supposed to be identical sounding to the fuze.  just got the 4g touch, first impression is that it has alot more bass then the clip, and overall i'm pleasantly surprised by it's SQ  although i still prefer the zune 30 over it
 

 

[GerGa]

Thanks everyone for the input.
 
Quote:

I've run some tests on a Fuze plus I have a Clip+ which is closely almost the same sound as the fuze, using v0 vbr mp3s of my owns cds Pop, Jazz, House, Electronic, Classical genres and it goes like this:
 
Fuze headphone out vs touch headphone out = Fuze wins, delivers a clearer more brighter and clean audio.
 
Fuze headphone out vs touch using a dedicated player like EQu or Equalizer = nearly on the same level just that the touch gives a more warmer sound and tends to distort if you haven't adjusted the gain on the mp3s.
 
Fuze headphone out vs touch using LOD + EQu/Equalizer = hands down Touch.
 
Fuze LOD vs Touch Lod + EQu/Equalizer = back to point 2, but at this point I still verge towards the touch due to the fact I absolutely love using EQu and the warm sound fits my current headphones.
 
As for car audio I have a Kenwood KVT-546DVD with the Ipod cable interface, so mainly my ipod is just feeding the files thru the dock connector and just sitting there being cute, everything else is done by the radio.
 
 
 

Zabardo, I got the touch and I totally agree with you.  I listen to the same music as you and my first reaction comparing line-out to line-out was that the Touch sound is empty while the Fuze was full and warm.  Listening to George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", my favorite parts of the song on the Fuze were boring on the Touch.  Would you be able to send me your settings for EQu or Equalizer?  Maybe a screenshot or picture of something? 
 
Thanks
 
PS. If anyone else could recommend EQ settings too, that would be awesome.

 

[Zabardo]

Sure no problem, touch and iphone 4G headphone output its such a lackluster I dont see the point downgrading the hardware and I mean come on... its was at first targetted as a music player, of course it never had a real equalizer till EQu and Equalizer app appeared on the market.
 
Anyways these are my settings, but mind you different headphones means different settings, plus personal liking plus using a LOD to bypass the headphone output greatly changes the audio quality on the touch, as in Jubeat is playable while using a lineout, compared to lineout from headphone that picks a noticeable amount of noise at higher volume settings.
 
 
This was my preferred setting for my previous main PX200ii and a Px200.

 
 
This was for my portapros, notice how the high range goes waaaaay high, somehow this headphone never sounded good compared to well... everything else i put him on.

 
 
 
And as for yesterday I'm an owner of a HD25-1-II but as it right now it's going on the burn-in process so the sound has been changing quite a lot for the last 10 hours and also I need to recalibrate the gain screws on my PA2V2 so they fit the HD25, so it might take a while before I reach my optimal setting for that headphone.

 
 

 

[GerGa]

Thanks, I will take note from your eq settings when making my own. Oddly enough, it seems to be the opposite of what I think I will need. The bass on the IPod Touch seems so HUGE and muttled, it's just way too much and over powering. This is line out into the aux jack in my car compared to a Fuze line out, mind you. Setting the car radio to the equalizer preset "classical" seems to help the most...
Does anyone have any Equ/Equalizer screenshots, suggestions, etc. for my situation?
Thanks

 

[Zabardo]

Ah car settings, then it would be this:
 

 
That's what I used on my line out before I moved to a dedicated Line out and was feeding my radio before I bought the specially made Kenwood cable, as for why classic sounds the "best for you"
 

 
That's the actual EQ curve for "Classical" there you have a start of what to mess to get what you are looking for.
 

 

[Sephiroth619]

I have a Fuze, iPod Nano, and iPod Classic.
 
I much prefer the iPod sound as it's warmer and actually gets louder than the Fuze. I'm using various headphones as well.

 

[GerGa]

I listened to my fuze through headphone out instead of line out today in the car. I would rather listen to the Sandisk Sansa Fuze through headphone out than the Apple Ipod Touch through any-out on any EQ. I will try to return the IPod Touch 4. The bass( not to mention every other frequency) is so much more accurate on the Sansa Fuze.

 

[Zabardo]

It's a personal opinion that the touch/phone 4G sounds not as good as the iphone 3 due to the wolfson dacs that where used prior to 3GS and upwards models. After this apple changed to a different amp for the headphone being a cirrus logic chip 338S0859, personally I have never been a fan of cirrus logic products so my opinion will be completely biased towards this aspect, as for now my dream rig is currently a current Ipod touch or iphone feeding digitally a Algorithm Solo to a Predator or RX-mk2, then to my current headphones.
 
Ind the end it will be how analitical or anal can you become towards the sound you want, sound is subjective, listen in whatever device you like Fuze or touch.
 
 
Edited: To avoid further derailing of this thread and making it a pointless debate, in the end it all becomes personal preferences not who's defending or supporting a brand.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[legcramp]

It's a fact the touch/phone 4G sounds surprisingly bad compared to their 3G counterparts or lower priced brothers and sisters, hence why you see about everyone using a LOD to bypass the hadphone jack and to have a fixed volume, does marvels for line in on cars and of course amps.
 
 

 
lolwut, stop talking outta ur behind.

 

[tds101]

 
Quote:

It's a fact the touch/phone 4G sounds surprisingly bad compared to their 3G counterparts or lower priced brothers and sisters, hence why you see about everyone using a LOD to bypass the hadphone jack and to have a fixed volume, does marvels for line in on cars and of course amps.
 
 

 
That is a straight out LIE!!! Go to GSMArena and read the iPhone 4 review, and then listen to the opinions of actual iPhone 4 owners (like myself) who were quite surprised at the excellent SQ an iPhone 4 produces,...same as an iPod touch 4G. You saying the SQ sux is a fact is utter BS, so spewing crap is unappreciated....
 
And using an LOD>Amp combo has nothing to do w/if the SQ sux, as that's mostly a personal preference (or to drive hard to power IEM's & HP's).
 
Just because your coming off as an Apple hater doesn't mean we all have to be haters. 

 State real facts or keep your "opinion" to yourself,...