[javajive]

In Tokyo it is becoming increasingly rare to see someone with stock buds and when I do, the person tends to be a sloppily dressed and overweight salary man.
Can`t remember that last time I saw a girl wearing them.

As for players, Sony seems to have made a measurable comeback judging by the number of Sony noise cancelling phones I see and the number of people in that players section at the big electronic outlets.


Its also kind of amazing how often I see people with higher end IEMs which would seem to indicate that quite a few people here are interested in SQ.

 

[stozzer123]

Ok so I think we need to point out some benifits of Ipods

To show what can be achieved.


When tuned to your specs ipods can achieve a lot that other players cannot!

With a little tweaking they all have there place

eg

My 5th gen ipod video -

Rockboxed, most headfiers will know this the customization of eq and other settings available make this indispensable and must on compatible ipods. It has been years I have used this firmware and to me is unrivaled. (balance function is very nice as i have slightly damaged hearing right ear.)

250gb hd mod (thats right loads of room for high encoded files and then some). Cant think of any other player as portable capable of acheiving such high capacity.

Bypass hp out and use a lod (not great difference but def helps with poor inbuilt amp in ipod and 'produces' cleaner sound)(every little helps)

External Amp again sometimes subtle difference with my fiio e5 although when used with my basso great leap in performance.(again every little helps)

future planned imod within the next month (any volunteers in scotland?)

fyi - headphones/iem's used in my setups.

Grado 80's (home use)
JVC 750's (basshead)
Phonak pfe 112
Shure 210
JVC Marshmallow/ w kramer mod and triple flange buds (again basshead)


also have a touch for gaming and video, and rockboxed 1st gen nano (gym) and sansa clip (backup and an absolute star)

OP - i totally agree with you that people are not aware of using phones etc as is the case in the UK I put it down to selection available in major stores (comet, pc world, currys, hmv (although recently seen increase in klipsch and vmoda in this store ((albiet lower priced models))


in the end knowledge is the source of wisdom and the more sites like headfi etc the better everyone should pay it forward ie i tell 5 peeps they tell 5 peeps and so on.

hopefully in the next few years peoples expectations will be higher causing more competition and higher expectation on sq and not "oooooooo its pretty"

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by javajive /img/forum/go_quote.gif In Tokyo it is becoming increasingly rare to see someone with stock buds and when I do, the person tends to be a sloppily dressed and overweight salary man. Can`t remember that last time I saw a girl wearing them. As for players, Sony seems to have made a measurable comeback judging by the number of Sony noise cancelling phones I see and the number of people in that players section at the big electronic outlets. Its also kind of amazing how often I see people with higher end IEMs which would seem to indicate that quite a few people here are interested in SQ.

oh wow..thats very different than here in NYC. The majority of people use stock earbuds from apple. Once in a while I see people with other cheap buds like sony or cheap earphones like marshmallows or some generic brand. Most of the time the "higher end" models I see are the Shure 115 (I think that's the one at least..some lower priced shure iem that is black colored). I've seen SE530 onces and ortofon once. Its either stock or shure se115. I think most people here don't care and just want something to listen to while they are on the bus/subway and that's fine by me. However the only issue I have is sometimes when my dap has those tracks where there are some silence in the end I can hear some of their music

 

[stratobeats]

Same here in Montreal, the majority have either an iPod or iPhone and use ibuds. Can't blame them though. There's such a lack of selection sold in retail and the only advertising I can recall is from Apple. I have yet to see an ad promoting a DAP other than the iPod.

 

[cruizin caleb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassheadd /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well my point was that most people who own ipods think its got good SQ.... ...The general consumer who wants a DAP, will just go buy an ipod because like I said everyone they know including their godfathers dog has one. These people lack originality.

you are brilliant; thats exactly why I have an iPod (no sarcasm) because everyone else (friends and family) has one. because the compatibility with all my friends' and family's libraries and vice-versa. i love hearing new music and i love introducing new music to others and the iPod is the most universally used DAP making it perfect for this. SQ is only one defining quality of a DAP

 

[TekeRugburn]

Ipod are whats mostly used because its whats trendy. And as for people using stock apple earbuds... its sort of like people "upgrading" their factory cd player in their cars but not upgrading the speakers.

 

[stingx]

Trendy, huh? I suppose so since it's the most marketed brand and most people equate mp3 with ipod. How about it being a well designed, ergonomic product with frequent FW upgrades and support? Although I don't use the stock firmware, buds, and loathe iTunes, I think it sounds pretty good stock - even better with proper noise isolating IEMs.

I don't doubt that there are many dedicated followers of fashion out there and that they are driven to be hip by owning what's popular but I truly believe, even with its faults, you get a very good product with Apple and they, for the most part, properly support your purchase.

The vast majority of Chinese knockoffs and fly-by-night "boutique" brewhaha products are dropped liked hot potatoes right after release - I know since I own a Teclast T50 and some other Chinese DAPs. Yeah go ahead, hold your breath for firmware

 

[shigzeo]

Basshead - if everyone has the same DAP, it isn't trendy anymore, it is a fact of life. And I don't see why fashion is a problem - if someone thinks the iPod is fashionable (don't see this), why the fuss over that?

At headfi, it's fashionable to wear amps, sport iems, and some even velcro their stuff together - does that rub you the wrong way? That is a trend too. Sure, people have them, sure some people buy them for the fashion - you can get loads of great accessories for an iPod.

But why does that make people who buy an iPod stupid, or Apple's products sound bad? Like I've said time and time again, I came from the anti-iPod crowd; I came from the heights of Cowon, Sony, and Meizu - oh yes, and iRiver (nice name) - and found the iPod touch. Somehow, all that I had heard with my already polluted ears and eyes (I bought it for use with internet, not music as it couldn't sound good) fell to pieces.

Not only does the iPod touch outclass the D2 in ever conceivable way, it has been gapless, had verifiable and proven battery life, and no firmware issues. Sure, the Cowon D2 says 52 hours: it gets around 35. My touch gets about the same. The Cowon has pretty bad bass roll off and poor separation.

What iPods fail at and may never recover from is EQ and sound enhancements. If that is boring, I understand it, but this ain't 2004 when the iPod was suffering teething problems that some companies still suffer from years and years after debuting their 'amazing sounding' products.

 

[feverfive]

Dang, I'm never more self-conscious for being an Apple/iPhone/iPod user than when I come to good ol' head-fi.

 

[rymd]

Everyone seems to have an ipod, because no one knows about anything else. I was actually surprised to see one girl at my school carry around a Fuze. The ipod basically dominates the market.. and as people carry them around, it advertises itself to other people. Walk in an electronics stores and there are 10 identical iPod nanos on display alone.. They're just different pretty colours. The iPod is like kleenex. It's become a household brand since everyone tells their friends. People often ask me, what kind of iPod do you have? .. equating iPod with a DAP. It's just ignorance, like how everyone uses the term mp3 player. If a dap doesn't play mp3, what does it play..?
I don't think the majority population has even heard of bass rolloff, gapless playback, or even know how to use an equaliser.. What I get from people is that they just want it to play music. Audio is just one of the more unknown tech related fields.. People use iBuds because it came with the iPod and there's really no reason to buy an alternative if it already plays music.
The majority consumer market just aren't as audio nerdy as you guys.

 

[shigzeo]

^^ that is cute and as apt as any post ever. That describes the market, not the iPod, not the audiophile who uses the iPod. Very succinct.

 

[roebeet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by feverfive /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dang, I'm never more self-conscious for being an Apple/iPhone/iPod user than when I come to good ol' head-fi.

Don't be. I think the majority of us here don't care if you use an iPod or not - don't let a few subjective voices get you down. AFAIC, use whatever device fits your needs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cruizin caleb /img/forum/go_quote.gif you are brilliant; thats exactly why I have an iPod (no sarcasm) because everyone else (friends and family) has one. because the compatibility with all my friends' and family's libraries and vice-versa. i love hearing new music and i love introducing new music to others and the iPod is the most universally used DAP making it perfect for this. SQ is only one defining quality of a DAP

Perfect example of what I'm talking about. CC wants a device primarily for collaboration between family and friends, so using an iPod is a no-brainer. But CC's requirements for a music player may not be the same as others.

I suppose the main issue I have is that so many people equate "music player" with "iPod" - similar to what was mentioned about Kleenex, or I would add things like Xerox or Band-Aid. The brand becomes the product. It makes sense because the iPod / iTunes combo is convenient. And, as we know, consumers love convenience. They might like a Zune HD or Fuze more, but they just haven't taken the time to research like most of us here in head-fi have.

 

[cruizin caleb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roebeet /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't be. I think the majority of us here don't care if you use an iPod or not - don't let a few subjective voices get you down. AFAIC, use whatever device fits your needs. Perfect example of what I'm talking about. CC wants a device primarily for collaboration between family and friends, so using an iPod is a no-brainer. But CC's requirements for a music player may not be the same as others. I suppose the main issue I have is that so many people equate "music player" with "iPod" - similar to what was mentioned about Kleenex, or I would add things like Xerox or Band-Aid. The brand becomes the product. It makes sense because the iPod / iTunes combo is convenient. And, as we know, consumers love convenience. They might like a Zune HD or Fuze more, but they just haven't taken the time to research like most of us here in head-fi have.

noob question kind of pertaining to this thread: if i play music from my MacBook through my uDAC should that be the same as if i play music from my iPod through my uDAC? or the same as any DAP through a uDAC?

 

[rawrster]

pretty easy answer considering you can't play music thru your udac from your ipod

 

[ChicagoNB]

I was on the train two nights ago. There were 12 people. 8 using iPhones as DAPS and then me. I have the iPhone but don't use it as a DAP.

I think the snob appeal of apple has long since dropped away. Almost everyone that I know of has an iPod of some sort.

iTunes is the greatest and as pointed out, easiest place to get that new album. If you haven't noticed Tower Records and other music stores were demolished by iTunes.

I don't consider myself to be a snob by carrying a nano and an RSA amp. It's just what I prefer to use. I resisted the iPod appeal a long time ago and finally came to my senses and got an iPod because it was the most convenient DAP to use. I had a Zen player but the software was so complicate to use. iTunes is by far the easiest piece of software to use.

These are just my opinions.