[raisin]

I read the posts about overly sensitive touch buttons on the ipod, and have to laugh, as i suffer the opposite problem.
I work with my hands and have moderately callussed fingertips that just don't seem to register on the ipod. On dry days i have to lick my finger tip to have any chance of success.
Having the sensitivity [user adjustable], on the menu would be great convenience!

 

[gratner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raisin I read the posts about overly sensitive touch buttons on the ipod, and have to laugh, as i suffer the opposite problem. I work with my hands and have moderately callussed fingertips that just don't seem to register on the ipod. On dry days i have to lick my finger tip to have any chance of success. Having the sensitivity [user adjustable], on the menu would be great convenience!

Wow that's pretty disgusting.

 

[10068]

I heard when the iPod's battery dies, you gotta mail it into the company to get it replaced.. total crap IME. (if it's not just a rumour that is) I remember the Sony DiscMan was like that after they stopped production of the battery that powered it...

 

[Ceejay34]

Did any of you people even consider a Karma?

-WAYYY long batterylife. 13-15 hours easy.
-Gapless playback. No Gaps evah.
-OGG Vorbis and FLAC as well as MP3, yeah baby!!
-The best sound quality. I know this is supposed to be highly subjective, but i've extensively played (weeks) with a iRiver iHP-120 and a Zen Xtra 30 Gig and the Karma blows them out the water. Seriously.
-Very cool docking station, with ethernet support. Any OS supported thru networking capability.

So it hasnt got the USB Mass Storage support, just like the Zen for instance, but, UNLIKE the Zen, the included software is highly sufficient for my needs.
That being said, there will be Firmware out with USB Mass Storage support "soon".

 

[10068]

Ceejay- have you ever used an iRiver? i bought my sister one for Christmas of '03 and even with its stock earbuds i was FLOORED at how good it sounded.

Especially radio... wow!

I have basically no experience with portable rigs.. but I'm still amazed at how good that stock iRiver setup sounded

 

[strohmie]

At the Chicago meet yesterday someone (Todd R?) brought an iPod by and I have to admit I did enjoy it. The one thing that irked me a bit was that he said he needed to get the battery replaced after about a year of use because the battery wasn't holding a charge as much as it once was. I find that to be rather pathetic on Apple's part...probably just another way to make more money off their users. That's my main guess as to why they don't allow it to power down -- force users to either replace the battery after a year or buy an entirely new, next gen iPod. My Zen 2.0's battery lasted all the way through its life, and I used it at least five hours a day the entire time, oftentimes more than 12 per day. And it still held a 14ish hour charge when it died.

That said, the iPod may be in my future -- I take 10-hour trips from Illinois to Maryland every two months or so, and as it stands now I listen to my Karma over earbuds, not quite the best idea. With the iPod I could dock it through the cigarette lighter and listen through the radio with that adaptor they have (no tape player in my damn-old car, unfortunately). We'll see.

 

[Slimm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ceejay34 Did any of you people even consider a Karma? -The best sound quality. I know this is supposed to be highly subjective, but i've extensively played (weeks) with a iRiver iHP-120 and a Zen Xtra 30 Gig and the Karma blows them out the water. Seriously.

In your case, I'd hope you'd think it was subjective. Exactly with what headphones did you come to this conclusion with?

I own the IHP and the Xtra, and previously owned a Karma, and with 4P's, WITHOUT EQ, both of them spank the Karma afa sound quality. You almost need the EQ to have the Karma catch up to, and surpass the other two for SQ. The case can be made that the EQ of the Karma is much better than the others, sure. But any player for me that you HAVE to engage the EQ for good sound does not make that an advantage for me.

For my money, the iPod is the most complete player for my needs, with or without a battery pack. I do find the fact that I could buy a battery pack for it and not have to use a soldering iron a big advantage. A big part of that is SQ though.

 

[chadbang]

Quote:

The one thing that irked me a bit was that he said he needed to get the battery replaced after about a year of use because the battery wasn't holding a charge as much as it once was

I don't know about this. There is so much rumour and myth about this. I think lithium polymer batteries can last a LONG time. The ones that power my Sony Camcorder lasted 4 Years before they started not holding a proper charge.

 

[Ceejay34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slimm In your case, I'd hope you'd think it was subjective. Exactly with what headphones did you come to this conclusion with?

Senns MX 500's. Don't know how you managed to get the impression the iHP-120 is any better than the Karma for soundquality. Of course you'd use the equaliser to set up a nice sound for your tastes. The Karma's equaliser is indeed better than any of the competition so that helps. Can't really compare the iHP and the Karma with equalisers off since i don't have the iHP here no more. But back when i did have both to compare i preferred the Karma.

 

[third_eye]

How is the sound quality of the ipod compared to the others?

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slimm I own the IHP and the Xtra, and previously owned a Karma, and with 4P's, WITHOUT EQ, both of them spank the Karma afa sound quality. You almost need the EQ to have the Karma catch up to, and surpass the other two for SQ. The case can be made that the EQ of the Karma is much better than the others, sure. But any player for me that you HAVE to engage the EQ for good sound does not make that an advantage for me.

That was my conclusion as well. The Karma sounded inadequate on its own, until you EQ it up, then it sounds decent. But it bugged me that you needed that EQ to make it right. The reason i keep my old iPod is for the sound quality, as a reference. No EQ needed. But other than SQ, the iPod leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[strohmie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadbang I don't know about this. There is so much rumour and myth about this. I think lithium polymer batteries can last a LONG time. The ones that power my Sony Camcorder lasted 4 Years before they started not holding a proper charge.

Well, ask Todd sometime. I'm pretty sure he was the one I was talking to about it, and I'd be inclined to believe he was speaking honestly (why would you freely admit that the player you cherish started losing its charge after a year?).

 

[AndyH]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek I heard when the iPod's battery dies, you gotta mail it into the company to get it replaced.. total crap IME. (if it's not just a rumour that is) I remember the Sony DiscMan was like that after they stopped production of the battery that powered it...

Absolutely false. You can have Apple replace the battery for you (for something like $99), or you can purchase a new battery from a few different vendors (for roughly $40) and replace it yourself in about 20 minutes.

 

[Slimm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ceejay34 Senns MX 500's. Don't know how you managed to get the impression the iHP-120 is any better than the Karma for soundquality. Of course you'd use the equaliser to set up a nice sound for your tastes. The Karma's equaliser is indeed better than any of the competition so that helps. Can't really compare the iHP and the Karma with equalisers off since i don't have the iHP here no more. But back when i did have both to compare i preferred the Karma.

Well, I used what could be considered world class, incredibly accurate, portable headphones, that's how.

Not for nothing, saying x sounds better than Y, HANDS DOWN, using a set of MX500's as reference, is not a great arguement. If you like it, so be it, but please.....

And I'll say it again, if you NEED to engage the EQ in order for the player to sound good, to me that's not a feather in it's cap. Any piece could have an incredible EQ, if I HAVE to use it, it's a no go.

Third Eye, the iPod is flat, and has a flat sound. to me, the IHP/Ety combo sounds better than the Ety/iPod, not by much, but it does. For me, the IHP with anything else I own doesn't measure up to those phones with the iPod. The Xtra had what I consider a "dynamic" sound with emphasis placed on vibrant highs and lows. It does that better than the ipod, but I still prefer the flat sound more.

Hope that helps.

 

[Ceejay34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slimm Well, I used what could be considered world class, incredibly accurate, portable headphones, that's how.

Nice piece of bollocks right there. The mx 500 is plenty accurate for comparing DAP's. I'm glad you feel happy with shelling out a ****load of money and need to convince yourself it was worth it but i don't buy into that for a sec. You ever listened to a pair of MX 500's? I bet you haven't.
I own PX 100, PX 200, Sony SL 71 earphones and granted they may not be the most expensive headgear theyre not too bad. And the MX 500 ranks them all.

By the way you do realise youre listening to AAC or Mp3 on your ipod? Not to flac or wav? Come again on worldclass quality?