[dr.morton]

Since the 15 $ is for world wide shipping I guess some get lucky others have to pay a little more.
In my case the shipping and modding together took only 2 weeks. That was really quick IMO.

 

[ArchiMark]

Dr Morton,

Could you elaborate a bit for this neophyte on the sound differences between the new 5G 80GB and your iMod unit??

The idea of 80GB storage capacity sounds great....but not if sound is not real good...

Thanks!

Mark

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.morton After getting the new 5G 80 GB today I just can repeat what is said zillion times before: YES, THE IMOD IS WORTH EVERY PENNY! Although I had my problems with it due to its limited portablity, now after comparing both players I cannot understand why I ever thought about selling it.

 

[Sweekz]

I JUST SENT OUT MY IPOD

:bitesfingernails:


im gonna miss it for 2 weeks

 

[dr.morton]

Quote:

Could you elaborate a bit for this neophyte on the sound differences between the new 5G 80GB and your iMod unit?? The idea of 80GB storage capacity sounds great....but not if sound is not real good... Thanks! Mark

Mark,
the difference is maybe best explained with some sort of cartoon/picture.
Imagine yourself at home. It rings at the door and you open it up. Outside is a huge monster selling girl scout cookies.
You have a very good look at the monster. You can see its face, fangs and claws but you just see a small part of the huge monster because the door is so small and the monster is filling the frame out completly. You can only imagine how big and ugly the damn thing must be on the outside.
That is the 5G iPod.
Imagine yourself opening up a a double gate. Same monster, still too big for a complete view - 5G iPod with dock connector and amp.
Imagine the whole front of your house being completly of glass. Now you are able to see the whole critter in all its glory.
That is the 4g iPod with Red Wine Mod and amp.

The 5G is not a bad player and the sound is okay. You have to remember that you always need an amp with the iMod so portability is limited. There are times when I prefer my 5G just for convenience purposes.
But the iMod plays in a different league and sounds a lot better then any DAP I have heard so far.

 

[ArchiMark]

Thanks for your illuminating, edifying, and scary reply, Dr Morton!

Now I get it...

Mark

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.morton Mark, the difference is maybe best explained with some sort of cartoon/picture. Imagine yourself at home. It rings at the door and you open it up. Outside is a huge monster selling girl scout cookies. You have a very good look at the monster. You can see its face, fangs and claws but you just see a small part of the huge monster because the door is so small and the monster is filling the frame out completly. You can only imagine how big and ugly the damn thing must be on the outside. That is the 5G iPod. Imagine yourself opening up a a double gate. Same monster, still to big for a complete view. 5G iPod with dock connector and amp. Imagine the whole front of your house being completly of glass. Now you are able to see the whole critter in all its glory. That is the 4g iPod with Red Wine Mod and amp. The 5G is not a bad player and the sound is okay. You have to remember that you always need an amp with the iMod so portability is limited. There are times when I prefer my 5G just for convenience purposes. But the iMod plays in a different league and sounds a lot better then any player I have heard so far.

 

[Sweekz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.morton Mark, the difference is maybe best explained with some sort of cartoon/picture. Imagine yourself at home. It rings at the door and you open it up. Outside is a huge monster selling girl scout cookies. You have a very good look at the monster. You can see its face, fangs and claws but you just see a small part of the huge monster because the door is so small and the monster is filling the frame out completly. You can only imagine how big and ugly the damn thing must be on the outside. That is the 5G iPod. Imagine yourself opening up a a double gate. Same monster, still to big for a complete view. 5G iPod with dock connector and amp. Imagine the whole front of your house being completly of glass. Now you are able to see the whole critter in all its glory. That is the 4g iPod with Red Wine Mod and amp. The 5G is not a bad player and the sound is okay. You have to remember that you always need an amp with the iMod so portability is limited. There are times when I prefer my 5G just for convenience purposes. But the iMod plays in a different league and sounds a lot better then any player I have heard so far.

 

[FA22RaptorF22]

i don't think this mod is worth it....i could set that up myself...

but why would you do that anyway....isn't there a dedicated line-out in the dock connector? That way, just spend like 60 - 100$ on a sick dock to whatever cable and do it that way....thats the way i like to fly.

 

[bigshot]

The line out from an iPod's dock is as good as the output of a good midpriced CD player. Stories about monsters and doorways are cute, but I don't know how a portable DAP is going to sound that much better than the CD player you're ripping the files from.

If you want to improve the sound of your iPod...

1) Experiment with bitrates and encoders to find the best sounding to you
2) Get a dock and hook your iPod up to your home stereo
3) Get a better set of headphones and a headphone amp

If it still doesn't sound good to you...

4) Look for better recorded music.

See ya
Steve

 

[nfusion770]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot I don't know how a portable DAP is going to sound that much better than the CD player you're ripping the files from.

I don't understand this comment. What does the playback quality of a cdrom have to do with its ability to rip a perfect cd? It's my understanding that a cd player could sound like crap and still rip a bit perfect cd that could sound great in many other systems.

Regardless, the imod sounds much better than a regular ipod lineout. The imod is snappier, has more clarity, richer mids, and just better bass. I hear that and my imod is supposedly not yet burned in (60 hours or so). The imod has that thing that lets you sink into the music rather that passively listen to it.

I was testing earlier tonight, to see if I could tell the difference between my imod and my pc running asio via foobar- the pc is a notch better I think, but the imod is extremely impressive for a portable.

My test system for the video vs the imod was alo cable- xin supermicro- e500's. To be fair, however, the imod was connected via cotton mini and the video via cryo dock. The cryo is a tad lower on the sound quality scale IMO, but the differences well exceed that alone.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FA22RaptorF22 i don't think this mod is worth it....i could set that up myself... but why would you do that anyway....isn't there a dedicated line-out in the dock connector? That way, just spend like 60 - 100$ on a sick dock to whatever cable and do it that way....thats the way i like to fly.

If you could do it yourself then have at it, but I'm sure it's a time consuming and tedious process.

But there is no doubt that the iMod improves the sound versus the stock line-out, and it shouldn't be hard to understand why. Taking the output straight from the DAC, bypassing a bunch of mediocre parts are circuitry in favor of a pure signal path with high-quality caps is the kind of improvement that is what better quality audio is all about.

 

[dr.morton]

bigshot wrote
Quote:

If you want to improve the sound of your iPod...

Steve,
I do not know if you have ever compared a modded iPod with an unmodified one, but taken your post I would guess not.
I did, since I own both. A 4G iPod with iMod and an unmodified 5.5 G.
I used Apple Lossless on both DAPs, used the same amp for both units and similar ICs in between (I used the Dock line out of the 5G of course).
The difference between both players is easily recocnizable even for people without audiophile experiences. They are not subtle.
Just give it a try.

 

[trose49]

If I am ripping at 192 aac is a Imod worth the cost. I do not want to convert my entire collection again?

Any commments on a total airhead/bithead amp?

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trose49 If I am ripping at 192 aac is a Imod worth the cost. I do not want to convert my entire collection again? Any commments on a total airhead/bithead amp?

That's a tough one. I don't find 192 aac to be transparent, and with the iMod, you will hear the coding artifacts. So it just depends on whether or not those bother you.

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.morton Mark, the difference is maybe best explained with some sort of cartoon/picture. Imagine yourself at home. It rings at the door and you open it up. Outside is a huge monster selling girl scout cookies. You have a very good look at the monster. You can see its face, fangs and claws but you just see a small part of the huge monster because the door is so small and the monster is filling the frame out completly. You can only imagine how big and ugly the damn thing must be on the outside. That is the 5G iPod. Imagine yourself opening up a a double gate. Same monster, still too big for a complete view - 5G iPod with dock connector and amp. Imagine the whole front of your house being completly of glass. Now you are able to see the whole critter in all its glory. That is the 4g iPod with Red Wine Mod and amp. The 5G is not a bad player and the sound is okay. You have to remember that you always need an amp with the iMod so portability is limited. There are times when I prefer my 5G just for convenience purposes. But the iMod plays in a different league and sounds a lot better then any DAP I have heard so far.

this has got to be one of the most amusing and unique analogies i have ever read... not to mention quite effective. good un!

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FA22RaptorF22 i don't think this mod is worth it....i could set that up myself... but why would you do that anyway....isn't there a dedicated line-out in the dock connector? That way, just spend like 60 - 100$ on a sick dock to whatever cable and do it that way....thats the way i like to fly.

i'm not saying you couldn't do it yourself but i would suggest you take a look at vinnie's explanation of what makes up the imod on his red wine audio site and you might think otherwise.

comparing the imod to using a dock connector is like comparing boosting the volume for the headphone out as opposed to a dedicated quality amp. i'm assuming you understand and agree with the virtues of using a dedicated headphone amp. yet there are many who would say getting a dedicated amp is a waste of money without ever listening through one.

as mentioned, have a listen and i think you will change your tune.