[ianmedium]

I really enjoy my latest gen classic. I think my ears must be royally screwed up though as I actually find it a nice neutral player that needs no eq and works really well with equipment that matches it. In fact the process I have gone through in getting the right amp and headphones reminds me of the old days when I had a home hifi and matched my amp and speakers to my source!
 
It seems most folks here think it sounds terrible though and that any other player is automatically better than it!

 

[12345142]

I think the Classic is the best-sounding out of all the iPods, although there are many non-Apple DAPs that sound better than it. Perhaps the larger size allows them to fit a more advanced audio circuitry inside.
 
As for my favourite DAP, that would have to be the Cowon J3...which is my friend's. I think it sounds better than my P3, has a better UI, and has a multitude of DSPs that can keep you tweaking for hours. I have not had any hands-on time with the X7, but it seems like a real show-stopper.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'll take a swing at the hornet's nest!

I've enjoyed the sound quality of pretty much every DAP I've listened to. There probably isn't a bad one out there. I own a 5th generation iPod, which I like, and have heard lots of others at meets. I can't speak to the build quality/durability of all of them, but the iPod has held up fine.

That being said, DAPs are consumer goods (I know there's an exception or two) and they're not in the same league as nice DACs, CD players or turntables, especially when coupled with a quality amp. I don't have high expectations for DAPs since they're more or less disposable. Wait a year and another one with more capacity, UI upgrades, etc. will come along.

No, I'm not crapping on them. I just got back from a vacation where my rig was the iPod and my e3cs. Not as good as my full-sized open headphones and tube amps or my speakers.

But it is good enough.

That point seems to be lost on a lot of people who wrap their personal identity around the gear they own and the corporate image of the manufacturer. I like my iPod, but am pretty sure I would have enjoyed my music just as much with a Cowon, Sansa, Zune, et al. It's like the burrito truck where I can get a good asada burrito for $3.50. Not fine cuisine, but the $3.50 burrito makes me happy and the guy in the truck is nice, too.

So get the DAP that appeals to you and don't worry about whether you have the "best" one. Enjoy it for what it is and put more attention on the home headphone and/or speaker rig. That's where the money pays off. But like I said, I was out on a deck chair with the iPod and e3cs and was plenty happy.

 

[ianmedium]

Quote:

I'll take a swing at the hornet's nest!

I've enjoyed the sound quality of pretty much every DAP I've listened to. There probably isn't a bad one out there. I own a 5th generation iPod, which I like, and have heard lots of others at meets. I can't speak to the build quality/durability of all of them, but the iPod has held up fine.

That being said, DAPs are consumer goods (I know there's an exception or two) and they're not in the same league as nice DACs, CD players or turntables, especially when coupled with a quality amp. I don't have high expectations for DAPs since they're more or less disposable. Wait a year and another one with more capacity, UI upgrades, etc. will come along.

No, I'm not crapping on them. I just got back from a vacation where my rig was the iPod and my e3cs. Not as good as my full-sized open headphones and tube amps or my speakers.

But it is good enough.

That point seems to be lost on a lot of people who wrap their personal identity around the gear they own and the corporate image of the manufacturer. I like my iPod, but am pretty sure I would have enjoyed my music just as much with a Cowon, Sansa, Zune, et al. It's like the burrito truck where I can get a good asada burrito for $3.50. Not fine cuisine, but the $3.50 burrito makes me happy and the guy in the truck is nice, too.

So get the DAP that appeals to you and don't worry about whether you have the "best" one. Enjoy it for what it is and put more attention on the home headphone and/or speaker rig. That's where the money pays off. But like I said, I was out on a deck chair with the iPod and e3cs and was plenty happy.

I like that and as usual with you an informed and balanced set of thoughts. One thing I will ask your opinion on is this. What if, like me a home set up is not possible and the portable set up acts as the home set up, what would your thoughts be in that case?
 
I must admit to these old ears the classic with stepdance and Denon d5000's sounds better than I could ever expect something like this to sound like. The only comparison I have to make is when I listen to my friends tube amp with Musical Fidelity CD player set up and to these ears it compares quite well in consideration of the limitations of lossless and portability, suprisingly so for me!
 
I do think though as you have said, there is no right answer to any of this as what sounds good to me will sound bad to someone else!

 

[Inks]

Newest Touch is the best sounding Ipod I've heard so far in my experience (5gvideo/all nanos/7gclassic/2gtouch)

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

 
you can mod ipods, which makes them better, but not by much

I'm guessing that you actually have zero experience to back that statement (or at least zero experience using an iMod with a truly high end amp and IEMs).
 
 
Quote:

In answer to the original question.... I think the classic has the best sound of the iPod range the 4/5th gen classics use the high quality DAC chip.

Copied from the RWA webpage:


The 4th Generation and 5th/5.5 Generation iPods, contain the high-quality internal Wolfson dac chip that is so well respected by the audiophile community.
 
"4th generation iPod utilizes the Wolfson WM8975 DAC, by far the best DAC used so far by Apple on any of the iPod units including the iPod with video."

---

so in terms of is the classic the best iPod? I think YES.
In terms of is the classic the best MP3 players? I think NO

That's about right. An umodded iPod Video is actually muddier than the iPhone or the Classic. But the line out from an iPod Video turned iMod is quite lovely.
 

 

[cooperpwc]

The best iPod that I have heard for built-in headphone out is the iPhone 3GS - better than the iPod Video or Classic IMHO.[size=6.5pt][/size]

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

The best iPod that I have heard for built-in headphone out is the iPhone 3GS - better than the iPod Video or Classic IMHO.[size=6.5pt][/size]

my ipod classic sound 10 times better then my ipod touch.

 

[tds101]

I'm listening to my iPhone 4G right now, paired w/my dbi pro-705's and the SQ is quite nice actually. A little bright perhaps, but the cans DO make the end result.
 
EDIT: Popped on the "Bass Booster" EQ setting, sibilance is now gone,... Regular scheduled programming may now resume,... 

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Quote:

The best iPod that I have heard for built-in headphone out is the iPhone 3GS - better than the iPod Video or Classic IMHO.[size=6.5pt][/size]

my ipod classic sound 10 times better then my ipod touch.

IYHO? 

 
It's well possible. There are a few different versions of the Touch but the sound circuitry in each case is different than the iPhone 3GS.
 

 

[jononku]

I've got a classic 120GB and with my LOD cable, headphone amp, and m50s, I can't detect much difference, if anything, between it and the 4/5/5.5G models which are supposed to have a superior DAC.  I'll take the extra capacity.

 

[hifimusiclover]

 
that;s no way to determine 'audiophiles' sound
 
let just say there are players more 'audiphile' than the classic

 

[buffalowings]

Quote:

 
that;s no way to determine 'audiophiles' sound
 
let just say there are players more 'audiphile' than the classic

superior amps...superior DAP's...i think most of that is all baloney..honestly, i think it all boils down to taste and preferences

 

[lilkoolaidman]

I can see a storm coming from this...
 
Anyways, the way I see it is the iPod is the cheapest, most practical, high capacity player out there and that's why I have one. If I cared only about sound quality in a DAP, I would get a HiFiMan, but I believe you have to make sacrifices for the sake of practicality and usability. Most of my collection is also in ALAC, although I did convert it to WMA Lossless to use with my Zune, which was kind of a project, so for me it's easier to just stay with iPod. As far as Cowon vs. iPod, I believe both are very usable, but Cowons almost need EQ to sound their best, otherwise they sound very lifeless, so EQ'd Cowons are better sounding ; Non-EQ'd iPods are bettter IMO, and even for the x7, it's still $319, when I got my classic for only $200.
 
In short, it's all about personal preference. As far as raw sound goes, most consumer PMPs will sound the same and it boils down to UI and build, which btw except for the aluminum back, the iPod is great in that area, glass screen ftw. Now, if you like BBE, SRS, and other sound effects, and customizable EQ, Cowon would be for you. If you don't care/don't use EQ and are going to use an amp, iPod is for you.

 

[Uncle Erik]

iammedium, I think my last audio effort is going to be picking up a good portable rig. Aside from a quite a few parts that need to be assembled into amps, speakers and other goodies, I'm pretty much done with audio.

However, I'm probably going to pick up the JH13 and JH3A when the JH3A rolls out and has been in production for several months. That is the best portable rig I've heard. I'll probably drive it from an updated iPad - I would not be surprised to see it go to 128GB in an update. That would be enough to hold all of my favorite albums in lossless. For very portable use, I might pick up the JH5 and run them straight from an iPod with lossless files. That would be good enough, and the iPad/JH13 rig would be fine for taking to the office, hotel rooms, etc.