[Opentoe]

I was fooling around with my itouch and for the first time went into the EQ settings area. I have the Westone 3's. After selecting the "higher bass" EQ mode the IEMs sounded horrible. The bass wasn't even bass, but a thumping pluuuuf. Can I assume this is because the output of the itouch just isn't that good? Unfortunately I sold my Sony X-series walkman which was rated to have superior sound without an amp and can't test it with anything else.

This the limitations of an unamped low end SQ device? I'm actually thinking of selling my itouch just to get a better sounding quality device. Why I stuck with the itouch right now is because of the sync speed. 29GB of data takes just about 10-13 minutes with the itouch using itunes. When I had my Sony the same amount using Windows Media Player took literally 12-14 hours!! I've only owned two media type players, so does anyone recommend one of good quality??

 

[Bina]

So you have only problem with sound quality when you use EQ? I have iPhone, ipod 5,5 and try many others and most of them, EQ sucks. It is simply Apple, they are not able to make good EQ. If you need to EQ your headphones, go with Cowon or Sony.
I use my iphone without any EQ and I´m quite happy with his sound.

 

[shigzeo]

apple's players are set at 0dbl all the time, so if you apply an eq which gains above 0dbl, it will distort. for sheer output quality, though, the ipod touch 2g is nearly unrivalled. for effects, eq, and other additions like drag and drop from any os, get something else.

 

[BigTony]

I'd have to agree, the iTouch 2g is a very good sounding player; shame about iChoons and all that. But then again, I've never tried to use the EQ options - I bought a Cyrus 2 amp many moons again and that had no eq (or Tone Control as it used to be know) and I've never missed EQ since.

 

[dnullify]

Yeah. I've owned or used most of the ipod lineup, and i must say the 2g ipod touch is probably the best for output in quality. especially with IEMs with high sensitivity. Almost no ground noise, even when no music is playing. and i think it cuts off when there's nothing playing too, which is something that the 1g touch doesn't.


Also, i can say, the EQ sucks right across the board. presets suck, period. if you rockbox it, perhaps you'll get better EQ, but i don't think you can rockbox a touch. (i've never tried)...

why isn't there an EQ music app? or a .flac app?

 

[Gbjerke]

Because apple won't let you hear your favourite tunes through your ibuds the way you want to.

 

[shigzeo]

it probably has less to do with that since apple in other formats push open source. i have a feeling that their bedtime playpen with the record industry has made them keep it all in the family. thus, aac, the record industry's baby is the norm. but, if apple hadn't stepped up, we would be listening to bloody drm files from itunes.

i respect them for their backbone and despise them for making deals with the devil.

as for eq, there is no rockbox on the iphone or ipod touch and likely will not be outside of jailbreaking. rockbox team years ago had expressed interest in seeing about making a jailbreak app for the touch, but i think that time is past.

 

[midoo1990]

The iPod touch 2g sound is fantastic.it is the most natural sounding player I have ever used,I bought some players including iPhone 3g but sold them due to their horrible sound.only the zune rivals the iPod 2g in it's sq but the iPod is quiet a bit better in every aspect.I Agree that the eq is horrible when using it with my ie8 and there is slight hiss sound but not distracting even at low volumes.overall awesame sounding player. I will get a lod and an amp in about two month to see the night and day difference the people are talking about.

 

[jkozlow3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midoo1990 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The iPod touch 2g sound is fantastic.it is the most natural sounding player I have ever used,I bought some players including iPhone 3g but sold them due to their horrible sound.

I thought the iPod Touch 2G was supposed to sound nearly identical to the iPhone 3G? I swear I read that somewhere.

Either way, I've never heard the iPhone 3G described as horrible sound from anyone before. There are threads dedicated to various iPods and iPhones as sources here on head-fi and everything I've read has indicated that the iPhone 3G sounded pretty good. Some have claimed subtle improvements in the 3GS, but the only time I've heard anything negative about the iPhone's SQ was in regards to the original iPhone.

 

[Opentoe]

I miss my $400 Sony X-series player. It had the built in quality to drive the output to perfection. I guess that is what I am missing with my iphone. itouch even without the EQ to me, doesn't sound as good as the old Sony I had. Hating to carry around "another" device I'd go for another better sounding player then. Sansa, Sony, Cowon, something.

 

[shigzeo]

the 3g is a good, but not perfect sounding device. but, yeah, if you want the non-bass rolled off sound, you have to either have sony, ipod touch, or sansa. cowon, however, i will never understand. why it is popular other than effects makes me really wonder about their marketing and if i can do some of it!

 

[deandob]

How does the Microsoft Zune HD sound quality compare by comparison?

 

[midoo1990]

For my ears,there is a big difference between the itouch2g and iphone3g.I bought the iPhone second hand and kept it for four days and then sold it.I don't know what the heck was wrong with it but it sounded so bad.the bass was very powerful and plastickyy sounding to my ears,the soundstage was significantly narrow than the touch,instrument seperation and sense of space were also very bad in comparison to the zune and touch.I had my doubts about the touch before getting it but reading al these reviews and shigzeo's helpful comments and impressions about the touch made me curious,and I wasn't dissapointed,excelent sounding player with very controlled and tight bass and with great quality to it.the zune120 bass sound In comparison bloated and boomy.

 

[grahamnp]

Ipods and Iphones just don't EQ well, they sound alright if the EQ is set to flat or off but terrible otherwise.

 

[ucrags84]

The ipod touch output can get very loud, but the soundstage seems a bit narrower than I would like. The EQ effects are horrible, I dislike the lack of a customizable band EQ.

After I returned my Ipod touch 2G, I got a Sony NWZ-A729, and the soundstage is much wider with the EQ flat, plus it has a 5 band EQ and the bass doesn't distort when I mess around with it.

It also has an insanely long battery life, like 30 hours of audio.