Latest iPod review posted
Oct 13, 2003 at 9:55 AM Post #2 of 21
Well, they hate it.

CONS: Quote:

unimpressive sound, battery life, no built-in FireWire and USB connection on unit, so-so remote.


PROS: Style?
 
Oct 13, 2003 at 10:06 AM Post #3 of 21
Quote:

Originally posted by chadbang
Well, they hate it.


The question is, are they wrong?
 
Oct 13, 2003 at 10:10 AM Post #4 of 21
Quote:

Originally posted by Rizumu
The question is, are they wrong?


they're free to think what they want. all i know is that i love mine.
 
Oct 13, 2003 at 10:38 AM Post #5 of 21
As I have a Mac, please let them be wrong. I toted my Sennheisers to the apple store yesterday, but they only had a second generation iPod demo model which was encased in a lucite display so I couldn't plug my phones in. They wouldn't open a box to let me try a new one! Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Great salesmanship.


Two questions:

Which generation iPod used the Lithium Polymer battery?

Have Head-fiers gather around any model/generation as being the "best" sounding?
 
Oct 13, 2003 at 4:16 PM Post #6 of 21
Quote:

Playing my 256k MP3 collection, the sound is similar to the 2nd generation iPod which I was not impressed. Auditioning using Sennheiser HD497 and PX100 headphones, the sound is quite detailed but a bit flat and lacks drama. Bass lacks weight as with most MP3 players. I also notice some brightness and harshness as well. Perhaps I am being a little too critical. However the line-out in the dock is a different story. It infuses much needed energy into the music and for once I am starting to enjoy Audioslave's Show Me How to Live. Unfortunately the quality of the bass suffers more in the line-out.


Maybe it was the reviewer's 256k MP3s, not the iPod. If anything, I find the iPod has too much bass with LAME Insane MP3s and 160k AACs out of the PX-100. That is why I use the PX-200 instead. The 497s sounded slow and undramatic to me no matter what the source.

--Chris
 
Oct 14, 2003 at 7:45 AM Post #7 of 21
Quote:

Originally posted by Rizumu
The question is, are they wrong?


According to Stereophile, yes
wink.gif
 
Oct 14, 2003 at 5:51 PM Post #8 of 21
I have a third-gen iPod (20gb). I love it. It works flawlessly with my Apple PowerBook G4, and honestly the sound is great. It is a bit less articulate than the Zen, but still great. The battery life isn't as good as the Zen's, but I still find the iPod to be an excellent MP3 player.
I believe the second-gen uses the lithium polymer, but I'm not certain.
Not to hijack your topic, but how do I control the volume on the iPod dock's line out? I like using to drive my bigger Senns, but it's brain-meltingly loud!
 
Oct 14, 2003 at 6:34 PM Post #9 of 21
Not much of a review to be honest. Wished they had pushed things with better cans. Wonder if that's part of the difference between this one and Stereophile's. I do wonder about the "lack of bass" and the especially the PX100's. Also, and related, it would be better to compare other players instead of just the previous iPod gen. Since he said " bass lacks weight as with most MP3 players", I assume there's experience that could have been brought into the review.

According to EveryMac, the first and second gen's have lithium polymers.
 
Oct 14, 2003 at 7:41 PM Post #10 of 21
I think that Stereophile review gave me a much more 'line out' impression. I think the iPod Line Out is quite good. I use it for that purpose, mainly as a home MP3 jukebox. It really doesn't sound that great out of the headphone out, I'm afraid.


I'm sure this is partially a matter of character as well as to a more minor degree resolution (like the old school PCDP versus new comparisons). But If I want quality enjoyable sounds on the move out of the headphone socket, the iPod ranks ever so slightly below even the iRiver iMP-550 in my book, despite the higher output.
 
Oct 18, 2003 at 3:40 PM Post #12 of 21
In your review you say:

Quote:

With the latest firmware, this iPod is the best iPod so far. Anyone wants my second generation iPod?


What? You can't do a 2.1 firmware update on the second gen ipod to make the sound improvements? I can see where the photo and recording features wouldn't work, but what about the reduction of "harshness' you talk about?




Also, I HEARD MY FIRST iPOD TODAY! I found an Apple store here in Thailand that actually had a display model working. The had some run of the mill cheap Sony portable headset hooked up to it. I was very suprised that I (Mr I-Like-Low-Volume) had to boost the volume up to around a 75% output level to get a reasonable level with these pitiful, portable Sony's. I can't imagine it running my Senn 600s! Otherwise, I couldn't judge the sound. Bad headphone, you know.... But it did seem very low powered (this was a third generation model) and anemic....
 
Oct 18, 2003 at 11:24 PM Post #14 of 21
Quote:

As I have a Mac, please let them be wrong. I toted my Sennheisers to the apple store yesterday, but they only had a second generation iPod demo model which was encased in a lucite display so I couldn't plug my phones in. They wouldn't open a box to let me try a new one! Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Great salesmanship.


dude... that store is dumb. the atlanta apple store has about a dozen opened demo ipods around the store, but i've never paid much attention to whether they hardwired the headphones to the devices, though i doubt it. you can probably bring your own cans. they have demos set up with sony v-crap, bose quietcomforts, the stock buds, and JBL creature speakers. not exactly the finest equipment to test an ipod with, but it's better than a damn sealed ipod on display.
 
Oct 18, 2003 at 11:43 PM Post #15 of 21
chadbang: Quote:

What's HOT: style, user interface, good sound, size, FireWire and USB2.0 connection, 3rd party accessories.


I like the on-the-fly playlist creation, but I think they can add that to the iHPs if we bug them enough.

disgustingjaw: at a low volume, the Creatures actually sound pretty good, they just distort easily.
 
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