[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evis tried new iPod Nano and 5.5G iPod today. iAudio x5 > iPod Nano > 5.5G iPod thru Headphone jack iAudio x5 is FAR more superior in soundquality. it makes the sound of nano crappy.

Did you try the ipod and Nano line outs?

 

[wax4213]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evis tried new iPod Nano and 5.5G iPod today. iAudio x5 > iPod Nano > 5.5G iPod thru Headphone jack iAudio x5 is FAR more superior in soundquality. it makes the sound of nano crappy.

What were some of the differences? Thanks.

 

[Evis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey Did you try the ipod and Nano line outs?

no only headphone jacks cuz i was with a friend who owns a x5L and went to an apple store.
may go to a shop which specialize @ selling DAP stuff on Sunday to try it. knowing that shop has the Meizu M6 Miniplayer as well.


Quote:

Originally Posted by wax4213 What were some of the differences? Thanks.

i dont know exactly how to describe the differences. ill try my best. we brought along a x5l with Super.Fi 3 Studio,Shure i4c and a usb flash memory w/ songs to test. we only tested them thru Headphone jacks.

dont have the equipment to test the line-out of ipods.

2G Nano and 5.5G Ipod sound very much the same, nano's a bit more bassy. noticeable but not significant. comparing to the x5L i feel that the Singer's voice and Music is more ordinary, distanced, and bunched up. its still clear and not muffled tho

the difference between WAV and Mp3(which i mostly listen to) were very noticeable on x5L WAV was noticeably better than 320k MP3s. while on the iPod the difference is there but not as noticeable.
For the x5L, the bass and difference between vocal, instruments were very clear, Singer Voice floated out and is very clear, gives the voice alot more feeling. Bass feels solid and thick, its thumps to the heart.
ipod feels more confined, x5L was more lively more 3D. it feels im in the middle of the Music surrounded. very close to the singer. ipods have this feeling but not as grand or clear.
Ipod feels softer while x5L feels more solid and bang. x5L can also go alot louder.
the bareable loudness (the point which its still good) was also higher on x5L.
Sorry for the words i used, they problably are very confusing to many as i dont know the terms to describe sounds. >_<

ohoh and downside of x5L are:
its looks uglier
that joystick isnt as good as the scrollwheel
finding songs may take longer if there are alot of songs (frd said this can be improved if songs are well organized into different folders)
its bigger, thicker (slim is really cool i reckoned)
another controller dangling off it
the interface/program, feels slow/laggy
friend(the owner) of it says it crashes sometimes. (which i never exprienced)

i still have to listen to iriver and meizu, and ipods from line-out before my purchased tho.

it seems that ipod is more convinient and has alot of toys. and i hope its line-out + amp will be as exciting as others describe. ^^

 

[apnk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evis tried new iPod Nano and 5.5G iPod today. iAudio x5 > iPod Nano > 5.5G iPod thru Headphone jack iAudio x5 is FAR more superior in soundquality. it makes the sound of nano crappy.

Did you have the EQ's off and the stupid "enhancements" off on the X5?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evis 2G Nano and 5.5G Ipod sound very much the same, nano's a bit more bassy. noticeable but not significant. comparing to the x5L i feel that the Singer's voice and Music is more ordinary, distanced, and bunched up. its still clear and not muffled tho the difference between WAV and Mp3(which i mostly listen to) were very noticeable on x5L WAV was noticeably better than 320k MP3s. while on the iPod the difference is there but not as noticeable. For the x5L, the bass and difference between vocal, instruments were very clear, Singer Voice floated out and is very clear, gives the voice alot more feeling. Bass feels solid and thick, its thumps to the heart. ipod feels more confined, x5L was more lively more 3D. it feels im in the middle of the Music surrounded. very close to the singer. ipods have this feeling but not as grand or clear. Ipod feels softer while x5L feels more solid and bang. x5L can also go alot louder. the bareable loudness (the point which its still good) was also higher on x5L. Sorry for the words i used, they problably are very confusing to many as i dont know the terms to describe sounds. >_<

I agree entirely with this assessment. I've playtested both units (well, iPod 5.0G and X5L at least) with identical 320kbps MP3 tracks with flat equalization and no extraneous modifiers or effects for either unit using Etymotic ER4P's and KSC-75's. The iPod was very, very pleasant, but the X5 was the one that made me smile.

Experience through the line-out, however, is a different story. I have used only the subpack-based line-out on the X5 but have heard enough of (or not enough of; read: early bass rolloff) its sound to know that it is quite poor. I imagine that a quality line-out solution on the iPod would easily best it. I, however, have never used a 3rd-party quality line-out solution. I remember reading a few posts claiming that the line-out rolloff was eliminated when using such a solution, and I would like to experience it first-hand myself some time.

On the subject, however, I feel I'd purchase the Nano in the same situation simply because it actually feels like a new product.

 

[patschreyer]

I wish I could buy a new Nano. My mini got stolen early last year, and I've missed it *so* much, the 5G just isn't the same.

 

[imported_Echo_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evis tried new iPod Nano and 5.5G iPod today. iAudio x5 > iPod Nano > 5.5G iPod thru Headphone jack iAudio x5 is FAR more superior in soundquality. it makes the sound of nano crappy.

where did you test the ipod nano and 5.5g?

the apple store? because they were using 128aac

 

[honda]

Hi Evis,

On the 30/60gb or any other harddisk-based iPod, if you listen to large files (over 8 or 9mb), the buffer issue becomes a problem. Battery life also suffers because the harddisk is constantly spinning to fill the buffer. Some audiophiles claim to hear the disk spinning and it bothers them. I usually am walking when I listen to my iPod so I hear more of my own footsteps through my IEM than the harddisk. For anything up to AAC/MP3 320kbps, this buffer problem will not be an issue. Nano doesn't have this problem but because uncompressed files are so large, up until now, Nano did not have enough storage for me. Now that the 8gb is out, it is marginally enough and it serves my purposes, for now.

As for the headphone jack/amp question, that depends on what headphones. There has been a lot of talk about bass roll off in most of the iPods (all except shuffle up until now) when used with headphones of 35ohms or less. What caused my impulsive purchase of the 8gb Nano is when I plugged my 27ohm Sensaphonics 2XS into one at the shop and noticed significantly more bass than I do on the 30gb 5G that I was listening to just seconds before, and had been for months almost, non-stop. I thought to myself "maybe they finally decided to address this low impedance bass roll-off issue." I then decided 30000yen was worth risking to find out. I brought it home and loaded the exact same playlists to it as in my 30gb 5G. Having compared the exact same files on the 2 units, I find on headphones under 35ohm (namely Etymotic ER-4P among a few others), the 5G to have a smoother sound, and the new Nano crisper and slightly stronger bass as well as slightly clearer highs, but output is slightly lower. Then I plugged in my ER-4S, and the 8gb Nano just sounds weak. It definitely cannot get away with driving these 100ohm IEMs without an amp. On some songs I needed to go up to 100% volume, and it never comes down below 85%.

So to answer your question about the headphone jack/amp, I would have to say, Nano is great for lower impedance headphones without an amp. And for the 5G, ideally you would want to use headphones or 35 to 60ohms unamped, and has marginally enough power to do so while the Nano hasn't. Both are great for amped sound through line out.



Quote:

Originally Posted by Evis Before reading this, i was gonna get myself a 5G iPod 30G or 60G. this made me rethink >_< So, Thru headphone jack, new nano > 5G iPod? with Amp, 5G > Nano?

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echo_ where did you test the ipod nano and 5.5g? the apple store? because they were using 128aac

yeah, this is a bit suspect. he claims that both WAV and mp3 were tested on both devices, but how did he get WAV files in the apple store nanos? things that make you go, hmmm...

 

[4metta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echo_ where did you test the ipod nano and 5.5g? the apple store? because they were using 128aac

There is no lossless in the ipods at the Apple store. Everything is from iTunes which is the hideous (to us anyway) 128 aac bitrate.

 

[MarcusL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by honda As for the headphone jack/amp question, that depends on what headphones. There has been a lot of talk about bass roll off in most of the iPods (all except shuffle up until now) when used with headphones of 35ohms or less. What caused my impulsive purchase of the 8gb Nano is when I plugged my 27ohm Sensaphonics 2XS into one at the shop and noticed significantly more bass than I do on the 30gb 5G that I was listening to just seconds before, and had been for months almost, non-stop. I thought to myself "maybe they finally decided to address this low impedance bass roll-off issue." I then decided 30000yen was worth risking to find out. I brought it home and loaded the exact same playlists to it as in my 30gb 5G. Having compared the exact same files on the 2 units, I find on headphones under 35ohm (namely Etymotic ER-4P among a few others), the 5G to have a smoother sound, and the new Nano crisper and slightly stronger bass as well as slightly clearer highs, but output is slightly lower. Then I plugged in my ER-4S, and the 8gb Nano just sounds weak. It definitely cannot get away with driving these 100ohm IEMs without an amp. On some songs I needed to go up to 100% volume, and it never comes down below 85%.

That's lame. Seems like Apple's scared of those hearing damage lawsuits. We're seeing the downfall of portable outputs, dear head-fi. I wish iRiver, Cowon and Samsung will continue to ignore this.

 

[4metta]

Honda....Are you SURE your volume is set to max? Go to the volume limiter area in the menu and check. Mine was not at max straight from the factory.

 

[Evis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echo_ where did you test the ipod nano and 5.5g? the apple store? because they were using 128aac

Broadway Times Square Shop, Hong Kong

Quote:

Originally Posted by kugino yeah, this is a bit suspect. he claims that both WAV and mp3 were tested on both devices, but how did he get WAV files in the apple store nanos? things that make you go, hmmm...

i brought a usb flash drive that contained Wav and mp3 320k with us. the guy let us put the files in them

also tried Meizu M6 yesterday @ a "ear machine stuff" store, found out its also better than the iPods. but not as good as the x5. (thru headphone jack)

now im thinking between X5 and 2GNano. X5 for SQ and 2GNano for looks with my LG KG320 n i4c headset.

 

[dusk]

I am also debating between the 5.5g and 2G nano. (I got a 5.5g for my birthday and haven't opened it yet).

Currently, I have a pint mini3fied amp (from AKZip), and plan on buying a line out dock as well as rockboxing (for FLAC) whichever ipod I decide upon. (I did some research and wasn't able to confirm if rockbox even does video).

I'm also trying to find some good IEM's to match this setup. (Looking into the er-4s, but open to suggestions on this too.).

I'm leaning more towards the Nano with plans to re-evaluate in January when the "true" video ipods come out.

I plan on using it amped during my commute to school, and will probably just end up getting a shuffle for running and the gym.

Thoughts?

 

[The Monkey]

dusk, if you're going to use it for commuting, I suggest the Nano. It's just so much smaller.