[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 If Vinnie's customer service is any indicator to his quality of work this should sound awesome. He was able to turn it around in about 48 hours for me. This is not the norm so vmmv but after I got hit with the hurricane it delayed me shipping by about a week and he did me a solid and turned around on a dime. I'll hopefully be able to post thoughts around the 11th or 12th after it has a bit of burn in.

nice to hear that vinnie's CS is great...i've found that to be the norm rather than the exception with a lot of the companies/businesses/individuals with whom i've had transactions here...glad to hear of another one.

please do post your impressions soon.

 

[drp]

I can attest both to Vinnie's customer service and his quality of work. Both are at a highest level. And like many of the vendors here, Vinnie is about the music and strives for true high fidelity; the ultimate goal.

I'm actually fortunate enough to live and work within meet-for-lunch distance to Vinnie so my Nano was modified in absolute record time, plus we get to talk shop. More Chinese buffet soon, dude.

With around 100 hours on the caps, my Nano is simply pumping out near perfect tunes. It's now planted firmly atop of the RS Hornet, which is burning in nicely. Quite the magical combination. Okay, here's a pic.

 

[grzzlo]

so can anyone compare modded ipod playing lossless to a good pcdp?

 

[Citizen Smith]

That really is great news being able to install the Black Gate NX-HiQ inside a 20 gigger, nice one Vinnie! It keeps things neat and tidy and will also enable me to properly evaluate/appreciate the AudioPath interconnect against the copper iChord cable I was using previously.

I'm amazed how quickly and efficiently you managed to get this iMod and cable set up for me and very much look forward to receiving my unit and cable back from the States.

I will post my impression to fellow Head-fiers once it arrives and has had time to settle down. Vinnie, keep us posted on future developments!

 

[jp11801]

my modded ipod should be here today!!!

I will be looking at comparing the straight headphone out of another 4th gen 40g to the sik din to amp to the red wine mod to amp. It will be a week or two as I want to give the caps a chance to settle in I will try to hold to at least 100 hours burn in

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grzzlo so can anyone compare modded ipod playing lossless to a good pcdp?

The mod that connects the DAC directly to the headphone out should be superior to any PCDP, because you're getting the output of a high quality DAC directly (unless you perform a similar mod with a PCDP).

 

[jp11801]

so far soooooo good with first impressions, straight out of the box it sounded a bit etched and hard on ka and cha sounds. after 24 hours that was all gone and it settled in nicely. One thing I did find was it is time to step up from 320kbps to apple lossless and that is now the bottleneck for the sound.

I along with another forum member in the next few weeks are going to undertake a 4 way comp of ipod listen tests, comparing a few different hookups to the ipod and then to a home cdp.

 

[iDesign]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinnie R. So for the 4th Generation iPods (b/w and photos), it looks like I can perform the iMod on all of them (converting the headphone output to a dedicated line output) with fitting the upgraded Black Gate NX-HiQ coupling caps inside of the iPod.

Vinnie R.,

I would like to clarify if the Black Gate Non-Polarized NX HiQ coupling capacitors can be/ are contained inside of both iPod models with Click Wheel and iPod models with color display. It should be noted that the 20GB iPod with Click Wheel measures 4.1x2.4x.57 inches while 20GB iPod models with color display were increased in depth to .63 inches.

I also observed that hMod information no longer appears on the Red Wine Audio website and wanted to inquire the status of this modification. If any users of headfi.com can comment on the modified stock surface-mount coupling caps with the Etymotic Research ER4P, I would be very interested to hear comments on the subject as I am considering this modification.


Best,
iDesign

 

[jp11801]

I'm at about 50+ hours of burn in and the imod has really opened up. The bass is really a monster and well defined on my hf-1s. Also the soundstage presentation out of the box was a bit flat and middy. This has totally changed and it the mids are very lifelike and the stage has opened up nicely. The issue I have now and it's a good one is I need to rerip the cds I love in applelosses as you can hear the 320kbps lossy rip artifacts.

Vinny thanks for being an evil genious

If people begin to hear this mod you are going to be a really busy guy.

The sound certainly rivals a decent home rig.

 

[Skylab]

Hey Vinnie:

Please do post if you decide you can mod the 60 gb new 5G iPod's. I love the iMod you did on my 4G 60GB, but I may get a 5G so I have one for home and one for the road. But I'd want your mod. So do let us know! Thanks.

 

[WarBaby]

Thanks for the info/update, although it's disappointing news for a new 5g owner (namely me).

 

[anearfull]

Vinnie:
I've been holding off on my iPod purchase until you'd checked-out the 5G.

I'm now cruising eBay for a 60GB iPod Photo. As soon as I find a good one, you'll be receiving it for mods.

Peter

 

[jp11801]

well it's been about 150 hours of burn in and all I can say is wow

the major improvements for me were

1) greatly improved bass in both quantity and quality bass guitar notes and kick drum now have added air and impact around them

2) treble is much improved the cymbals have more air and more precisely located in the headspace with my hf-1s

3) mids are also better with more vocal sounds (throat) present and they take on a greater dimensional quality

4) soundstaging also has improved

Vinny great mod sorry to hear the 5th gen is no go but as an audio device the greyscale 4th gen 40 gig is a great buy with everyone dropping them for the new look.

the only down side is you will want to get a great cable, only use wav or applelossless and male sure you have an amp that is up to the task

if you use any acc or mp3 rips you will hear it not that it's not listenable but you will want to hear the song better presented in lossless

 

[Vinnie R.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 the only down side is you will want to get a great cable, only use wav or applelossless and male sure you have an amp that is up to the task if you use any acc or mp3 rips you will hear it not that it's not listenable but you will want to hear the song better presented in lossless

Hi jp118011,

Thanks for your follow-up impressions, and I agree with what you stated above 100%. Definitely use WAV or Apple Lossless, and use the best cable you can afford.

Yes, the 5G is a shame, but there are plenty of new 4G units out there and at a reduced cost

I could care less about video, but I can see how some would like that feature.

Regards,

Vinnie Rossi

 

[lexnasa]

300+ hours with the iMod now, and switching back to a non-modded iPod really shows the difference. The iMod = 3 dimensional soundstage, incredibly neutral, everything musical and highly controlled with almost linear extended HF and deep LF without any bloat. Going back to the non-modded iPod = noisy, you can really hear the grain in the lower HF, 2 dimensional soundstage, rolled off and slightly uncontrolled HF, rather tuneless LF.

My Larocco PRII is almost burned in now, and with the iMod + Senn HD650s I'm in audio Nirvana... I must stop upgrading... I must stop upgrading... I must stop upgrading...