[Etrips]

So after frying my dock connector on my 5G and getting a brand spanking new Ipod, I was wondering if putting Rockbox is really worth the hassel? Do you notice a significant notice in change in SQ?

I tried looking through Rockbox's forums but couldn't really find a answer except a whole bunch of people asking for help with a problem, but what are some pros vs cons of putting it on?

P.S. - Darn you Head-fi!!!! *pets poor poor debit card*

 

[toastmaster]

From what I remember, there's no SQ improvement with Rockbox. It just has its own advantages, like not having to use iTunes, way better codec support, and native gapless playback. Downsides are having to make it pretty yourself (foobar2000-style) and sometimes buggy features.

Again, this is just from what I remember reading. I have yet to use Rockbox.

 

[Febs]

Rockbox--by itself, without any EQ or DSP--doesn't make the iPod sound any different. However, Rockbox has much more flexibility with EQ, cross-fade, crossfeed, and so on, which allows you to tailor the sound with far more control than what the Apple firmware allows.

With respect to your question on the pros and cons, check out these links:

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/vie...pic=WhyRockbox
http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/IpodFAQ

 

[zatara]

Rockbox is great if you have lots of flac's lying around that you like to listen too, like the ones from the internet archive live music site. It is really nice to be able to just dump audio files in directories and go. Especially at work where I cannot use itunes but I can mount my ipod and transfer music files (flac's).

SQ wize I think flac and apple lossless sound about the same. automatic gapless playback is a bonus for live stuff.

I have not tried the EQ yet. Some say it is better.

You can allways boot back to the original apple firmware as well...

 

[drippydonut]

The EQ is damn good... 5 band parametric. A bit better than the iPod firmware EQ presets methinks!

 

[kingsqueak]

The parametric EQ is great, if you need EQ, it does the job very nicely.

I like the ability to switch themes, the big type mode for car use is a nice plus.

The battery life is pretty awful, it gets really bad if you're surfing in the interface a lot and changing options around. It's more tolerable if you just set a playlist and let it run.

If you like Rockbox, I'd suggest using one of the iRiver models that are much more fully supported and actually out perform the stock firmware for battery life, the iPod port is too new at this point and just isn't optimized nearly as well yet.

 

[ns6490]

I was actually surprised by the drastic reduction of noise floor level after putting Rockbox on my ipod last week. With the ER6is, I perceived a fair amount of static during quiet passages sans Rockbox. Most of it disappeared when I booted up Rockbox, which left me wondering whether other people have experienced this as well.

 

[gtp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Febs /img/forum/go_quote.gif Rockbox...doesn't make the iPod sound any different.

Febs: I know you are involved with Rockbox dev, but I must say that this statement is NOT true! With the stock firmware, my 5.5G Ipod hissed like an angry cat. With Rockbox, the hiss is GONE! This should really be added to the pros/cons list!

 

[3X0]

There are claims that Rockbox improves sound quality substantially.

 

[bigshot]

Last time I checked, there was very little reason to use Rockbox if you have a Mac. It eliminates more useful features than it adds.

See ya
Steve

 

[grawk]

rockbox is great if you don't like stability, and don't have a way to convert your music to one of the myriad of formats that work on the ipod. If you're stuck using ogg and flac, then yah, you better load rockbox.

 

[Febs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtp /img/forum/go_quote.gif Febs: I know you are involved with Rockbox dev, but I must say that this statement is NOT true! With the stock firmware, my 5.5G Ipod hissed like an angry cat. With Rockbox, the hiss is GONE! This should really be added to the pros/cons list!

I've seen this claim made, but I've been unable to verify it. I compared the output of my 5G with Rockbox and with the original firmware using RightMark Audio Analyzer, and the results were identical. I also set up a listening test, which you can take on the Rockbox site (I'll find a link in a moment) and no-one has yet been able to tell the Apple firmware from Rockbox in an ABX test. So at least on my iPod, there is no difference whatsoever between the "raw" sound of the respective firmwares.

Edit: the tests that I conducted were conducted through the line-out of my iPod. I hadn't looked at that thread for a while, but as I re-read it, there are some reports in the thread of people experiencing less hiss with Rockbox than with the original firmware through the headphone output, consistent with what gtp reports. So perhaps this is a benefit of Rockbox after all. Interesting.

 

[cooperpwc]

My favourite topic du jour...

Toastmaster: Great themes are available on the Rockbox site. It's not at all like Foobar in this regard. The phk1 theme that I use (and tweaked slightly) is much nicer than the iPod theme IMHO.

Kingsqueak: This assessment of battery life is spot on. You want to create a playlist and listen - or at least go an album at at time. Disc caching is poor and surfing your library sucks up the battery pretty fast

I am nonetheless a huge fan of Rockbox on my iPod Video. I would not go back. It's the crossfeed processor and control of bass through hardware equalisation that are the biggest advantages.

The iPod's equaliser is based on presets that mangle sound because they do not take into account both the benefits and limitations of the iPod's Wolfson DAC Hardware Equalisation. (It does an incredible job on bass but apparently not on mids which aren't even enabled in Rockbox. If you want to change those, you can use the software equalisation but I don't.) If your goal is to tweak the lowest bass frequencies to compensate for that weakness in iPod native output or match your headphones, Rockbox does a superb job. That alone makes Rockbox worthwhile.

I also can't say enough about the crossfeed processor which is fully user configurable. I also learned on here about the advantages of using Precut in the software equaliser and I am very pleased with how that worked out. Here are my current settings:

Equalizer:
Precut -10 dB

Hardware Equalizer:
Low Shelf Filter
Cutoff Frequency 105Hz
Gain 2-4 dB depending on my headphones

Crossfeed:
direct gain -0.5dB
Cross gain -6.5dB
High frequency attentuation -6.5dB
High frequency cutoff 700 HZ

It sounds very good. Subjectively I find that SQ is significantly improved. And as noted above you still have your original iPod OS.

I also like managing my own file structure. I didn't understand that reputed advantage before I Rockboxed but now I do. I wouldn't let Windows XP manage my files either. And by doing it yourself, Rockbox becomes the backup for your music files. Gee, that's kind of logical!

I highly recommend it. The only downsides:
(1) It's filled with confusing but useful options. The iPod by contrast is idiot proof. That truly is a matter of taste. I do appreciate that some people like their electronics easy. I'm just not one of them; I like user control.
(2) It sounds much better so you can't easily go back to the iPod OS and its better battery life. The argument could be made that ignorance is bliss...

 

[kingsqueak]

There were so many posts about rockbox when I found out about it here that I missed the 'original' discussing why everyone likes to do the pre-amp drop.

Is it for mp3's that are 'hot' to keep clipping down?

I'm just not 'getting it' as to why to do this.

Is it a line-out specific tweak? I've only been using the headphone out so far as my connectors are still in the mail.

 

[TheChemist]

I ran it for a few months, and to be honest...not yet. I think it's wonderful what those people are doing and I will use it once a stable and effecient release is given to us. Until then, the iPod firmware is rock solid as well.