[Duncan]

...It hisses, hasn't got that great a cohesion, doesn't sound that accurate... bit of a bummer huh?

Well... help may be at hand

On a whim, i've been trying to track down one of the radio remote controls that is suitable for the 5G and Nano, managed to finally get one today, and have one thing to say...

Great!!

The sound out of the bottom of the unit (I won't call it the line out, because it is the same volume as the main unit, and the volume is controlled on screen, rather than it being a pot in the remote itself which makes it doubtful that it is) is much better than that out of the headphone output... Even with the Shure E5C the hiss that plagues the headphone out is not evident until you go a fair way over half volume, and it is never to the same extreme as the headphone out...

...The overall sound quality increases with this too, probably in part helped by a much more inky blackness - the bass is tighter, the treble less shrill. soundstage more focused...

I'm totally smitten with this remote, the best money I've yet given to Steve Jobs... Also, it allows a friend to share, if thats your thing, as the headphone out itself is still there to use...

...And of course, not forgetting the radio - it still suffers with a fair amount of drop out, which i guess is to be expected, but - when you can lock on to a clean signal, its really not too bad! (and the RDS implementation is pretty cool too!!)

Not too often that I say this, but - this is definitely a five star buy!!

 

[jjcha]

My wallet hates you Duncan.

(heads off to local Best Buy...)

Best,

-Jason

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan ...It hisses, hasn't got that great a cohesion, doesn't sound that accurate... bit of a bummer huh?

Compared to what? The headphone out of the 5G sounds pretty darned good as far as DAPs go and is generally considered to be the best of the iPods, second only to the Shuffle in SQ.

 

[iamdone]

That's interesting to hear. I find the 5th gen has a pretty good headphone out with the ue10. It still has hiss but is barely noticeable. Much better than the ipod photo. Anyway, it would be interesting hear what improvements the remote would bring since the signal is coming from the line-out.

On the ipod photo, the old remote made the sound worse, not better. It gave it more hiss. Maybe I'll pick one up.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpippel Compared to what? The headphone out of the 5G sounds pretty darned good as far as DAPs go and is generally considered to be the best of the iPods, second only to the Shuffle in SQ.

Compared to the remote

I'm certainly not an iPod basher, and have enjoyed the sound up until getting this remote...

I can virtually guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan Compared to the remote

The point I was making is that saying the headphone out of the 5G is "pretty poor" is an overstatement. I'd say it's SQ sits solidly in the top 10% of DAPs currently on the market. So by extension are you saying that the other 90% are entering into the realm of being unlistenable?

 

[bangraman]

Odd, as the attenuation and the audio path will be virtually identical until it meets whatever's in the remote. Perhaps the cable / circuitry adds some additional load / attenuation, reducing the hissing?

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpippel The point I was making is that saying the headphone out of the 5G is "pretty poor" is an overstatement. I'd say it's SQ sits solidly in the top 10% of DAPs currently on the market. So by extension are you saying that the other 90% are entering into the realm of being unlistenable?

I guess it is a somewhat dangerous statement I'm making there... The answer though... To these ears is, Yes!

The various other players I've heard (most short term, some others slightly longer) have not swayed me away from the 5G (and the 4G before it, although that is definetly several steps behind the 5G in my opinion)

Its all a case of YMMV, but I can say categorically, with the E5C, the difference in sound quality is more than just a passing difference.

 

[CookieFactory]

Oh dear. I'm headed to the Apple Store in a few minutes, and I just might have to pick one up.

 

[nabwong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan Its all a case of YMMV, but I can say categorically, with the E5C, the difference in sound quality is more than just a passing difference.

Thank god i hate iems. No need for the remote. I find the headphone out excellent with my cx300. No hiss. Definitely 5x better than the 4G ipod. It's the first time i've not had to eq a dap, which says a lot about the 5G's SQ.

 

[Jahn]

no hiss from my KSC-35 direct from headphone out on the 5G either. i agree, the remote must add a lil impedance which helps out all the IEM folk.

 

[ScubaSteve87]

so I just saw this thing on apples website. So it takes the signal from the line out and then attenuates it??? So this is the same effect as my sik din with a external amp?? This could be a great option for when I don't want to drag a amp around with me. Or maybe even remove the necessity of an amp all together

 

[kanadakiss39]

I've listened to numerous iPods including the 5G, and I find that the Kenwood HD20, Gigabeat X, and Sony NW-HD5 all outperform it from the headphone out. Especially when you apply an equalizer.

 

[Duncan]

That is pretty much the sum of it ScubaSteve87

I'm defnitely happy with it

 

[Duncan]

I'll try this later with my KSC-35s, see if there is still a difference...

...Just got to find them first