[kschac]

I recently purchased UE Super.fi 3 earphones for use with a 20 GB Ipod Photo. Using my laptop and ITunes, they sound great, but when plugged into the headphone jack of the Ipod, they are unlistenable on certain types of music. On solo piano recordings in particular, there is signiicant distortion -- sort of a fuzzy quality to the notes. That disappears when listening to the same recording on the laptop. Any idea what the problem is -- do I need an amplifier? Thanks in advance.

 

[atx]

That's a well-known problem with ipod photos. You need an amp to bypass the headphone out, or get the 5G ipod.

 

[thestumper]

Couple of questions:

-What volume levels are you listening at ?

- Are you using EQ

The volume thing is self explanatory; depending on the headphones, cranking it up to 11 could cause distortion. that doesn't sound like what you are describing.

The iPods hve crappy EQ. If you have the EQ jacked up (Bass Boost or something like that), that might do it.

I have no experience with the 3's, but I have the 5's and a 5G iPod and there is no distortion. Do you have anything to level-set with? If other phones don't do it, I'd call UE and see what they have to say...

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

 

[warpdriver]

The EQ is evil on the iPod. And yes, the iPod photo has known problems as far as sound quality.

 

[kschac]

I now see that this is a serious problem with Ipod Photos when used with low impedance headphones (my previous 'phones were higher impedance). The UEs' impedance is a low 13 ohms, which apparently causes the distortion on piano music especially. Changing or turning off EQ has no effect. I may need to use different phones, use a Pocket Amp 2 or sell this Ipod and get a 5G one. Thanks.

See --> http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthr...threadid=91130

 

[Visigodo]

I have experienced the same awful distortions on my iPod G4 when I use the EQ settings. They are absolutely worthless and make some music (particularly piano) truly painful. It's like a low rumbling digital noise, very unpleasant and noticeable.

Overall, I have to say I have been very disappointed with the iPod. The interface and capacity are awesome... but the sound? Lacking. And when you try to compensate by equalizing, your music becomes grotesquely distorted.

On the other hand, my iAudio U2 sounds amazing on any EQ setting. Apple better fix the sound in their iPods before I upgrade my player. Otherwise, I will probably go with other brands able to produce decent sound quality.