[imackler]

I'm the only in the house using an apple device currently. I have 1.5 year old 7th Gen Ipod Classic. To keep using it with my current iems, I need a portable amp. The C5 seems like the best budget option (or at least best budget to cost ratio). And yet...is it really time to put $200 into a portable amp? It kind of seems that since there are so many new daps coming out, it may not be a bad time to retire the classic, skip buying a portable amp and move on to the future which seems to be daps that have decent internal amps. Now, if smartphones improve their dacs, it seems like a C5 would be a good investment again, that I'd be able to use over many years. So keep the classic and get a portable amp...or ditch the classic and get a dap? 

 

[ostewart]

Keep the classic and get the C5 or C5D (future if you get a new phone the DAC will come in useful)
 
I still prefer my iPod Classic over my Fiio X3, i always use the line out of the X3, whereas the headphone out of the Classic still sounds great to me.

 

[cel4145]

I still prefer my iPod Classic over my Fiio X3, i always use the line out of the X3, whereas the headphone out of the Classic still sounds great to me.

I'm not an iPod person (so don't know much about them), but other than the extra supported file formats, doesn't an iPod have a better firmware feature set and better usability than the X3? Seems like that might be something in the iPods favor.

 

[ostewart]

If you use rockbox you can use nearly all formats. Love mine with rockbox, easily usable. better than X3

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I'm the only in the house using an apple device currently. I have 1.5 year old 7th Gen Ipod Classic. To keep using it with my current iems, I need a portable amp. The C5 seems like the best budget option (or at least best budget to cost ratio). And yet...is it really time to put $200 into a portable amp? It kind of seems that since there are so many new daps coming out, it may not be a bad time to retire the classic, skip buying a portable amp and move on to the future which seems to be daps that have decent internal amps. Now, if smartphones improve their dacs, it seems like a C5 would be a good investment again, that I'd be able to use over many years. So keep the classic and get a portable amp...or ditch the classic and get a dap? 

 
You can also post these kind of questions at anythingbutipod.