I was going to post this on a separate thread, but since you asked
I originally bought a 30 gig 5th gen ipod which I returned. The music just sounded flat...no matter what EQ setting I used. To say the least I was WAY underwhelmed by it in every way. Besides, it had the most ANNOYING hiss that I could not make go away...drove me nuts.
When I found out about the refurb 60 gig 5th gens (found out here by the way...thanks head-fi!), I decided to pull the trigger again. Why? I had been reading a LOT about RockBox and since I like to tinker and can't leave well-enough alone, I decided to pull the trigger on the ipod with some experimentation in mind.
When it arrived, I plugged it into the computer to charge...did NOT load iTunes nor did I trnasfer any music. Once fully charged, I immediately installed rockbox...then installed a custom build to use a really cool theme...jglass, I think its called. I had re-ripped everything using the LAME VBR (190-320 kbps) and loaded via the drag and drop method.
Anywho, once I tweaked the hardware and software eq, I just could NOT believe the sound difference comapred to my unmodded 30 gig 5th gen player. Had I installed RockBox on the 30 gig...I'd still own it! Mind you this is still using the headphone out, but am looking fiorward to the lineout interconnects available. Should be a noticeable increase in SQ.
I also own a Toshiba Gigabeat 60s and I can tell you without doubt that the RockBox ipod sounds WAY better. Unmodded, I'd say the gigabeat sounds better...more lively and way less flat and muddled. IMHO, anyone who doesn't install rockbox and just try it for themselves will never see how much potential the 5th gen ipods have...oh and the hiss was gone too!
R/
Dustin