[ghart999]

I had a 40gb Gen 4 player that died on me. I replaced the motherboard and headphone jack and it still does not work. Anyway, I need a replacement and was wondering if I should stick with 4 Gen or move up to photo or video players. I don't care about anyhing but music quality and I need at least 30GB. Thanks all.

 

[mitchjordan]

The shuffle does.

The 5g is superior to your 4g in terms of SQ. Thinner too. If you need 40gb, your proberbly best with the 60gb model...

 

[swmtnbiker]

The general consensus here is that the 5G Video iPod is Apple's best sounding hard drive based player to date.

 

[blessingx]

It really depends on your taste. Not many heard the first gen (which was Mac only) and it was certainly more dynamic if a little bright. Personally I prefer later models, because I can't stand brightness, but I suspect a lot of people would prefer the 1G. Course I doubt you'll backtrack that far.

 

[bangraman]

If you're amping, I say stick with what you've got or try the 3G. If not and you're using low-impedance phones, go for the 5G for the consistency of performance. In all other cases from a pure sonic point of view (with ALACs) I'd pick the 3 or 4G. Avoid the 4G Photo.

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx It really depends on your taste. Not many heard the first gen (which was Mac only) and it was certainly more dynamic if a little bright. Personally I prefer later models, because I can't stand brightness, but I suspect a lot of people would prefer the 1G. Course I doubt you'll backtrack that far.

Hi blessingx

How would you compare the HD pods to the Flash pods?

USG

 

[Jeff E]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghart999 I had a 40gb Gen 4 player that died on me. I replaced the motherboard and headphone jack and it still does not work. Anyway, I need a replacement and was wondering if I should stick with 4 Gen or move up to photo or video players. I don't care about anyhing but music quality and I need at least 30GB. Thanks all.

Vinnie at redwine audio states a preference for the DAC in the 4G. Note that he has a vested interest in this. The 5G iPod does not have room for his mods.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff E Vinnie at redwine audio states a preference for the DAC in the 4G. Note that he has a vested interest in this. The 5G iPod does not have room for his mods.

The motive there seems pretty clear.

 

[Jimmysilvers]

Following on from what blessingx was saying, a recent issue of Hi-Fi + said that for mobile listening the first generation Ipods had the better sound of most portable mp3 sources.

They recommended a 1G Ipod and Etymotics for listening on the go.

I have never heard one so I can't say, although I am now keeping my eyes peeled for one.

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by upstateguy Hi blessingx How would you compare the HD pods to the Flash pods? USG

Well I've only heard the Shuffle in Apple stores with 128 AAC and music I'm unfamiliar with. The nano, seems around the same lines of the 4G to me, but I haven't spent enough time to really test.

From the three generations I've owned, the jump from 1G to 4G was dramatic.

 

[perplex]

This is an interesting topic. I always thought and read that every generation the iPod's sound quality improves. I have 3G.

 

[bangraman]

The ultimate possible sound quality, both amped and via the HP out, has IMO come down since the 3/4G monos. The 5G has a headphone and amped output similar to the iRivers and iAudios, which seems to be (especially in the amped case) worse than the mono 3/4G's... in the case of the headphone output, with specific loads tailored to the weakness of the older iPods in that respect.


The improvements of the 5G appear to be primarily in terms of stability with low impedance loads. If you use such a headphone (as the vast majority of people do), it will be an improvement. On the other hand you do use the Qualia as a portable phone or you amp, your results may be different. I use the 5G as it's generally a more mature product than the 3G. It's not strictly speaking an improvement in my situation, unless I'm using the UE-10. Many's the time I've recently thought about getting another 3G, or at a pinch a 4G mono. However in terms of practicality I find the HD25 with the 5G perfectly acceptable and that's how I spend most of my ear time, so I probably won't bother.

 

[perplex]

has anyone tried all the different generations ? and noticed significant differences?

 

[pufftissue]

Best to worst:

5g > 2g Mini > 1g Mini = 3g full-size ipod > nano > 2 g = 1 g ipod

Never heard the shuffle but most accounts equate it with the 5g.

 

[LFC_SL]

^ No room for 4G? lol