[headache]

Hi there,

I have a question to those of you who bought or will buy an ipod. Wanted to get one but I didn't, because I've read so many reviews, articles and posts in the www saying that this thing sounds flat and the (limited range of) equalizer causes distortion.

I am so happy with my iRiver now as I have total control of all eq-settings. I can push the bass to somewhere behind the moon or listen to the perfect "flat" sound of brandenburg concertos.

I like the idea having 30 GB of music in my jacket, but to me its useless when it sounds just mediocre. Not even mentioned what the ipod does to your wallet.

Next thing, I really don't understand: Does it matter to you that you cannot replace the batteries by yourself? Your iPod will surely come to a sad end in 2 years time unless you're willing to pay $ 50 to apple for a replacement.

Hopefully you don't feel offended by my questions; I'm just curios...

 

[joelongwood]

Don't worry about the sound quality of the iPod........it's excellent. It can drive efficient headphones to ear-bleeding levels, and cleanly. The EQ settings, although non-user adjustable, are rather subtle, and to my ears, do not in any way lead to distortion. For example, the "bass enhance" setting gently increases the bass without any boominess whatsoever.
As for the battery issue, I wouldn't worry about that either. I have one of the original 5 gig iPods, and with the latest firmware update, the battery issue is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. I've been using it for a year and a half now and the battery still holds an excellent charge, about 8 hours. I think someone here calculated the cost of using AA batteries if Apple had chosen to go that route. The cost was over $1000 for a few years! So $50 after 2 years seems pretty reasonable to me.
Hope this helps satisfy your curiosity.

 

[bangraman]

First of all, I'm talking about (and I presume the EQ complaints are talking about) the new iPod.


Quite simple answer for your question. The iPod with the equaliser off [size=large]UTTERLY BUGGERS[/size] the iRiver IMP-400.
But having paid the money I think I have a right to expect the EQ to work properly.

 

[Clutz]

Quote:

Originally posted by bangraman First of all, I'm talking about (and I presume the EQ complaints are talking about) the new iPod. Quite simple answer for your question. The iPod with the equaliser off [size=large]UTTERLY BUGGERS[/size] the iRiver IMP-400. But having paid the money I think I have a right to expect the EQ to work properly.

But according to stan23, Apple is bringing out new Firmware for it.. So that might help the EQ too.. Or maybe not..

 

[AIM9x]

where the **** to people get this information? ipod sounds bad? drop in sound quality for the new ipods? then you claim you have factual basis that the ipod sounds bad.... it's people like you who ruin the names of great products.

 

[Rizumu]

Yes, this is rather silly. Why buy the ipod if it sounds bad? The obvious answer is that it doesn't.

 

[MikeM]

Mine sounds great.

Get to an apple store sometime and try it out for yourself. No review can tell you what your ears hear.

 

[headache]

Quote:

Originally posted by AIM9x where the **** to people get this information? ipod sounds bad? drop in sound quality for the new ipods? then you claim you have factual basis that the ipod sounds bad.... it's people like you who ruin the names of great products.

Oh sorry, I forgot to make notes. For example have a look at cnet. http://electronics.cnet.com/

Hundreds of users are complaining about the sound quality and eq-settings. Compared with an ipod, an iriver 400 is by far cheaper and hardly anyone is complaining about the sound. Strange, isn't it. 36 % of ipod 10GB users don't recommed this product. wow, after paying $ 300 for it!!! I would discontinue my products if one third of my customers would be unhappy with it.

 

[Dweebgal]

i did a bit of an a-b comparison yesterday.

with my eggos, my pc soundcard does sound better with mp3s than my ipod, but i can't take my pc everywhere with me now can i?

what people seem to forget is that the ipod is supposed to be a portable, consumer level device.

for what it is designed for, from my view, it is perfect and sounds good.

 

[FrostyMMB]

Quote:

Originally posted by headache Oh sorry, I forgot to make notes. For example have a look at cnet. http://electronics.cnet.com/ Hundreds of users are complaining about the sound quality and eq-settings. Compared with an ipod, an iriver 400 is by far cheaper and hardly anyone is complaining about the sound. Strange, isn't it. 36 % of ipod 10GB users don't recommed this product. wow, after paying $ 300 for it!!! I would discontinue my products if one third of my customers would be unhappy with it.

If you're happy with the iRiver, keep it. I'm happy with my iPod and its sound quality. The cost didn't bother me. If you don't want to believe it, stick with the iRiver. Doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with it, so why buy an iPod?

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally posted by headache Oh sorry, I forgot to make notes. For example have a look at cnet. http://electronics.cnet.com/ Hundreds of users are complaining about the sound quality and eq-settings. Compared with an ipod, an iriver 400 is by far cheaper and hardly anyone is complaining about the sound. Strange, isn't it. 36 % of ipod 10GB users don't recommed this product. wow, after paying $ 300 for it!!! I would discontinue my products if one third of my customers would be unhappy with it.

You haven't used an iPod. 99% of iPod 10Gb users who are unhappy with their purchase who then use an iRiver will be praising Apple to the skies

 

[lan]

Ease of use, form factor, and looks are reasons besides sound for the iPod. I just got a 15GB one. I don't know why, just to see what's up with this hype. So far it's good. I don't expect the best of quality when I'm outside in the city which is the least ideal place for listening anyway.

 

[JF_Aidan_Pryde]

Indeed where do people get these impressions?

I bought my ipod simply because of the raving sound quality posts here on head-fi. And when I heard it, I totally concour.

The iPod headphone out is clearly superior to my Sony G750 MD.
The line out quality is superb, totally walking over my old Sony discman. Soundstage, vocals, air, it's all there in the line out. Totaly stunning.

If I were to reconsider buying one, I'd only think twice about the battery life. But after thinking twice, I'd still buy one.

 

[jaskin]

It doesn't sound bad not at all.

 

[MadDog5145]

You definitely should not judge a product through user reviews at CNET. Most of them do not own the player they are supposedly reviewing and only complaining because they have some prejudice against the company.