I just bought an iPod Video 30 GB (Black). I am very impressed. My first iPod was the very first one. It was 5 GB and could not play Apple Lossless. The one I bought today has many improvements. Firstly the sound is much better. I was pretty impressed with my old iPod but Apple has definitely done much to prove the amplifier. It’s louder, cleaner, and has an EQ that really works. I never used the buds that came with the iPod. I use either Sony MDR C72 or Sony MDR V600. I’ve tried the C72 set with the new iPod. I use only Apple Lossless or AIFF formatted tunes. The new iPod’s sound has detail close to that from my home stereo. Amazing!
Update: I am listening to my new iPod using my Sony MDR V600 headphones. I’m still impressed with the iPod but now I can hear the difference between my Yamaha receiver and the iPod. The detail in the sound on the iPod is excellent but the amplifier on the iPod does not have the headroom that the Yamaha has. In other words I can turn up the Yamaha beyond what my headphones can handle. On the iPod the maximum volume provides clean sound but is less than the Yamaha’s max volume. Of course headroom means more than this. If you connect a headphone to any source you need current to drive the diaphragms. If you connect headphones like the Sony MDR V600 to an iPod you will be drawing more current than is intended. This product is an amplifier which you can piggyback on the iPod to give you enough current to drive big headphones.
This iPod is truly great. I’ll buy another iPod when Apple introduces one which has digital optical output. I’ll decide on another CD player when the big media giants decide to release hi def audio en masse.
Note* I am not intending a comparison to players which play mp3 or any other compressed format including AAC. Mp3, wma etc is fine but does not hold a candle to the original (such as it is). iPods play the original. You have to listen on good quality headphones to judge. If one were to encode tunes as Apple lossless on a 30 GB iPod one could expect around 1,000 tunes.
I’ve watched only one video on the iPod and that too was surprisingly good. Great sound of course and vivid detail on the tiny screen. I have not tried connecting to a TV yet
I am glad you used other headphones for your review and admire your dedication to supreme quality sound. I also use AIFF’s. I tried Apple Lossless but it wouldn’t work on alternative media players I tried. FLAC was another option but iTunes didn’t play well with it.
“This iPod is truly great. I’ll buy another iPod when Apple introduces one which has digital optical output.”
The Turtle Beach thingy looks cool. I could use that with my Mac Mini. Hmmmm.... It’s too bad you can’t play Apple Lossless on your portable media player. But I suppose any other lossless format would be as good.
I’ve been experimenting with using non-Apple software for my music. I wanted to make sure I had other choices because competition is good.
It turns out Apple is the best solution for me and I gladly use iTunes on this Windows box. This is where my 30gb iPod is connected now. I’m still debating whether to buy Tiger for my Cube and get back to iTunes there too.
Media playback on Linux is not as good. There’s a program that’s like WinAMP and there’s one that mimics iTunes but still looks like WinAMP. Neither plays my 500+ protected AAC’s. So I tried burning those to CD and ripping them back as MP3s. Tedious when you do singles.
GNOME can sync your iPod with GTKpod but it sucks because it is finicky about what MP3s you select, totally ignores AAC’s, and can’t feature-match iTunes iPod options. It does have Smart Playlists.
In conclusion, if you invest in Apple, stay with them because it was probably for a reason you bought their elegant solution in the first place. That being said, YourMusic.com has non-DRM CD’s you can enjoy for $5.99 each.
While we’re on the topic of audiophlie gear, I must also mention the SqueezeBox 2 (and now 3.0). I tried it for a month and only got Internet Radio working but it sounded awesome on my Toslink connection. It also has coax and supports:
-"iTunes (Mac or Windows)—Use iTunes to add and manage music files and your library automatically available to SlimServer—no more rescan! SlimServer also streams iTunes’ powerful Smart Playlists.” I never could test that but the server software did find my iTunes directory.
-Audio formats
* Lossless Formats (Apple Lossless, FLAC, WMA Lossless)
o “Bit-perfect” CD audio streaming, with reduced storage and bandwidth usage.
o Approximately 2:1 compression ratio
* Uncompressed formats (AIFF, WAV, PCM)
o Supports raw pass-through of uncompressed PCM audio formats
o Digital passthrough to S/PDIF for DTS
* Compressed formats (MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, MP2, MusePack, WMA)
o MPEG decoding uses MAD software, widely regarded as the most accurate, most compatible MP3 decoder.
o High accuracy 24-bit synthesis
o Supports all MP3 data rates and sample rates, including VBR
o May be streamed in PCM (raw), MP3 (transcoded), or FLAC (transcoded) formats
o Sound Check and Replay Gain support for automatic volume control.
o Some formats may require additional software installation (e.g. Quicktime), depending on platform.
-http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_specs.html
Expensive and less-feature packed than AirPort Express but the screen is OK and it has a remote.
I am curious what the iPod 30gb Video with a new dock + remote would be like. You probably can’t read the screen unless you use the S-video port. It seems logical to just get an iMac, which has the remote and a much bigger screen and toslink.
Yes, I was looking at the Dock for my iPod Video but it does not offer anything I could use. If it came with Front Row I’d buy it in an instant. I have a remote for my G5 (or Mini). It’s a Keyspan DMR. It works just fine but again does not come with Front Row. :-(
There’s a version of the Keyspan, as you may already know, that can work with AirPort Express.
Or you could use the S-Video port on your dock to see the iPod’s screen, even if it’s not Front Row? I don’t know because I need an S-video cable to find out. Perhaps AirPort Express will be how you can get Front Row in the future for your G5 and mini. Just speculating.
I think I may have known about Keyspan and Airport Express. I don’t know if the dock connected to a TV would give me Front Row. There’s no mention of Front Row on the Dock Packaging.
I just watched an hour or so of video on my iPod and the battery drained to almost empty. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; the hard drive is probably constantly spinning up.
