fairyliquidizer
10-01-2005, 04:00 PM
Hi Guys!
You know how it is, you go away on holiday and you get some time to listen to your iPods and it crosses your mind "Damn this iPod Shuffle sounds good!" and then you think, " my 3G iPod has never sounded 'natural'".
You see I had always put the plastic sound of my 3G down to the bit rate I use for rock/indie which is 128kbps AAC but I had never tested this. Soooo I switch the same high quality headphones between the two iPods (as the supplied ones are rubbish). I adjust the volume until it's as close to matching as I can make it without equipment that the average Italian hotel lacks. Then I select the same section of music on each player and listen.
Immediately I can hear what's missing, the bass on the 3G iPod is understated. Very understated. It is as if it's reduced in both volume and precision. I use a number of tracks, even vary the type of music (Jazz, Classical, Indie, Rock) but the same answer comes up each time. The same passage sounds like chalk and cheese.
I tried using the Equaliser to "equalise" the sound but the equaliser settings all sounded lo fi :) and none of them made the 3G sound any better although they clearly changed the sound just not for the better.
I suspect the problem lies with the analogue circuitry not the DACs which are similar Wolfson models (I live very close to these clever dudes!).
How great would the iPod be if it sounded like the Shuffle!
So I have a number of questions:
1. is it my iPod or is it all 3G iPods?
2. are later iPods better?
3. (more importantly) does the Nano sound like the Shuffle or the iPod?
4. how does the AirPort Express Base Station with AirTunes sound?
I am considering buying and Airport Express BSwAt and Nano but probably wont if they sound like the 3G. I hope they sound like the Shuffle because it's the best sounding MP3 player that I have ever owned and I have been buying these things since the late 90s!
Love,
Fairy
PS- I know you guys love your iPods so don't take this as flame bait it is a real and observable phenomenon
You know how it is, you go away on holiday and you get some time to listen to your iPods and it crosses your mind "Damn this iPod Shuffle sounds good!" and then you think, " my 3G iPod has never sounded 'natural'".
You see I had always put the plastic sound of my 3G down to the bit rate I use for rock/indie which is 128kbps AAC but I had never tested this. Soooo I switch the same high quality headphones between the two iPods (as the supplied ones are rubbish). I adjust the volume until it's as close to matching as I can make it without equipment that the average Italian hotel lacks. Then I select the same section of music on each player and listen.
Immediately I can hear what's missing, the bass on the 3G iPod is understated. Very understated. It is as if it's reduced in both volume and precision. I use a number of tracks, even vary the type of music (Jazz, Classical, Indie, Rock) but the same answer comes up each time. The same passage sounds like chalk and cheese.
I tried using the Equaliser to "equalise" the sound but the equaliser settings all sounded lo fi :) and none of them made the 3G sound any better although they clearly changed the sound just not for the better.
I suspect the problem lies with the analogue circuitry not the DACs which are similar Wolfson models (I live very close to these clever dudes!).
How great would the iPod be if it sounded like the Shuffle!
So I have a number of questions:
1. is it my iPod or is it all 3G iPods?
2. are later iPods better?
3. (more importantly) does the Nano sound like the Shuffle or the iPod?
4. how does the AirPort Express Base Station with AirTunes sound?
I am considering buying and Airport Express BSwAt and Nano but probably wont if they sound like the 3G. I hope they sound like the Shuffle because it's the best sounding MP3 player that I have ever owned and I have been buying these things since the late 90s!
Love,
Fairy
PS- I know you guys love your iPods so don't take this as flame bait it is a real and observable phenomenon