Ipod with Etymotic ER-6 earphones

[ecosse011172]

Abyone tried this combination?
I've heard rumours about the headphone output not being up to scratch depending on the impedance of the phones..

Thanks

[dmt1]

The Ipod handles the Ety 6's just fine. But if you're going the Ety route, if you can, spring for the Ety 4P's.

[ecosse011172]

Thanks, I already have been using my etys with my MD player for a while and love them. The Ipod looks great but I'm concerned qbout sound quality compared to minidisc...

[dmt1]

It's really going to depend on the quality of your mp3's--the ipod sounds incredible with Ety 4P's and a high quality mp3 (AAC at 192 or MP3 with LAME using --alt-preset standard).

I think you'll be pleasantly suprised hooking an ipod up to your Ety 6's--might want to try going to Best Buy and see if they'll let you check an ipod out, and plug your Ety's into one and give it a go--you'll be able to see for yourself how well the ipod drives the Ety's. Personally, for me, the ipod, with a high quality mp3, is indistinguishable from my portable CD player in terms of sound quality--in fact, with the Ety's I hear things on my ipod/mp3's I never noticed before using my CD player and lesser quality 'phones (course those could be those ####ed voices that periodically visit me). My ears aren't the greatest anymore though, and there are others who notice a difference, and would throw stuff at me for even suggesting this...

[ecosse011172]

Hi dmt1

I am pretty new to compressed music, although I have encoded one of my favourite albums in AAC 192,224,256,320 and with lame preset insane for comparison, through my soundcard (Soundblaster audigy2) and my sennheiser HD580s they all sound good, although obviously better than they will be in an Ipod. I'm still evaluating but my first impression is that I prefer AAC. What ever happened to the claim that AAC managed better quality in a smaller size, at 320 they are all the same size or bigger than the MP3s. My next concern is whether to get a Euro Ipod and workround the volume cap or get a US one (I live in France.) Unfortunately in Europe we don't have the same levels of service in terms of trying and returning stuff......

[mattp98]

I wouldn't be worried about sound quality from the ipod if you're using minidisc. Minidisc audio, even if it isn't 'LP2' or 'LP4' is still compressed as well.

Using a good encoder to compress music (LAME or iTunes for AAC) will yield results that should be better than any of the ATRAC audio from Minidisc. It's nice to have more control over the compression with either LAME or AAC as well. (Bitrate, etc)

--Matt

[ecosse011172]

Hi Matt

Thanks for replying, I know that MD is compressed and agree that it is much better to be able to control the compression.The most recent ATRAC does sound very good and I've read reports of poor bass output on Ipods hence the initial post....

Denis

[dmt1]

Originally posted by ecosse011172
Hi dmt1

What ever happened to the claim that AAC managed better quality in a smaller size, at 320 they are all the same size or bigger than the MP3s. ......


This is a common cause of confusion. If you encode an mp3 at a bitrate of, say, 160, and AAC at a bitrate of 160, the AAC file, as you said, will probably be actually a little bit bigger than the mp3 file of 160.

BUT, the AAC file would have a sound quality closer to that of an mp3 file with a bitrate of 192--and would be somewhat smaller than an mp3 encoded at 192. Hope that makes sense...


The bottom line is if you encode mp3 and AAC at the same bitrate, the AAC file will probably be a little bit bigger, BUT will sound like mp3 encoded at a higher bitrate. That's where the better quality in a smaller size comes in....

[mattp98]

Cool,

I have a Sony NetMD player as well, it was my pre-ipod music device. I really am a fan of MD believe it or not. I just wish sony would get rid of that OpenMG junk.

--Matt

[snapshot]

If you really want the best possible sound you've ever heard, then you owe it to yourselves to check out the HeadRoom's offerings.
I mix sound for a living, and I can't use normal earbuds, and large "cans" look a bit stupid, so I've been using the Total Airhead amp and ety's for over two years now, and there just isn't anything out there can come close.
http://headphone.com/layout.php?topicID=8&subTopicID=30&productID=0000000028

It's not cheap, but the sound you'll hear is priceless!!!! I know after trying all kinds of "high" end cans, and these little beauties are just fantastic. If you can afford to spend as much or a little more than your iPod, you'll never regret it!! When I'm mixing music for video's, I use some pretty high end monitors, but if I'm along in my studio without clients, then I'll use these instead; they're that good!!!

[cyclepod]

I own an ipod and a total airhead amp with the ety 6's. I rip all my music at 224 aac and it sounds amazing. the earphones don't seem to manage well in the cold while cycling though, they keep dropping out. my total airhead was being repaired for a couple of weeks and I sure noticed the difference without it.

[noah]

i tried out my friend's er-6s with my ipod, and it was sweet. definitely on my christmas list.