Audio downgrade on 6th gen ? Plz advise

[rozeqloud]

Am i hallucinating here

i have a 5th gen 30 gig , i was VERY impressed with the audio

This weekend i bought a 6th gen 160 gig , expecting at least

equal audio

i couldnt believe the dreadful audio i experienced on the 160

Doing A-B tests between the 5th and 6th gen , all settings equal , eq set to off

sound check off etc , all things equal , i cant believe the down grade in audio

i just paid $ 500.00 for .

Ie; neil Youngs decade cd sounds like it was recorded in a empty tin room

i know its an ancient recording , but this is only an example , i have

many genres of music on my ipods .Lotsa more modern music as well

Tuxedo Moons cabin in the sky , sounds great on the 5th gen .Regardless

of the age of recording , the 5th gen seems to have superior sound

im very close to returning the ipod , maybe get an Archos 160 gig ?

Or Creative ? Or ? something with better audio

i love everything about this ipod , but the most important , audio

Did apple downgrade the digital/audio hard/software from the 5th

to 6th gen , did i possibly get a damaged ipod ( PS sold as new in sealed box

but battery was fully charged )

im looking for some honest informed input , that i know i can get here , im sure

apple , best buy or future shop are all bias and wont inform me as i hope

to be here

Should i dump the 160 6th gen , or is this something that can be remedied

by Ie; a software or firmware update ?

Cheers

[drewhiggins]

It does have a different sound chip (from the 5G and iTouch) so the sound has changed.

Try updating through iTunes the firmware if you can but read this first:

iPod Classic 1.1 firmware

[rozeqloud]

Thanks drewhiggins

i did the update as soon as i got my 6th gen , so i ve never heard

it on any other version . Cover flow is so smooth its a treat ,SO FAR !!!!! LOL

So far not one problem i c many others having , am i unique tho in

been so BOTHERED by this IMO bad audio ?

Did they go to an inferior sound chip ? And is this the difference im hearing ?

i did notice an odd thing , playing my ipod thru my pc which is hooked into my

stereo , via itunes , resulted in a slight improvement in audio quality . Too bad i

cant lug my pc and stereo around all day with my ipod LOL

Other than a lesser sound chip , i just had a bright idea , is it possible that

this 6th gen requires something more power hungry to produce good audio

say comparable to my 5th gen ,maybe it isnt a inferior sound chip or other

Apple hardware , maybe my V-moda vibes will be the ticket when they finally

arrive ,or some hi end shures . If i can ever afford such .

Or another idea just popped into my skull , the improved audio i heard via

itunes -pc-home stereo , may this be the result of not using the 3.5 headphones output ,

but rather the pc connect 30 ? pin out on ipod bottom ,possibly the problem

is poor output via the 3.5 out ? i think this connect is digital , no ? will that port

not produce better audio ?

Searching and scratching for answers , having just 20+ days to return the 6th gen ipod as an

unsatisfied customer .

Cheers

[drewhiggins]

I think it's something to do with the audio chip only, not the headphone jack - some headphones do sound good, others sound like crap. Of course it all depends on what you say good sound is - and you're not alone. Several classic owners here have expressed disappointment with the sound quality and yes, it is a lesser chip. Cirrus Logic is what it uses as compared to the others which was something better.

i did notice an odd thing , playing my ipod thru my pc which is hooked into my stereo , via itunes , resulted in a slight improvement in audio quality . Too bad I cant lug my pc and stereo around all day with my ipod LOL

Playing it through your PC hooked up to your stereo via iTunes probably would give better sound as you're relying on your sound card (line-in / out) and your stereo. I find you'll get better sound (would you believe) by setting the EQ to Treble Reducer.





From Wikipedia - if you believe it (I certainly do)

Acoustics issues

According to certain tests performed both by hearing and through computer analysis of the sound, the 6th Generation lacks sound quality in the mid range, and produces less spatial information (i.e. stereo sound plays 'inside your head' instead of 'outside') due to higher impulse in the treble, when compared with 5G. Apple has not commented on this problem yet.

Software issues

The first batch of sixth generation iPod classics has been reported to crash trying to load album art and connecting to iTunes after synching for the first time. Some people also have reported that browsing through Cover Flow, playlists and navigation is sluggish. Windows Vista users also have to download Windows Upgrades to fix the synching problems. iPods of the 6th generation (as well as the iPod nano and the iPod Touch) introduced an additional checksum in their song database, making it initially impossible) to use the iPod with 3rd party synching programs.

Hardware issues

Some users have reported a fault in the design of the click wheel, notably a lack of responsiveness. In particular, on some models, it requires two to three full revolutions with a finger or thumb to receive a response.
On 27 November Apple released a firmware update (1.0.3) via iTunes, improving Cover Flow, menu navigation speed and several other bug fixes.
Many users have reported instances of MP3s (and audiobooks)not completely playing (skipping), or not playing at all, which as of firmware 1.0.3 has still not been rectified. In many cases the tracks played without incident on previous 5G iPods.
On 15 January 2008 Apple released a firmware update (1.1) via iTunes. The features and fixes are simply listed as iTunes rentals and bug fixes, although early tests show coverflow improvements. The update has also been criticised by users who have reported the volume cap has been increased so the volume is lower even at full, a small amount of iPods are also said to have bricked since the update. Some users have also been complaining of hissing noises emanating from the headphones after the iPod is put into sleep mode.

[vocrobot]

Sounds fine to me. I compared my 5g and Classic when I got it and I couldn't tell any difference. I tried three sets of headphones and both sounded as good as each other. Obviously my ears aren't as good as some other people's.

[rozeqloud]

Thanks again folks

i must not have set this to email notice , as i didnt get one

alerting me to these good replies

problems persist , had to restore ipod while on phone with support

itunes couldnt read my content ...sheesh!!!!!

Last nite trax the i was listening to were displayed as something else in now playing

Ie: Frank Zappa may have been diplayed as Miles Davis...

Can anyone share 1.0.3 with me .i ve never had it , i just got my ipod sat

Ya the hiss issue is HUGE while ipod is powered off , not on my cheapie buds

but on my V-moda vibes

im dying to try to revert back to 1.0.3 to see if if enhances audio for me ,

sime said it did for him ....

Cheers

[dan_plus_o]

Hey rozeqloud, please do post back your discovery because I am very interested in this topic.. Right now it is the one thing that is stopping me from getting a 6G iPod 80GB.

[rozeqloud]

Yes i will

Man this thing is buggy.....i

Cheers

[dan_plus_o]

Hey rozeqloud, you never got back to me on your discovery

However, I went to Future Shop and bought one the other day so I could see what it sounds like for myself and I must say that the iPod Classic is MAJOR CRAP compared to a 5G iPod Video. I can't believe I sold my 5.5G iPod video before researching the iPod Classic. However, I would had never thought that apple would make a new iPod that sucks compared to the older one. I will probably return my iPod as soon as I can get back into town.. I will continue to monitor the iPod Classic to see if the audio quality ever gets sorted out. If it doesn't I might have to resort to getting a Zune which I would rather not do because the iPod is better IMO as far as what my needs are (Strictly MP3 playback). APPLE, get your act together and don't release products that suck a** compared to the previous version.

[drewhiggins]

Zunes do MP3 playback fine, if not as good as the iPod.

I think Apple need to discontinue the classic (which I suggested to them several times), go back to the 5G base and redevelop on that - and don't make any mistakes. Hell, even ask the general public on their official site to suggest what should and shouldn't be there.

Classic crap. Also, I had the same issue of an lbum appearing under some other artist and then it fixed itself. Weird.

[dan_plus_o]

Just thought I would say that I bought a SanDisk Sansa 2GB C250 to replace my iPod Shuffle I lost and I am finding the audio quality of the sansa to be much better then the audio quality of the iPod Classic. I am no way going to keep the iPod Classic I bought. When you pay approximately $300 for a MP3 player you would expect the audio quality to be better then a $70 MP3 player. I guess my new Scandisk Sansa will keep me happy until iPod comes out with a half decent 80GB player.

[drewhiggins]

You're serious about the Sansa? Wow.

I expected the quality to be half-decent on the classic.

[dan_plus_o]

Yes, 100% serious. Sansa sounds much better, to my ears anyways. I am a guitar player and I use a 10 band EQ with my amp (which also has a 3 band EQ) so I am pretty familiar with tone settings and audio quality.

I used the same headphones, no EQ, and the exact same spot on a certain song to A and B them and I liked the sound of the Sansa much better.

The audio quality on the 5G iPods however is really good, just not the Classic.

[drewhiggins]

I'm gonna try something. I've got an old 128MB player (Apacer), a 512MB player (Omni), an old 5G video iPod around here somewhere (not technically mine but who cares, I need to test it) and the classic. I'll get back to you with the results.

I'm gonna use a 192Kbps MP3 CBR; I'll use Alice Cooper's Poison (which has some highs at times) and try it.

[drewhiggins]

Yep, you're not wrong. I tried Treble Reducer, Bass Booster, Jazz, Rock and Flat on the 5G. Sounded almost normal to me.

Same test on the classic - the quality is so much less. You can just tell.