Ipod nano 3rd gen DAC sounds way worse than Iphon 3GS

[dmoss74]

i just bought a used ipod nano 3rd gen to use at the gym, but realize that the sound is way worse on it that my newer iphone 3gs.

all the songs are exactly the same on both models, imported through the same version of itunes.

what gives? was that model known for a rally bad dac? all eq is off on both, and there is no volume equalization on either. and this also goes for headphones, my dockable speaker and my car ipod input.

any clues???

[cjmnews]

Hardware does vary between models, but I don't think they are that noticeable. My 3rd Gen nano sounds pretty much the same as my iPhone 4S.

I thought there was a slight sound difference between a 2nd Gen Mini and the 3rd Gen Nano but I no longer have the mini to compare anymore.

In other words there could be slight differences, like more or less bass, but they should not be dramatically different.

[dmoss74]

the difference is pretty marked. the nano has a more muddled, mid-accentuated sound. i read other posts stating that apple changed out their dac brands over a few models, and that none of them are particularly good.

that is obvious, since i have listened to models from other makers (of phones and mp3 players) that sounded a whole lot better than any iOffering.

i will say that the 3gs does seem to have the best sound of all the apple models i've heard.