Audio Quality ??

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tmf2

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I read the review of the 2nd Gen Shuffle and the reviewers
stated the sound was not as good as the Nano. My wife wants
one for Christmas but if it has poor audio quality I'll pass.
Any opinions on this from folks that have the 2nd Gen Shuffle?

Thanks, Dennis
 

ltspongebob

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I think the 2G shuffle is as good as the nano, but not as good as the 1G shuffle. But it's all relative; as the differences are minute. You will find that they all sound about the same with the standard iPod earphones. The differences are barely audible to ~90% of the population even with the best 'phones.

Sponge
 

BrookR1

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People's tastes are different. I found the shuffle to be "muddy" sounding...and there was nothing I could do to change it. I think it's worth the extra $50 for the screen, software features, EQ, and extra 1GB of capacity.
 

Galley

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:mad:
BrookR1 said:
People's tastes are different. I found the shuffle to be "muddy" sounding...and there was nothing I could do to change it. I think it's worth the extra $50 for the screen, software features, EQ, and extra 1GB of capacity.
I'm beginning to wish I had picked up a nano instead for the reasons stated above.
 

getchoo0329

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I think the shuffle sounds fine plus it's a trade off. Of course the sound won't be as clear as a normal ipod but in return you have practically a weigthless mp3 player. I use it at the gym and absolutely love it
 

madmaxmedia

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getchoo0329 said:
I think the shuffle sounds fine plus it's a trade off. Of course the sound won't be as clear as a normal ipod but in return you have practically a weigthless mp3 player. I use it at the gym and absolutely love it
Why couldn't the sound quality be as good as the other iPods? A hard drive or more memory doesn't make it sound better, and those are the most costly components anyways (meaning the DSP and amp is going to be similar.)

That being said, yeah it's a tradeoff in terms of size, price, and functionality.

I own a 5G iPod and a 512MB Shuffle, and have finally realized that I just really like the 1G Shuffle all-around. It sounds the best IMO, is very easy to use while doing other stuff (no touch-sensitive controls makes this easier), and I really like the white slab design of the 1G Shuffle.

(obviously it's not as versatile as my 5G iPod.)
 

ltspongebob

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BrookR1 said:
People's tastes are different. I found the shuffle to be "muddy" sounding...and there was nothing I could do to change it. I think it's worth the extra $50 for the screen, software features, EQ, and extra 1GB of capacity.
Yes people's tastes are different, with both shuffles I don't hear "muddy" or "roll-off" or "dark" or any of the other "audiophile" buzzwords that are thrown around. The fact is that even the "audiophile" types regard the shuffle (1G at least) to be one of the best sounding ipods. the 2G does have some changes, but you will hard pressed to find them. Also the Nano is $70 extra and for some people $$$ matters...

my .02 and I've been wrong before and I'm sure I will be in the future but...

Sponge
 

BrookR1

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I'm not an audiophile, so I'm not sure if the word muddy is a buzzword or not. Not that it matters. I was just pointing out the greater flexibility of the nano over the 2G shuffle and (what I percieve as) better audio quality. The tradeoff for me was a package slightly larger that I can still clip to a T-shirt (with an aftermarket clip).

I can't comment on the 1G shuffle, since I've never listened to one. Thought this thread was about the 2G.
 

Nader172

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Is it hard to keep track of the second generation iPod nanos? They look too small for me and seem like something I’d loose right away.

I’ve heard the sound quality of them and they don’t seem all that bad to me. I’d probably have to agree that the original shuffles sounded a little better in my opinion. It wouldn’t hold me back from purchasing one however.

Nate
 

ltspongebob

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Nader172 said:
Is it hard to keep track of the second generation iPod nanos? They look too small for me and seem like something I’d loose right away.

I’ve heard the sound quality of them and they don’t seem all that bad to me. I’d probably have to agree that the original shuffles sounded a little better in my opinion. It wouldn’t hold me back from purchasing one however.

Nate
I've lost my 2G shuffle about 4 times now, I found it under a few quarters one time and in a pocket the other. as for the 2G nanos, I don't know, I haven't yet misplaced my 1G nano. The shuffles are really easy to lose. :)

Sponge
 

Nader172

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Yeah, I made a mistake there. I meant to say iPod shuffles. They seem to get smaller and smaller.
 

toothpaste

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tmf2 said:
I read the review of the 2nd Gen Shuffle and the reviewers
stated the sound was not as good as the Nano. My wife wants
one for Christmas but if it has poor audio quality I'll pass.
Any opinions on this from folks that have the 2nd Gen Shuffle?

Thanks, Dennis
We all hear sounds differently so me saying that one sounds better than the other is a biased opinion. The best way to really know is to try it for yourself.
 

nickpod

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differant

I would say, no question the sound quality on the shuffle is inferior to the previous nano. I even think it is inferior to my 3G ipod 15GB.

There are differant analogue to dgital convertors in there, and differant mechanics. It is just going to be differant, but it does fill a role. It is VERY tiny.
 

grahama

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Will $100+ in-ears dramatically improve the new shuffle?
Currently, I am using some $19.99 Sony earbuds. Will upgrading to in-ears like the Shure make a dramatic difference in sound quality for the Shuffle? Or, is the digitial to audio converter just inferior? Unfortunately, I doubt I could test drive the Shures without buying them.

Background:
Recently, my 1st gen shuffle broke so I upgraded to the 2nd gen.
Although I really love the usability of the new shuffle in the gym, the sound quality is not as clear/present/bright as my old shuffle.
I know this is a subjective issue, but it feels like the new shuffle crosses the line into 'not good enough to be enjoyable' category :( To my ears, it feels like a blanket has been put over the earbuds. I originally thought the unit might be defective, but after googling a bit, it seems that this is a standard complaint. For myself, I did not buy the shuffle because it was cheap, I bought the new shuffle because I loved my old shuffle for working out in the gym.
 

grahama

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thanks for the info
the CX-300 's make a whole lot more sense price-wise.
It's hard to justify spending 3X the amount on headphones than the actual IPOD.
Hopefully, the CX's will sound a little more present with my shuffle than what I am currently using.
g
 

MOCKBA

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The same problem is here. Wife is looking for a Christmas gift for me. I visited Apple store this weekend and listened Shuffle. It sounds as AM radio, S/N, distortions, frequency response are far from expectations. I can understand that difficult to fit good DAC and analog circuit in so small design. So it's a big question for me now. Probably I'll take it as a gift and then return back after Christmas.
 
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