Freak Nasty Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 I've been testing my Ipod over and over, and it just sounds like crap compared to the Sony MD and any discman. I've heard about the same complaints from many many other people from different forums, does anyone here encounter the same problems. Now it's not an encoding problem, because i've tried the same song on the Bang Oluffsen Mp3 player and it just sounded stunning like a high end Hifi and the Ipod sounded like a mono radio broadcast. Does any one know anything about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpg Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 What do you have the iPod hooked up to? Headphones or a stereo of some sorts? If headphones, I highly recommend getting a headphone amplifier to boost the sound. iPods and many other MP3 players/CD-players have very poor output stages. A decent headphone amp does wonders. I have one laying around I could be persuaded to let go of... I built it, it's very solid and sounds great. Was going to eBay it sometime, sooner or later. PM if interested- I have some pictures of it. If you are speaking of using the output to a stereo... well, I just don't know. heh I figured the line-out would sound ok when used with a decent enough amp. EDIT: BTW- I see that you have an Earthquake sub listed in your signature. How is that thing? I was admiring those before I decided to DIY another sub. They look to be pretty good for the money. Any thoughts? I am not going to buy one now, but was still wondering how they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 I second the headphone approach. Had a conversation with a customer just this week about music and he was going on about his Ipod and stated that he hated it until he swtiched out the headphone with a good pair he had lying around. He said it made all the difference, but it still won't get you up to regular stero quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Check out the iPod eq settings. That may be all funky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 I have the ipod mini and LOVE it. It sounds fantastic with my Sony MDR EX71SL headphones which were recommended on several forums. http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=168452 On my home system, depending on the bitrate, sounds as good and sometime better than the some CDs playing in the Pioneer 47 and 59ai. No the chroma bug doesn't effect sound. The EQ could have something to do with it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 I found that with the supplied earbuds, there was a lot of distortion, especially at low bass passages. You could literally hear the crackle of the miniscule drivers straining. I switched the earbuds out to my 2 different pairs of headphones, a Sony professional series, and a Bose, and while it improved the quality, there are still faint signs of fatigue and strain now and then. I supposed the quality has something to do with the quality of your earbuds/headphones, the gauge of the wire, the gold-plated connection (or not), and the fact that the iPod was not designed for audiophiles in mind. Just for people on the go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcoker Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 You have to take the core out of the apple...I sorry I just had to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freak Nasty Posted October 31, 2004 Author Share Posted October 31, 2004 TPG thanks for your input, i tried the Ipod with a few good head phones and i now know that the only problem is that they do not have the option to let you customise your own eq settings. No matter how we encode the song it just sounds muddy. I also found that i'm not the only one who doesn't like the way ipod sounds compared to other players, there are so many forums with people complaning about the same problem. Now, i've tried using a headphone (Beyer Dynamics DT770) with amp and the Koss Eq50 and the sound changes dramatically. It just reveals everything that were missing. I like the sound, but the fact that i'll have to carry an amp in my bag and have an external eq hanging to my headphone. Oh well, i;ll have to live with it now. Oh yeah, may be next week or so i'll get the new Media player from Iriver PMP120 with 20 gig hd and can play divx and many more stuffs ....sweet.. And about the Earthquakes.... they are awesome.... to tell you the truth i can't see the difference between the earthquakes and the sunfire sigs. The earthquakes are twice as heavy and has a much nicer finish (if you get the burl of course) ,for movies.... they rocks..the 12" shakes all my walls and floor and everything else... for music the sunfire is a little bit more smooth. Having 2 subs for me is just a big waste because i only use one of them. But honestly there is no difference except the auto eq thing with the sigs. If you have a big room then deffinetly get the earthquakes for the price.. a bargain .. now let's not talk about svs.. because they might be a better deal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 I don't own one, but according to Apple, the ipod has 20 EQ settings. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freak Nasty Posted November 1, 2004 Author Share Posted November 1, 2004 Yep, they have 20 presets EQ settings and are all very similar, near flat i'd say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 headphones, baby, headphones. get some sony EX71 or sharp MD33 and you will be fine. if you like regular over the head phones try senn px100 or sony eggo 66...tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceDeuce Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Shure EC2. They're about 9 dB more sensitive than most headphones or earbuds and that makes a huge difference with my iRiver (who made or makes the iPod). They're about $100 and I'd never think of using a mp3 player without them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Woman Posted November 7, 2004 Share Posted November 7, 2004 I don't tend to use my iPod with headphones, but it does quite well when I connect it up to a stereo via the dock (I guess I have four docks) or when I connect it to my car stereo via a SONY cassette adapter (no other way to do it without ripping out my car stereo!!!) But then I have all of my MP3 files ripped at 320 and I think that makes a big difference too. I take my iPod to work and stick it in the dock with my old Marantz 2215B receiver. It's great fun to have thousands of songs right there with me at work. I've tried and tried to hear a difference between CDs and my MP3 files and I swear I can't hear it, but then I have a $200. sound card on my computer and a specially made Monster Cable connection between the sound card and the receiver. I've really enjoyed being able to take music with me whereever I go. Tamara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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