Slashdot Mirror
Sound Quality of the Fifth Generation iPods?
ntropi asks: "As the drive on my old MP3 player (an iRiver H320) grinds toward its last days, I've found myself in search of a new one. Given the options the new iPod seems the best choice, but I'm hesitating somewhat over the murmurings as to the iPod's supposedly poor sound quality. However, while Marc Heijligers has provided a comprehensive breakdown of iPod performance for up to the fourth generation, I have been hard-pressed to find any information on the 5G's performance. With the exception of this CNET review, which reports that 'Audio quality is quite good and probably better than the previous iPod's, with reasonable bass, distinguishable mids, and shiny highs, plus the audio-output power is quite good.', there seems not to have been any detailed analysis of the iPod's output quality. Thus, it seemed a good idea to appeal to the Slashdot hive-mind for its personal experiences with the 5G's playback, or even analyses that people might have done which were simply never put online."
Why does the Slashdot community have to hear about you fretting over some consumer decision? Go to a freaking Apple Store and LISTEN to one. If it sounds good and you care more about image than price, buy it. Soccer moms are capable of this, why aren't you?
In all likelihood, the quality coming out of the unit itself is not the weakest link. Poor headphones, poor encoding, bad ears, bad listening environment, etc. will all be a factor. Like someone above said, listen to it, if you like it who cares what reviewers say?
I like good speakers for my home theater. But a friend of mine likes his $250 all-in-one setup. It's not that either one of us is wrong, but he gets the quality he wants, and doesn't spend nearly as much as I do.
-dave
/., where "Apple and Google provide Iran with nukes" will be refuted with "But Microsoft is a convicted monopolist"
If there really were some "digital chatter" in the line out signal then you'd probably hear it more clearly with good headphones. More likely it's a problem specifically with the earphones (and hence an analogue problem) or something in your imagination.
And using my 64 ohm Sennheiser HD580 headphones my iPod nano isn't quiet at all. I have to admit I was surprised by this.
-- SIGFPE
or without a headphone amp, odds are you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an ipod mini (supposedly the worst sounding ipod) and any of the other offerings, or any iriver/archos alternatives.
h eadphones/sennheiser-hd-555.phph eadphones/sennheiser-hd-595.phpa r-monitor/etymotic-er-6i.phpa r-monitor/etymotic-er-4p.php
iPods are mainly for portable music, most of the time music on the move doesn't need audiophile reproduction, and even the cheapest MP3 players offer very decent music quality.
If you are mulling over splashing out so you can get GREAT sound quality from an iPod, just concentrate on the parts that count, the headphones. A pair of sennheiser or etymotics will set you back just half the price of an iPod and will make a stunning difference to sound quality.
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/all-
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/all-
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/in-e
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/in-e
Proof? Hook up your iPod to a real sound system and blast it through a concert hall. YIKES!
You will truly not believe it. I cannot hear the difference between normal audio equipment but when it is amplified by the kind of equipment that can blow fuses you really do hear that is not a complete sound.
So what does it sound like really? Well it sounds exactly like those really really cheap radios you used to get free with things amplified in a drum.
So asking wether an iPod sounds good is a stupid question. All DAP players suck because the content they reproduce sucks. The hardware itself also doesn't have the quality needed either.
BUT DOES THIS MATTER. No.
It is not meant to be played to a thousand people, it is meant to power a couple of small earbud speakers and considering all the limitations involved both in the hardware and in you it is okay. Yeah sure some people will swear that they can hear the difference between Player X and Player Y well good luck to them. For the majority of people there is no difference and if you need to ask you are one of those people. Do not try to claim you are audiofreak by asking other people. Audiofreaks never listen to other people.
Note that the above is a bit extreme, you can do a successfull presentation from a laptop with powerpoint and mp3 audio but you are pushing it. Do not play music this way to an audio fanatics audience. Please note that their is also a hell of difference between the sound needed for a presentation and that for the party afterwards. If you think of holding one afterwards check with the sound engineer before and ask if the setup is small enough to be played from your sound source. They don't mind if you ask not simply tell them to do it and then complain it sounds bad. They are used to people thinking consumer hardware is good enough. Personally I had to explain more then once that a companies own top of the line projector was just not going to cut it for a conference hall. Their can be carried in a suitcase. Ours sits in a large trunk and can only be lifted with hydraulics.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
You can claim what you want about the quality of ATRAC, but it is not lossless compression.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
I guess I am a graybeard now, I remember recording an FM signal off the radio, onto a casette tape (magnetized particles, young'ins! and we liked it!)... trying to get a clean 'rip' without the DJ trampling the beginning or end (impossible)... futzing with levels to hit that magical peak 0dB (but not too much over!)... applying Dolby B 'noise reduction'.... all of this took, usually, an entire afternoon to assemble one good tape. Which your buddy's car deck would then eat the next day.
Not that I miss any of that really, but now its 'Transcode the file from AAC to MP3?!? My ears would BLEED, such a thing is beyond the pale! Were you raised in a cave?'
Of course, a lot of it is bullshit. There are true audiophiles and then there are those who just want to know that they have The Best. These are the people who have $10k stereos that don't notice when the entire left channel disappears at a club. I find its usually me and maybe one or two other people in the vicinity who looked shocked when that happens... the rest have no idea....
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
What's with everyone being so angry about this post? If you're not interested, then ignore it! Why the rage?
What provides a more accurate idea of the sound experience under normal use for most people? Is it:
A)a sound-isolated listening booth
or
B)a busy Apple store
How it sounds and how it sounds when I'm using it can be two different things, and personally I'd be more interested in the latter. Going and listening to it is better advice then taking some random slashdotters word for it.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
How spoiled we have become. The shuffle is unbelievably small, holds a gig, weights less than most jewelry and the sound is good. Unthought of just few years ago. The push is for very portable music not the highest sound quality. If Apple was concerned only about sound they could easily make a large iPod with high quality sound that would need to be moved around in a backpack. When I bought my shuffle the only surprise for me was how close it came to sounding as good as a full size iPod.
My karma is getting better everyday.
The people at Computer Shopper obviously know nothing about audio if you they are complaining about distortion after increasing the bass while listening to bass heavy music. Thats what is supposed to happen. If you get distortion when the EQ is turned off, chances are the source material is distorted.
I haven't compared the 5g ipod to any other portable devices except $70 a cd/mp3 player from Sony, and I'd say the audio quality is much greater than that device. The ipod sounds better than a lot of entry level component home audio equipment, though it's still not top of the line. The fact that the output comes from a headphone jack as opposed to 2 analog cables or 1/4" plugs means you will get line noise, and all the electronics that close together is begging for interference, though I haven't noticed anything in the two weeks i've owned it.
My higher bitrate (192+) mp3s sound just fine coming out of my home system which includes a sub woofer and 2 large bookshelf speakers (ie not some typical computer speaker setup).
I was even surprised with the the ear buds; everyone makes fun of them but they are definitely the highest quality ear buds i've ever owned. They don't match speakers that cover your ears but they are completely acceptable for everything I've played so far. My preferred genre is drum and bass and the bass is well reproduced on the little buds. I was expecting for the bass to roll off around 100Hz or higher but it kicks all the way down to the sub bass frequencies.
Bottom line is the audio is fine. It's certainly better than most portable music devices of the past, and unless you have a card better than a soundblaster it probably even sounds better than mp3s out of your computer.