[axlepin]

gave an iPod to the gf this year for Christmas...I couldn't believe how good it sounded; I'd never actually even touched one prior to giving this one to her.

What's responsible for the iPod's great sound? High-quality earbud elements, great output circuitry, or a combo of both?

Axle

[Grrr]

There is no one single part that makes them sound especially good. It's simply a combination of good stuff all round,
While im here, personally I can't stand the bundled ear buds, they sound pretty harsh to me.

[axlepin]

Originally posted by Grrr:
There is no one single part that makes them sound especially good. It's simply a combination of good stuff all round,
While im here, personally I can't stand the bundled ear buds, they sound pretty harsh to me.

Huh..if the ear buds are harsh, what's your pick for better phones? there seems to be a huge industry of iPod accessories...

I've seen people with the kind of buds that form a seal with the ear to prevent music from bothering other people. I personally don't like things going INTO my ear..

ax

[tooki]

Well, lots of people use that type of earphone ("in-ear"), but I can tell you it's not so that they don't bother other people. It's because they cut out outside noise a lot better, and sound better with less volume.

I love my in-ear earphones -- I use a Sony MD-EX71.

tooki

[Randman]

Originally posted by tooki:
Well, lots of people use that type of earphone ("in-ear"), but I can tell you it's not so that they don't bother other people. It's because they cut out outside noise a lot better, and sound better with less volume.

I love my in-ear earphones -- I use a Sony MD-EX71.

Yep, great headphones for on-the-go. Comfortable too, even for long trips. Love them on the airplane.

[Grrr]

Originally posted by axlepin:
Huh..if the ear buds are harsh, what's your pick for better phones? there seems to be a huge industry of iPod accessories...

I've seen people with the kind of buds that form a seal with the ear to prevent music from bothering other people. I personally don't like things going INTO my ear..

ax

I actually use my iPod more in the car and bedroom stereo system more than I do with any kind of headphones. But when I do use headphones, they tend to be studio ones.. DT150's (HUGE) and a pair of SoundCraft/AKG's. iPod sounds great with those, but you'd not use cans like these in public
Still, as the other guys have said, you can definitely get better buds/in-ear headphones that are better than Apples standard offerings..
Just my 2dB's worth..

[Link]

That's weird, my 2G ipod consistently gets "not quite as good" sound as my G4, haven't tested my bro's mini ipod though

[Spheric Harlot]

My first-generation 5-GB iPod is definitely not a contender for best-sounding audio source in the household.

I do hear they improved it somewhat on later revisions, though.

[spiky_dog]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
My first-generation 5-GB iPod is definitely not a contender for best-sounding audio source in the household.

I do hear they improved it somewhat on later revisions, though.

what headphones are you using, tho? my 1G iPod sounds quite decent through Sony MDR-V6 cans, and i hope it will sound good with the Sennheiser HD600 set that is in the mail... (i listen at low volumes generally so don't think that the high impedance of the 600s should be much a problem)

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by spiky_dog:
what headphones are you using, tho? my 1G iPod sounds quite decent through Sony MDR-V6 cans, and i hope it will sound good with the Sennheiser HD600 set that is in the mail... (i listen at low volumes generally so don't think that the high impedance of the 600s should be much a problem)

hooked up to a Linn Majik-I integrated amp and Linn Index speakers.

The 'pod is fine through in-ear headphones or in the car, but on the stereo, it loses out even to the minijack output of the powerbook.

Back when it came out, the Rio players had iPod well beat in terms of sound quality.

Again: this has apparently been somewhat improved in the 3G ff. models, but I have yet to make a direct comparison with that.

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally posted by tooki:
Well, lots of people use that type of earphone ("in-ear"), but I can tell you it's not so that they don't bother other people. It's because they cut out outside noise a lot better, and sound better with less volume.

I love my in-ear earphones -- I use a Sony MD-EX71.

tooki

i've had these for about a month now. i love them. i love them even more because i got the ones that are yuppie white too.

for $40 you really can't go wrong.

[ixus_123]

Grado seem to do some prettygood can type headphones. Some of the higher spec ones might be too revealing for mp3 / aac though