Well, I have an iPod. And I'd consider myself an audiophile. Well, a rational audiophile. Which means I don't spend $300 on a 5 meter cable.
Thing is, I never ever connect my iPod to my home receiver. I use it in my car, for which it is perfectly suited.
However, a large part of my music is in encoded in lossless. So, I really don't see any reason why it wouldn't sound just as good as a CD, especially with this piece of equipment.
an audiophile is someone who spends $300 on a 5 meter cable. And even if you're playing lossless files on your iPod, it's still not coming out of the headphones that way. the signal-to-noise ratio on the iPod is much lower than on most players that play lossless formats.
True Audiophiles most likely use the FLAC codec after ripping with "Exact Audio Copy" when possible; thus not being able to use an iPod in the first place.. Not to mention i've heard many times that the Cowon players which some can play Flac files actually have way better sound quality than any iPod out there.
Yawn. Good thing I don't consider myself an audiophile anymore. I would have to ooze pretentious ignorance all day long. So glad I'm just a person who likes to listen to music that sounds nice and appreciates it if it comes on a device that is slick to use.
Many, actually. They get them modified, though, because the default product has a crappy headphone jack. Check out the Red Wine Audio iMod for more info. They rewire the iPod to create a better quality, direct line-out straight from the (surprisingly good and under-utilized) Wolfson DAC chip.
Also, many (but not all) iPods can run Rockbox, allowing them to play FLAC (lossless compression) files. Alternatively, they just use ALAC (Apple Lossless) files.
iPods aren't that uncommon among audiophiles. Most of the iPod models have a pretty good DAC, but the headphone amplifier could be better. Thankfully you can get Line out audio out of the dock port and use your own headphone amp for portable (though bulky) hifi goodness. Sure, it's bulkier than using the internal amp, but good 'phones really require more power to sound their best anyways.
iPod supports Apple Lossless and you can convert your old FLAC-files to it (lossless to lossless conversion doesn't deteriorate sound quality) or alternatively, if you have a 5G ipod or older, you can install an alternative firmware called Rockbox on it that supports FLAC (and ogg and such..)
iPods are not bad when it comes to producing portable hifi audio.
True audiophiles use a LOD (Line-Out Dock) to bypass the iPod's headphone amp, and usually utilize their own headphone amp. That headphone amp generally costs more than the iPod itself.
Even higher-strung audiophiles get an iMod iPod from Vinny at Red Wine Audio to go along with this setup.
The iPod can be a great audiophile-grade tool. However, it costs money to get it that way.
I'd call myself a semi-audiophile. I have a nice enough system to notice quality differences in various compression rates, &c. with ease. If I had the desire to listen to my music on-the-go, I'd use my iPod without issue. There's a big difference between casually listening and sitting down in your listening room to really relax to some amazing sound. Even if you appreciate good sound, sometimes you want to settle for 'good-enough,' you just want to hear some music. Regardless, I think this product is a little strange, and I think I'll be sticking with my Roku for my digital listening at home..
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how many audiophiles actually have an iPod? I thought that disqualified you from being an audiophile. just a thought
So true.
So true. Audiophiles with iPod is like petrolheads with minivans.
Well, I have an iPod. And I'd consider myself an audiophile. Well, a rational audiophile. Which means I don't spend $300 on a 5 meter cable.
Thing is, I never ever connect my iPod to my home receiver. I use it in my car, for which it is perfectly suited.
However, a large part of my music is in encoded in lossless. So, I really don't see any reason why it wouldn't sound just as good as a CD, especially with this piece of equipment.
rip, thank you for that reasonable comment. You're not alone.
an audiophile is someone who spends $300 on a 5 meter cable. And even if you're playing lossless files on your iPod, it's still not coming out of the headphones that way. the signal-to-noise ratio on the iPod is much lower than on most players that play lossless formats.
Grr I only opened this entry to say something like that =(
iPods are for sheep, not audiophiles.
True Audiophiles most likely use the FLAC codec after ripping with "Exact Audio Copy" when possible; thus not being able to use an iPod in the first place.. Not to mention i've heard many times that the Cowon players which some can play Flac files actually have way better sound quality than any iPod out there.
Yawn. Good thing I don't consider myself an audiophile anymore. I would have to ooze pretentious ignorance all day long. So glad I'm just a person who likes to listen to music that sounds nice and appreciates it if it comes on a device that is slick to use.
Many, actually. They get them modified, though, because the default product has a crappy headphone jack. Check out the Red Wine Audio iMod for more info. They rewire the iPod to create a better quality, direct line-out straight from the (surprisingly good and under-utilized) Wolfson DAC chip.
Also, many (but not all) iPods can run Rockbox, allowing them to play FLAC (lossless compression) files. Alternatively, they just use ALAC (Apple Lossless) files.
iPods aren't that uncommon among audiophiles. Most of the iPod models have a pretty good DAC, but the headphone amplifier could be better. Thankfully you can get Line out audio out of the dock port and use your own headphone amp for portable (though bulky) hifi goodness. Sure, it's bulkier than using the internal amp, but good 'phones really require more power to sound their best anyways.
iPod supports Apple Lossless and you can convert your old FLAC-files to it (lossless to lossless conversion doesn't deteriorate sound quality) or alternatively, if you have a 5G ipod or older, you can install an alternative firmware called Rockbox on it that supports FLAC (and ogg and such..)
iPods are not bad when it comes to producing portable hifi audio.
@Alicia:
True audiophiles use a LOD (Line-Out Dock) to bypass the iPod's headphone amp, and usually utilize their own headphone amp. That headphone amp generally costs more than the iPod itself.
Even higher-strung audiophiles get an iMod iPod from Vinny at Red Wine Audio to go along with this setup.
The iPod can be a great audiophile-grade tool. However, it costs money to get it that way.
I'd call myself a semi-audiophile. I have a nice enough system to notice quality differences in various compression rates, &c. with ease. If I had the desire to listen to my music on-the-go, I'd use my iPod without issue. There's a big difference between casually listening and sitting down in your listening room to really relax to some amazing sound. Even if you appreciate good sound, sometimes you want to settle for 'good-enough,' you just want to hear some music. Regardless, I think this product is a little strange, and I think I'll be sticking with my Roku for my digital listening at home..