impressions of the new ipod

Its more of a red than an orange, and it comes on when the backlight is switched on. Tom.

Originally posted by Del Griffith
I apologize if this is not the right thread to ask this on, (I am a newbie) but is the menu buttons and forward reverse buttons on the new ipod really that bright orange? I see on apples website that they are grey then on other sites orange. I definiteley don't like that bright orange. Just curious.

tom .. trust me on this one .. the backlit buttons are a real cool feature!! Its definitely worth showing off! (when you eventually get some tracks on your iPod!)

well, the cords on the remote is kinda long, that becomes a hassel...

Originally posted by Gunner
I'm still trying to figure out the "on the go" playlist. That's another feature I was really looking forward to using, since my Creative JB3 had this feature and the Ipods (up till now) did not.
I hope you updated to iPod software 2.0.1; it allows you to add songs to the end of an already-playing OTG playlist. 2.0 did not.

I finally opened my brand new 10 gig iPod last night. After 30 minutes of actual usage this morning, I must say one thing unequivocally: I HATE IT I simply cannot say it strongly enough.

There are three big things I care about in a music player (in order of importance): (1) sound quality (2) usability (3) battery life (4) capacity. On all counts, except the last one, the iPod disappoints me. Let me explain exactly what I mean.

Sound quality I've used a multitude of devices including several mp3/cd players including the Riovolt sp90, the iRiver ChromeX, Creative Nomad II flash player, as well as the Sony Minidisc MZ-R70 and MZN-505. All had better sound than the iPod. What do I mean by better? Full, deeper bass and clearer treble. My preferred sound is not for everyone, but all of my other devices produce sound that I liked better.

All these comparisons were done using the same source material, generally mp3s encoded between 128 and 192 kbps. On the Nomad II, I generally use WMA encoded at 64 kbps, and even it sounds better than the iPod. The minidisc players use ATRAC encoding, but the source for the ATRAC tracks were mp3s directly converted to ATRAC.

This is a matter of personal taste, but even without any EQ settings, the iPod sounds lifeless. And it's not even all that loud, regardless of what the technical spec's say. I consistently have the iPod at 75% of max volume. (FYI, I use the Sony MDR-EX70LP headphones.)

Many of you audiophiles will say that the iPod is more "accurate" in it's sound reproduction or that I need better source material. Possibly. But the bottom line is: I don't like the sound. I'm not going to change my sound preferences or re-encode all my music to suit the iPod.

Usability I hate the touch buttons. I have a 30 minute commute to work in New York City, and when I'm walking the streets to work, I like to be able to watch where I'm going and control my music player at the same time. The iPod fails miserably on this one. How many times did I accidentally hit a button? Try probably once every two minutes. That means I didn't listen to a single song without having to restart it or find my place again. And unlike even my tiny Motorola cell phone which has a "dot" on the 5 so you can feel where your finger is on the keypad, the iPod has no "reference" point. (I just thought about it: how are visually-impaired people supposed to use this thing?) The UI on the unit itself is fantastic otherwise. Perhaps I would be happier downgrading to a 2nd gen player.

A friend at work also has an iPod. He says he flips the HOLD button on after each time he makes an adjustment on the unit. That means each time he changes a track or adjusts the volume, he puts the HOLD on again. I couldn't believe it. After all, the device should suit your needs, not the other way around.

Battery life Obviously, I haven't had time to test this one. Since my commute is pretty short, it probably wouldn't be a huge issue. But what am I used to? Well, I change my minidisc battery about once a month. My mp3/cd players needed changing about once a week.

Capacity No question, the iPod holds a lot, and in a very slick package.

No one comes close to Apple design, but that's not one of my priorities. As a work of art, the iPod rocks all other mp3 players out there. As a music player, it doesn't meet my needs. Please understand, I am not putting it down (so please don't flame me!). It obviously meets the needs of lots of people, else there wouldn't even be an iPodlounge.

ashawley, yeah, I'm going back to my minidisc player for now. Interestingly, my coworker has tried multiple types of headphones with his iPod (including the Sony, the included buds, and a higher-end closed air model from Sony.) In every case, he noted that compared to other devices, the iPod produced sound that was least pleasing to him. The "pleasing" part is totally subjective, though.

I listen to a wide range of music and my minidisc player produces sound that is simpy phenomenal. It might not be described as sonically "accurate" or true to the source, but when you flip on the megabass, you really feel how deep it is - and with none of the distoration that the iPod introduces with it's EQ settings.

I urge all the people in this forum to take your iPod headphone and plug them into another device and see if you think the sound is better than you get with your iPod. My friend and I are both at a loss as to why so many people think the iPod sound quality is so good. Our subjective view could be just that twisted or wrong, but we find that hard to believe.

Your next question might be: if my coworker had an iPod, why didn't I try his out first? I did, but I didn't do side-by-side tests. I should have. If my friend also didn't think much of the iPod's sound, why did he keep his? Because it stores a lot and he thinks it's a cool-looking device.

Gunner, I agree, the ability to holds tons of music in one place is very cool. But ultimately for me, the sound quality is paramount. I could live with the buttons if the sound were great, but it's not.

Your offer is tempting, but there is still the sound quality issue. For now, I will go back to my minidisc player. It may only hold the equivalent of 5 CDs worth, but it sounds terrific. I'll just have to keep carrying multiple discs with me.

BTW, which minidisc player did you have? I used the MZR-70 for a while then switched to the MZN-505 (a NetMD model). The 505 has such amazing bass, it's unreal.

Well my 3G 15gb iPod arrived yesterday... my first impression was to send it right back!

Within 20 mins I'd found several major flaws with it but I'm going to give it a couple of days to make my mind up.

I own a Creative Zen so this is my main comparison device.

Pros;

As with most people, size and weight (but that's why I bought it as a second HD mp3)

Very nice UI

Good dock accessory

Cons;

Poor sound quality (I'm not just talking about a flat responce, the Zen has this too but the Zen produces far more detail then the iPod with the same mp3 and headphones. I use Shure E1 earbuds and they produce incredible detail from the Zen but on the iPod it's very dull. It's like the differance between a cheap onboard soundchip and a descent quality soundcard!)

The remote, while small, has a grounding issue when pressing the front metal area I can hear a static buzz as you can get with mics on a PA system when you touch them.

I forgot to make playlists and had to use the on the go playlist feature this morning, it's awefull! I couldn't figure out how to add an entire album so had to spend a couple of minutes browsing just to add a dozen tracks! On top of this you can't even save it.

The buttons are way too sensitive, I keep switching it on every time I pick it up and have to use the lock. You can't get to the buttons when it's on your belt (with the supplied case) and because of the remote issue I'm not using it so have no control.

Not used the battery up yet but 8h vs. the Zen 14h is shurely going to mean a shorter life span because of more freqent recharging.

Overall I think it suffers from style over content, for the price they could have at least paid the extra $10-$20 for a top notch DAC. I've had an offer for it at work already and can still return it to Apple but I will give it time as the size is a bonus for daily use.

I think however that once other companies have access to the smaller HD technology that the iPod will loose it's edge, a miniZen would be very cool and at least Creative are still releasing new features for there original 5 year old jukeboxes unlike Apples "Oh just buy the new one if you want improvements" attitude! :rolleyes:

I just got some Shure E2 earbuds for my ipod and the sound is quite excellent... much, much better than the Sony MDX-E70's I had been using.

They have much better drivers than the Sony... the construction and isolation charecteristics are much, much better as well. For serious isolation the Shure offer some foam earplugs that offer unbelievable isolation, I have heard things in recordings I haven't heard before.

The Shure's also come with a really nice case that you can wind up the earbuds and store them, along with some extra earplugs.

They are only $74 or so (+ship) from Ratpack Audio (I found them as a yahoo shop but they probably have their own website)... Rat Pack shipped them out super fast as well.

The downside to the Shure's is that not everyone will like the fit. The earplug nestles in your ear really well but the cord comes up over the top of your ear down your neck... I find that after you've worn them a few times you get used to it and it's really no big deal.

The Shure's are more responsive than the Sony's and aren't as muddy... my main nervousness to the Shure's is that I listen to music loud and with just a hand held SPL meter I can see that I am listening at volume levels of 100DB or more. If you listen at these volumes for extended periods of time it could certainly cause some hearing loss.