WALTER S. MOSSBERG

[thefanboy]

WALTER S. MOSSBERG is a senior reviewer with wall street journal. I found his ipod touch review to be insane. He recently reviewed ipod touch without ever mentioning anything about sound-quality. In fact I neither found the word sound nor quality in his review. I dont understand how can someone review a media player that way.

he says

"In my tests, music and video playback went perfectly, and so did viewing photos."

quite hilarious, this is pretty much standard in any media player as long as you use supported format.....I dont know if he expected some kind of jerks!

More importantly he is not worried anything about native-codec support. again no mention of words like codec,fps !!

As long as such reviews continues, surely people will be fooled to live with poor sound, poor codec support etc.....

Edited September 22, 2007 by theFanboy

[juli_]

WALTER S. MOSSBERG is a senior reviewer with wall street journal. I found his ipod touch review to be insane. He recently reviewed ipod touch without ever mentioning anything about sound-quality. In fact I neither found the word sound nor quality in his review. I dont understand how can someone review a media player that way.

I often read reviews (from users also) that never mention sq at all. . . just the features, how many things it can do, how 'cool' it looks blah blah blah. The first thing I want to know is how does it sound, and editorial reviews should really cover this in more detail instead of telling us about wi-fi crap that has nothing to do with sound!

[Old skool D]

To some SQ isn't a factor, at least to this reviewer. SQ isn't important to a lot of Ipod users. My brother couldn't care less, like many ipod users.

Edited September 22, 2007 by Old skool D

[pata2001]

Why would one read a wall street journal for a review of an electronic device? Who is the target reader of wall street journal? Besides, I haven't seen any other ABX test between iPods and any other DAPs, other than what bangraman did.

[juli_]

To some SQ isn't a factor, at least to this reviewer. SQ isn't important to a lot of Ipod users. My brother couldn't care less, like many ipod users.

You're right, my b/f tolerates abysmal sound quality, so bad, that when he asks me to 'listen' to a song, my heart plummets

I forgot the review was about an iPod

Edited September 23, 2007 by juli

[aob9]

Ipod is not ( and never will be ) about sound quality. It is all about the being the latest fashion ( must have ) icon.

When you realize this, as I eventually did, you will stop reading ipod reviews and learn to ignore the fact that reviews on all other DAP devices have to include ( frustratingly) a comparison to the ipod.

As for the Wall Street Journal reviewing a DAP, well, it's a bit like Vogue magazine reviewing a car, it should be passed over as an advertisement really.

[Shinji Ikeda]

The review that was written was not a technical review, as you could tell from the publication. He answers the questions that the audience that he is writing to wants to know. Does it do the job it was designed for? Are there any difficulties associated with the use of the device? Actually, the review seems more refreshing as opposed to those that seem that they were written by someone regurgitating the Apple line.

Most people who purchase the iPod do not care about things such as codec, fps or Sound Quality. Trust me. When people say "I am going to buy an iPod" with a smile on their face, always make one wonder. Have these same people considered the technical features or if they just want the status of having the iPod.

I found nothing strange about his review. However, it is definitely lacking in the technical aspect.

[Beethovenian]

Mossberg is an Apple fanboy. Some people even call him iDiot in some forums. Don't pay attention to what he writes.

By the way, I bought the iPod Classic 160GB. Just couldn't resist having all my music in one device. Now I feel Apple is becoming a Sony. This player reminds me of the A1000/3000 flop, so buggy it is: iTunes keeps freezing while transferring music, there are occasional pauses during music playback, gapless playback is not perfect in some cases (I had another iPod that did it ok), my library got messed up by the new iTunes, some tracks didn't play, forcing me to reset it quite a few times, sometimes the iPod won't be ejected. I've seen some iPod forums and it seems lots of people have these problems. Why doesn't it get more publicized?

Well, at least I think Apple will release some kind of update to try to fix these things.

[gotthat]

i'll give ipod a miss whatever the review says......i support walkman for my music device

[Shinji Ikeda]

Mossberg is an Apple fanboy. Some people even call him iDiot in some forums. Don't pay attention to what he writes.

By the way, I bought the iPod Classic 160GB. Just couldn't resist having all my music in one device. Now I feel Apple is becoming a Sony. This player reminds me of the A1000/3000 flop, so buggy it is: iTunes keeps freezing while transferring music, there are occasional pauses during music playback, gapless playback is not perfect in some cases (I had another iPod that did it ok), my library got messed up by the new iTunes, some tracks didn't play, forcing me to reset it quite a few times, sometimes the iPod won't be ejected. I've seen some iPod forums and it seems lots of people have these problems. Why doesn't it get more publicized?

Well, at least I think Apple will release some kind of update to try to fix these things.

And here I was thinking that Apple had the best programmers and engineers in the world (sarcasm). Apple's computers and other products have the same problems as other manufacturer's products. Some times it is a user error other it just cause because it is not possible to predict all likely problems. Apple has a tendency to down play possible problems, bury it or blame someone else. Earlier Apple blamed Microsoft for a problem relating to iPod or iTunes. I can not remember with. Relating to securities issue Apple denies everything.

There are many good things about Apple, however the same could be said about other companies including Sony.

You will be able to resolve many of the issues that you are encountering. Remember 80-90% of American DAP owners have iPod. This creates a significant demography that most wants to hear good things about the product they purchased. Hey, we are all same way, since I do not want to spend all my money on the latest and greatest products.

[Shinji Ikeda]

I read the review closer after noticing that Mossberg is an Apple fanboy.

Despite these downsides, the Touch is a great media player, and the iPod remains the best end-to-end portable solution for playing and purchasing music and video.

A true statement from an Apple fanatic. He could have at least hid the fact by writing

Despite these downsides, I feel the Touch is a media player, and the iPod with iTunes still remains the most popular end-to-end portable media product for playing and purchasing music and video.

Unfortunately, he is a senior review for a respected journal and I am not. Something I am very happy about (me not being him).

[Old skool D]

As with all reviews, I NEVER rely on them as a reason to purchase a product. or say watch a film. I will read a cross section of reviews and try the product for myself. I have done the bilnd purchasing in the past with mixed results.Mr Mossberg is happy with the Ipod, as millions seem to be. Fair enough. It just doesn't make it the best product on the market.

[ceres]

As with all reviews, I NEVER rely on them as a reason to purchase a product. or say watch a film. I will read a cross section of reviews and try the product for myself. I have done the bilnd purchasing in the past with mixed results.Mr Mossberg is happy with the Ipod, as millions seem to be. Fair enough. It just doesn't make it the best product on the market.

Apple has kind of lost it lately with products shipping in beta status. If feel they are putting themselves in a position the cell phone industry has been in for a few years.

As far as iPod is concerned I don´t get it. They had almost 2yrs for the classic and yet it is very buggy. I reckon Apple didn´t touch the cpu and it´s just lacking power to deal with the "new and improved" ui.

Itunes has been shot on windows for a while now. I have seen so many interim bug fixes since version 7 it´s not funny any longer. 7.4 is a smack in the face essentially locking out 64bit os versions. Itunes has flattened my library several times the last few months. It´s a well documented behavior by now and yet there is no official word on it. I sttill want to use itunes bc it has the best layout imo -just look at winamp in comparison- but the bugs are killing me. Similarly I would argue that the white imac 24" was the best desktop pc at that pricepoint. The new imac 24" is a bad joke. Screen uniformity is seriously off and there are other quirks nobody seems to mention. Anyway, the fact that Apple is not godlike should encourage all competitors to try harder and roll out high quality products that shine on the merits.

[dura_]

that man is a complete idiot! I remember him reviewing the NW-HD1. Basically it boiled down to the fact that because itr was no ipod his assistent couldn't find the shuffle button. Then some words about GUI and software but he hardly mentions buildquality, soundquality, batterylife, compactness, style and other things important to potential customers.

Incredible that such a big paper pays such an incapable moron to inform its readers about expensive gadgets.

[Guest Stuge]

Those who care about SQ doesn't buy an I-pod

Always nice to mix and match other reviews about the same product before buying it .

[thefanboy]

You're right, my b/f tolerates abysmal sound quality, so bad, that when he asks me to 'listen' to a song, my heart plummets

I forgot the review was about an iPod

:lol:

dont forget I am around.....hey just kiddin!!!

Ipod is not ( and never will be ) about sound quality. It is all about the being the latest fashion ( must have ) icon.

thats true, but to sell the product you have to make it the way ppl like. aesthetics has been sony's forte for long time, look at vaio,bravia,psp,cybershot....walkman alone falters......

Edited September 30, 2007 by theFanboy

[goodfriend]

I have an ipod video . I love it .

I have many favorite dvds and videos.

Some days ago , I want to put them onto my ipod video , some friends recommend a software to me at http://www.oursdownload.com/convert-DVD-vi...iPod-video.html

It works pretty good .

It support ipod touch , too .

[thefanboy]

I have an ipod video . I love it .

I too loved my ipod until one fine day I let this walkman to sound in my ears......well ignorance is a bliss

[Shinji Ikeda]

I too loved my ipod until one fine day I let this walkman to sound in my ears......well ignorance is a bliss

There are many of you who have had iPods and have tested them. I was wondering what audio features do they have. What I mean is what technology is included in the player to enhance sound quality. I have been searching for this information and have found that it is lacking.

[Dinko]

There are many of you who have had iPods and have tested them. I was wondering what audio features do they have. What I mean is what technology is included in the player to enhance sound quality. I have been searching for this information and have found that it is lacking.

If you mean the physical build (chip and processor), I have no idea.

If you mean the enhancements available through the menu: virtually none.

The iPod has pre-programmed EQ settings covering the major genres (acoustic, classical, pop, dance, jazz...) and some generic variants (increase trebble, increase bass...). These are hardly worth writing about. I rarely find they make any difference.

As for all the iPod bashing going on around here: iPods are not so popular just because they're fashion accessories. They're that popular in large part because through their lacks and problems, they actually work.

You don't have to deal with SonicStage or Connect. iTunes handles large libraries relatively well. Playlists are pretty basic and easy to use. You can call people simpletons and what not, but sometimes, you just want to transfer some music and get on with your life. The iPod is the only product currently on the market which offers that.

Consider this:

SONY

- SonicStage is buggy for a large number of users

- SonicStage can't handle libraries exceeding 5000 tracks (well it can, but you need a PC with a couple of Cell processors to handle the load)

- ATRAC-only at the beginning (yes, ATRAC sounds fantastic, but it's also proprietary and no-one else used it)

LG FM30

- in MTP mode: will recognize ID3 tags and play albums in order, but will not recognize random tracks; will refuse to play them

- in MSC/UMS mode: will not play tracks in album order; but will play and recognize all tracks

- tracks transferred in UMS mode cannot be accessed in MTP mode and vice-versa

(on the plus side: best sounding device after Sony products. best Preset EQs, custom EQ also available, perfect highs: crisp and clear but never shrill or acid; deep & warm bass, doesn't miss the mids; and a freakin' 60 hour battery life!!! also supports OGG).

CREATIVE Zen V+

- painfully slow transfer rates

- buggy interface, constant freezing

- painfully slow transfer rates (bis)

(on the plus side: standard plug, better than average sound, many extras)

SAMSUNG YP-T8

- will not recognize ID3 tags

- plays tracks in the order they were transferred; plays albums in the order it decides

- Samsung Media Studio is easy to use, but crashes the moment you rush it

(on the plus side: incredible transfer speeds, many extras)

SAMSUNG YP-Z5

- menus won't scroll

- gapless option isn't gapless

- sound devoid of any bass whatsoever

(on the plus side: metal casing)

...and the horror stories pile on and on.

Pretty much every single device I've encountered has serious user-friendliness issues in the most basic departments.

Like it or not, and iPod works out of the box. Charge, transfer, play.

You don't have to plan the music you'll be listening to the next morning so it can transfer overnight (Zen).

You don't have to worry that some tracks won't play (LG).

You don't have to worry about not being able to find the music you want (Samsung and ID tag issues).

You don't have to worry about your software crashing on you or demanding you "initialize your atrac device".

True, the sound isn't all that good (though it's perfectly acceptable and superior to many available devices).

True, the clickwheel is hit and miss. Good for some functions (rapid scrolling), not good for others (volume should have it's own button).

True, you have no extras (Samsung, LG and Creative had line-in, radio reception and video playback when Apple was still wondering what a video was, and still hasn't figured the concept of line-in recording).

True, iTunes is butt-ugly and often unintuitive (menus which are clearly labelled on SonicStage or Windows Media Player are lost and buried in iTunes).

But it still works. Sorry! But it's not always about style. iPods perform decently in their main functions, and they outclass the competition in many of the key user-friendliness criteria.

[Old skool D]

If you mean the physical build (chip and processor), I have no idea.

If you mean the enhancements available through the menu: virtually none.

The iPod has pre-programmed EQ settings covering the major genres (acoustic, classical, pop, dance, jazz...) and some generic variants (increase trebble, increase bass...). These are hardly worth writing about. I rarely find they make any difference.

As for all the iPod bashing going on around here: iPods are not so popular just because they're fashion accessories. They're that popular in large part because through their lacks and problems, they actually work.

You don't have to deal with SonicStage or Connect. iTunes handles large libraries relatively well. Playlists are pretty basic and easy to use. You can call people simpletons and what not, but sometimes, you just want to transfer some music and get on with your life. The iPod is the only product currently on the market which offers that.

Consider this:

SONY

- SonicStage is buggy for a large number of users

- SonicStage can't handle libraries exceeding 5000 tracks (well it can, but you need a PC with a couple of Cell processors to handle the load)

- ATRAC-only at the beginning (yes, ATRAC sounds fantastic, but it's also proprietary and no-one else used it)

LG FM30

- in MTP mode: will recognize ID3 tags and play albums in order, but will not recognize random tracks; will refuse to play them

- in MSC/UMS mode: will not play tracks in album order; but will play and recognize all tracks

- tracks transferred in UMS mode cannot be accessed in MTP mode and vice-versa

(on the plus side: best sounding device after Sony products. best Preset EQs, custom EQ also available, perfect highs: crisp and clear but never shrill or acid; deep & warm bass, doesn't miss the mids; and a freakin' 60 hour battery life!!! also supports OGG).

CREATIVE Zen V+

- painfully slow transfer rates

- buggy interface, constant freezing

- painfully slow transfer rates (bis)

(on the plus side: standard plug, better than average sound, many extras)

SAMSUNG YP-T8

- will not recognize ID3 tags

- plays tracks in the order they were transferred; plays albums in the order it decides

- Samsung Media Studio is easy to use, but crashes the moment you rush it

(on the plus side: incredible transfer speeds, many extras)

SAMSUNG YP-Z5

- menus won't scroll

- gapless option isn't gapless

- sound devoid of any bass whatsoever

(on the plus side: metal casing)

...and the horror stories pile on and on.

Pretty much every single device I've encountered has serious user-friendliness issues in the most basic departments.

Like it or not, and iPod works out of the box. Charge, transfer, play.

You don't have to plan the music you'll be listening to the next morning so it can transfer overnight (Zen).

You don't have to worry that some tracks won't play (LG).

You don't have to worry about not being able to find the music you want (Samsung and ID tag issues).

You don't have to worry about your software crashing on you or demanding you "initialize your atrac device".

True, the sound isn't all that good (though it's perfectly acceptable and superior to many available devices).

True, the clickwheel is hit and miss. Good for some functions (rapid scrolling), not good for others (volume should have it's own button).

True, you have no extras (Samsung, LG and Creative had line-in, radio reception and video playback when Apple was still wondering what a video was, and still hasn't figured the concept of line-in recording).

True, iTunes is butt-ugly and often unintuitive (menus which are clearly labelled on SonicStage or Windows Media Player are lost and buried in iTunes).

But it still works. Sorry! But it's not always about style. iPods perform decently in their main functions, and they outclass the competition in many of the key user-friendliness criteria.

I'm not an Ipod hater/Lover. but you made some good points there. But, with drag & drop now availble, you no longer have to be dependant on Sonic Stage.

[ceres]

True for the most part if you look at the past but competition is moving on and has surpassed the ipod in some areas (not all).

Apple has become lazy and overconfident with their iPod brand. Also, Ipods are buggier than ever. I used to own quite a few pods precisely for the reasons above.

Today only iTunes would get me into the pod realm. The upcoming Mac Pro however....

[thefanboy]

sound quality is not just another parameter for me, that is the only parameter I look for.

new walkman experience can be summarized as dragDropRock, where as ipod is tied to proprietary stuff.

iTunes has got hell lot of problems, and the count seems to grow faster...

The ipod is stuck in some long past...still no drag and drop, and more than that apple is not even ready to embrace the free world......booooo!!!

And in comparison my SE phone has better sound quality than the ipod.

Edited October 10, 2007 by theFanboy

[Shinji Ikeda]

iPod bashing? My question was about the features that are include with the iPod. Specifically sound quality. I wanted to get a better idea of why the iPod is so popular. Unfortunately, I do not buy the great experience nonsense. We use our audio players to listen to music. Not to sit in awe and comment on how wonderful the interface is. Nor, how great the software tool to manage our music and other audio files.

Many of you have comment on what is important to you with your audio/media player.

I have started to notice that we are currently living in the iHype. Media players are compared to the iPod. Also, cell phones are now being compared to the iPhone; as if cell phone companies have been waiting for Apple to save the cellphone industry. The market for the Apple's media players are immensely large, case in point Walter S. Mossberg.

My cell phone can do many of the things that iPhone can do and more. However, it does not have a touch interface. The services that I can use it with is provide by service provider and is provided by other service providers. Most phones here include many of these features, which include the ability to watch 1Seg television.

If there are negative comments about the iPod or iPhone on this site, then so be it. There are many sites devoted to every thing Apple, and other have a positive bias toward everything iPod/iPhone. It is hard not to find iPod in a news article. With some over stating the importance of the iPod to technological advancements, while ignoring the real influence.

This site is devote to the discussion about Sony products and ATRAC devices (include PSP/PS3).

[juli_]

iPod bashing? My question was about the features that are include with the iPod. Specifically sound quality. I wanted to get a better idea of why the iPod is so popular. Unfortunately, I do not buy the great experience nonsense. We use our audio players to listen to music.

Well, I will get the chance to listen to my first iPod ever on Monday when I meet someone who is going to try my headphones. He has the 5.5G iPod and believe it or not, he also has the Sony NW-A806. In his opinion, that particular iPod model has a 'flatter' sound than the Sony and the only good thing about the Sony is the ability to EQ it to one's own preferences.

As I simply cannot believe that iPod SQ can compare to Sony SQ in this lifetime, I am very curious to hear what he hears!

We use our audio players to listen to music.

I agree. I'd also like to have a phone that's 'just' a phone but it seems everyone wants to bring out some fancy device that does everything, e-mail, surfing, video watching, and no one seems to remember that some of us just want to listen to music, or just use a phone - and don't want to pay out for extras we'll never use.

Shinji, would you like me to look out for anything in particular on the iPod?? I know I'll only be using/trying it once. . .

Edited October 10, 2007 by juli

[pata2001]

For those that keep saying how "sucky" the iPod sound, do an ABX like what bangraman did. Excuse me for this, but he did an extensive listening test, have the appropriate gears, and this is what he has to say:

Nothing wrong with sound quality of previous iPods - obviously you just need headphones which aren't hopeless or suck the life out of the music so you need artificial 'assistance' from the player in order to liven it back up.

Yes, it's a public knowledge that the iPod's EQ sux, but that doesn't mean the SQ sux. Bass != SQ.

I want a DAP that faithfully recreates the experience of music as intended by the artist, namely gapless playback. Sony and other manufactures failed, while iPods continue to support gapless playback on the Touch and iPhone.

[bryue]

The iPod doesn't sound bad if you have a decent headphone. In fact, I've tried my EX71 earbuds on an iPod Shuffle (1st Generation) and it sounded much better than the stock headphone as one would expect.

Most people around me just use whatever is included in the box; they won't spend extra money for fancy headphones.

In 6 years since the debut of iPod in 2001 (from 1st Gen to 6th Gen), I felt that Apple was only rehashing the same iPod year after year with minor modifications and revisions. The iPod is still the very same iPod.

I know that the storage capacity has gotten much bigger over time and eventually, picture and video features were added, but was there any other significant change in the internal software in the player itself? I would like someone to check that for me.

Apple introduced variants such as the Mini (now discontinued), Shuffle, Nano, and now the iPod touch.

I don't know for you guys but for me, the iPod touch is the only one that I consider to have gone through some drastic change. In other words, iPod 2.

I agree with Shinji regarding the iHype. My girlfriend's sister wanted the Macbook 13.3" so badly to the point where she asked me if I could install Windows on it.

Now, Windows Vista is running on her MacBook instead instead of Mac OSX.

I found that funny. lol

[juli_]

The iPod doesn't sound bad if you have a decent headphone. In fact, I've tried my EX71 earbuds on an iPod Shuffle (1st Generation) and it sounded much better than the stock headphone as one would expect.

Bruye, what you say doesn't surprise me at all. The 1st Gen iPod shuffle is reputed to have the best SQ of all the iPods so far, and better than some Creatives and Samsungs too (maybe Sony?). And it seems to be common knowledge that the 1st gen shuffle used a superior Sigmatel sound chip which was not used again in any of the succeeding iPods, mainly due to cost if I remember rightly. I thought it was strange that there was so much praise for the shuffle SQ, and yet the sound chip wasn't implemented in the other models. Was it because iPod users weren't considered to be bothered about SQ?

The shuffle is one I'd have liked to have tried just to hear the SQ for myself.

Edited October 10, 2007 by juli

[ceres]

so? people tell a lot of things. buy some hifi magazines and read the voodoo. it´s all subjective.

Instead look at the numbers and witness how current ipods cave in under 32 ohms load. what´s a listening test worth with countless iems if auditory cubes are different in every person?

the numbers (don´t know the classic) haven´t improved in current ipods so you might want to rethink your bass (it´s not just bass) comment. nothing is attested apart from the fact that shuffle 1st gen is the best sounding ipod ever with the best response curve under load. sucky is too much but ipods never shine on listening tests. to me they still sound like entry level digital amps. "faithfully reproduce what artist intended" is a good joke in many respects. I am sure the artist doesn´t have any say whatsoever in 90% of all cases. When you listen to the cd on a 700 usd stereo rig and then compare to a 700 usd nano rig (you can get there with tripple driver iems), it´s like day and night. In the end it´s just portable audio. When you look at the response curves and other figures that expensive iems give with test heads it´s an illusion to think of great sq. The one thing I expect is better sq with every generation of players. Some get there, others try. Some just take wild guesses. Ipods are still best as far as software integration is concerned and I reckon it will stay this way for this a while. We also owe Apple for showing how easy it can be to manage large libraries. In other areas they stay ridiculously stubborn. Take the eq for example. Almost every phone, iem is "strange" in one way or another. Why not be able to counteract that? What´s the problem with augmenting atmosphere? Others were hopelessly behind Apple just one year ago but now things are changing. BTW, I have never heard of that MOSSBERG dude in my life so he cannot possibly be THAT important.

Edited October 10, 2007 by ceres

[Shinji Ikeda]

Well, I will get the chance to listen to my first iPod ever on Monday when I meet someone who is going to try my headphones. He has the 5.5G iPod and believe it or not, he also has the Sony NW-A806. In his opinion, that particular iPod model has a 'flatter' sound than the Sony and the only good thing about the Sony is the ability to EQ it to one's own preferences.

As I simply cannot believe that iPod SQ can compare to Sony SQ in this lifetime, I am very curious to hear what he hears!

I agree. I'd also like to have a phone that's 'just' a phone but it seems everyone wants to bring out some fancy device that does everything, e-mail, surfing, video watching, and no one seems to remember that some of us just want to listen to music, or just use a phone - and don't want to pay out for extras we'll never use.

Shinji, would you like me to look out for anything in particular on the iPod?? I know I'll only be using/trying it once. . .

Sorry, To many responses. Thanks for the replies.

Juli, I just want to hear your opinion. I do not think SQ of the iPod is bad, is that want Apple sells is the integration of hardware and software.

Ceres, this is not about Mossberg other than the original poster thought he had a crazy review of the iPod or some other

Apple product. Is have the best integration of hardware and software the best?

"faithfully reproduce what artist intended" is a good joke in many respects. I am sure the performance artist doesn´t have any say whatsoever in 90% of all cases.

Great quote. However, being able to hear the full range of sounds reproduction is important to the most demanding audiophiles. Compressing audio files removes some audio frequencies and sounds, which damage sound quality. That is what I believed ATRAC was invented for by removing sounds that could not be heard by the human ears.

pata2001, gapless playback is a great technological advancement. For me it is not the most important feature. I think everyone wants to experience the music as best as they can.

[Dinko]

new walkman experience can be summarized as dragDropRock, where as ipod is tied to proprietary stuff.

Not really. iPods aren't drag and drop, but you can sync with a number of (freely) available software (RealOne, MediaMonkey...).

[Dinko]

iPod bashing? My question was about the features that are include with the iPod. Specifically sound quality. I wanted to get a better idea of why the iPod is so popular. Unfortunately, I do not buy the great experience nonsense. We use our audio players to listen to music. Not to sit in awe and comment on how wonderful the interface is. Nor, how great the software tool to manage our music and other audio files.

Sorry! I wasn't referring to you. I just didn't want to post two entries so I quickly replied to you about iPod EQ features then moved on to the other topic. With "ipod bashing" I was referring to the comments on this and other threads around the board where a variety of posters parade the "Apple sucks, Sony rules" mentality. Which is just as annoying as the Apple fanboy mentality which proclaims that "Apple rules, the rest of the world sucks".

[Shinji Ikeda]

Sorry! I wasn't referring to you. I just didn't want to post two entries so I quickly replied to you about iPod EQ features then moved on to the other topic. With "ipod bashing" I was referring to the comments on this and other threads around the board where a variety of posters parade the "Apple sucks, Sony rules" mentality. Which is just as annoying as the Apple fanboy mentality which proclaims that "Apple rules, the rest of the world sucks".

Thanks for your reply on iPod EQ.

When the "X sucks, Y rules" mentality start to go overboard then yes it gets annoying. However, hearing from all users experience with a specific technology is good, as long as it is not too biased. I will leave it at that, and thank you for your clarification.

[thefanboy]

Not really. iPods aren't drag and drop, but you can sync with a number of (freely) available software (RealOne, MediaMonkey...).

watch out, apple will soon shut out all those options, recently they attempted blocking some linux s/w in one of the firmware updates

If i have to use some third party stuff, how is ipod the holiest out-of-the-box ?

Shinji,

The Digital to analog converter inside the SoC(system on chip)(simply processor for many) is one important factor, some careful selection of vendor is needed on this front. Apart from that, music settings like clear bass/equalizer all comes thru software, which needs lot of statistics and research about human hearing.

[DSP]

well guys,

I've been reading this topic for a while now.

I haven't been around here for a while. In the meantime I bought an iPod Touch. My Walkmen story had to end with the purchase of my MacBook.

I still think it's a shame!

But the you have to admit that the iPod touch is a very innovative device. It's nothing like the older and boring ipods anymore.

It has great UI, nice video playback, good design.... it's an internet tablet and much more.

So it's actually not fair to compare the touch to the ''regular'' ipods. They sucked BIG TIME!!!

SQ whise........it's no Walkman...

But it's not bad either....

The bass is nice and deep, the highs are clear and there is much Dynamics..... I actually lik it very good. I mean, My walkman beats the crap out of it in the bass department..... but the touch has a very clean and smooth output.

With decent headphones it just sounds great. Could be better, but you can't have it all right?

The downside is....... that my ipod (which I have for a week now) is back with apple for repair already. The darn thing just froze on me!! :@:@

It's a really great device. Multi touch works awsome and it's very sexy. But this really bugs me!

So now I'm going to see for myself how good that famous apple service really is.

I'll let you know...

greetz