ipod: mini vs. shuffle?

[shortyjj]

It seemed a no-brainer to pick the mini, but this recent post about the mini's sound quality has me re-thinking:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=115464

As someone who would definitely hook up their ipod to a bigger stereo, how much of an issue is sound quality on the mini?

[Chappers]

I got my iPod mini yesterday and it sounds great, however I can't compare it to a shuffle but usually headphones make the difference. I listened on v.expensive headphones in the Apple store and the quality was amazing.

[ziwi]

I have an 2G iPod 10G and a 512 shuffle for running. To me the sound is the same. Based on that I would think go for the mini - more storage, and if you are going to be hooking up to stereo you may want a larger library available.

[Chaszmyr]

I think you have to have a good ear and be a total audio snob to be able to tell a difference.

I, for one, think all of the iPods sound great with good headphones.

[shortyjj]

I think you have to have a good ear and be a total audio snob to be able to tell a difference.


I must be becoming one, b/c I can definitely hear a difference between my $500 Pioneer receiver and $250 PSB bookshelf speakers vs. my less expensive Yamaha/Cerwin Vega combo. There are suddenly all these details that I've never heard before...

[Loge]

If you plan to hook the iPod to a stereo, I would think that the Shuffle being limited to a single playlist, and constantly having to move stuff on and off would become tedious after a time. The newly revised mini is a much more functional device.

[Chaszmyr]

I must be becoming one, b/c I can definitely hear a difference between my $500 Pioneer receiver and $250 PSB bookshelf speakers vs. my less expensive Yamaha/Cerwin Vega combo. There are suddenly all these details that I've never heard before...

It's easier to tell the difference between different speakers than different sources, in my opinion

[mleok]

Bill Machrone of PC Magazine did an analysis which suggests that the mini has significantly more harmonic distortion than the shuffle, although my understanding is that the sound quality of the new Mini is substantially improved, but still inferior to the shuffle.

See the analysis at http://home.comcast.net/~machrone/playertest/playertest.htm

[shortyjj]

Bill Machrone of PC Magazine did an analysis which suggests that the mini has significantly more harmonic distortion than the shuffle, although my understanding is that the sound quality of the new Mini is substantially improved, but still inferior to the shuffle.

See the analysis at http://home.comcast.net/~machrone/playertest/playertest.htm

Yep, that article is the basis of discussion in the link I posted earlier...

He says:

"Since I wrote the column, Apple introduced the iPod Mini 6GB. I subjected it to some of the same tests as the other players, and as you can see from the screen captures, Apple has obviously improved the audio amplifier. The 6GB Mini sounds noticeably better than the original Mini."

Does anybody know if this applies to the 4GB as well?

[dotdotdot]

I heard the shuffle has superior sound to any iPod... (PCMAG Review)

I would go w/ the Mini otherwise... more HD space, a SCREEN, clickwheel, On the go/regular playlists...

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