Should I return my iPod? does it need fixing?

[Catt]

Hi,

I've had my little 15Gb iPod since June. Its great I love it.
Except for one thing - bad sound distortion.

I encode using Musicmatch at 256Kbps (MP3) and transfer using Ephpod (although I only started using Ephpod recently, much more friendly than musicmatch).

If I leave the EQ switched off the sound is fine but it just sounds quite flat. If I change it to R & B certain tracks have really high levels of distortion, crackling and general boominess that makes some tracks unlistenable to. This is really annoying because whilst I can play them without the EQ and there is no distortion they don't sound very rich or full sounding. If I play some with the R & B setting they sound much better but have nasty distortion. The other equaliser settings work fine but still some tracks will distort if the EQ setting in question raises the bass slightly. Acquostic is the best comprimise I have found.

It isn't my head phones, I've tested that. And I don't think it is the actual MP3s themselves as, as far as I can tell, there is no distortion when I play them through winamp and use my headphones (I use an EQ with winamp to try and match it). However its possible that the headphone amp on my laptop just isn't senstive enough to pick up the sound crackles of the MP3s, I say this because the rest of the MP3 doesn't sound as good as when played through the iPod.

I'm running firmware version 2.0.1. This problem has been there from the start and I hoped the firmware update would address it, it didn't, and I can't update to the latest firmware version because I use Windows ME.

I have thought this through and come up with a summary:

* the problem isn't the headphones
* I don't think its my MP3s but I can't tell for sure

> It could be the iPod itself. But I can't update to the latest firmware version to check. Niether can I test it running AAC audio as I can't find any useable encoders for Windows and can't run iTunes for Windows because it doesn't support ME.

> I could update to the latest firmware using my Mum's iMac at home but can't do that until the 7th of december when I am home from University.


In short: does anyone have any advice or has anyone else had a similar problem, indeed is it a problem or just a feature of MP3s. I transferred over to iPod from minidisc and only ever had a similar problem on a single track.
Would recording with error correction switched on have any effect?

Thanks.

 

[poisonmonkey]

well the only suggestion i have to get it check out.

Otherwise you can reset the ipod when you get back home.

as taken from pg 43 of the ipod manual:

Resetting iPod Most problems with iPod can be solved by resetting iPod. To reset iPod:
1Connect iPod to a power outlet using the iPod Power Adapter.
2Toggle the Hold switch on and off (set it to Hold, then turn it off again).
3Press and hold the Play/Pause and Menu buttons for at least 5 seconds, until the Apple logo appears.

 

[kanker]

Turn the volume down a little.

 

[Catt]

Originally posted by kanker
Turn the volume down a little.

The volume has nothing to do with it, even if its quite some tracks will still distort.

And I have tried resetting but it has no effect.
It maybe that these tracks are simply too bassy but I wouldn't have though so. There might be ways of reducing it by recording my MP3s differently, I'll have a fiddle with them.

 

[kanker]

Your encoding shouldn't have an effect on the track to the degree that there would be distortion I wouldn't think. Out of curiousity, have you tried using iTunes? Don't know if it would make any difference, but it's worth a shot. If anything you'll find that the problem continues, which would suggest that it has nothing to do with the encoding. Do you always use headphones, or do you run it into some sort of system, car or home stereo, that you can compare it to? Do you have any audio savvy friends, musicians or engineers that you could have take a listen to it?