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iPod iPod classic vs nano 6th gen (audio quality & volume)

blackburn

blackburn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 16, 2010
974
0
Where Judas lost it's boots.
Both ipods have been bough in europe so they should have the volume limit in place.
My nano clearly outputs a lot more volume (with the same headphones ofc) than the classic.
My classic also seems to be quieter than the original one that I had (it's a refurb that apple gave me after the original one hdd died).
The nano also sounds better (using sennheiser ie 8). Am I dreaming or my classic is defective? Is there any way to test the ipod output?
 
blackburn said:
Both ipods have been bough in europe so they should have the volume limit in place.
My nano clearly outputs a lot more volume (with the same headphones ofc) than the classic.
My classic also seems to be quieter than the original one that I had (it's a refurb that apple gave me after the original one hdd died).
The nano also sounds better (using sennheiser ie 8). Am I dreaming or my classic is defective? Is there any way to test the ipod output?
Click to expand...

The nano does output more volume than the classic, it was one of the few improvements done to the 6th gen nano. Your classic is most likely just fine.
 
I had the 160GB 2007 Classic and when I plugged the 6G Nano, the audio quality blew me away. If capacity is not a concern, I'd pick the Nano any day.
 
blackburn said:
So the classic volume cap is different from the nano, but shouldn't the volume caps be the same?
Click to expand...

You'd think but perhaps it has something to do with a improved chip over the actual software volume cap. If you have used several different head phones you'll notice that even on the classic some sound louder on lower volume settings than others.
 
@yly3
I do find myself using the nano a lot more than the classic. The classic sounds lifeless in contrast to the nano. Maybe I should try an headphone amp or something like that.

@iEvolution
Yeah but still they should have the same max volume with the same headphones. With big headphones it's impossible to listen with the ipod classic I haven't tried with the nano yet.
 
I have a 160GB classic and listening to my lossless AIFF files (1411 Kbps) on it I can hear (using in ear Shure Se535's) that the music does indeed sound flat, lifeless and lacking the soundstage that my iPhone 4 provides. The difference is quite noticeable. So as a result I bought a Fiio E7 portable amp and connected it my iPod Classic via the 30 pin connector cable instead of the headphone jack one (skips the inbuilt amp of the iPod). Using the bass boost setting 1 on the Fiio it has almost rescued the sound quality of the classic, immediately it sounds warmer with a greater soundstage which leads me to believe the iPod Classic provides a very cold and analytical sound when compared to other devices seems to sounds worse.

Edit: Connecting via the 30 pin connector of the iPod to use the Fiio E7 as an amp you can turn up the volume to an insane level.
 
I should point out that if you want better audio quality then ditch the Classic, but portable audio has always been a trade-off between sound quality and storage and in this case I am happy with classic. An amp will help you increase the volume but the Classics sound chip will always be a problem. Eventually though if you use it constantly your ears will grow accustomed to the sound and you'll forget all about it. :)
 
I know that the classic isn't known by its audio quality, but I'm very found of mine:D might someday try the fio approach since the amps are quiet cheap. Flash player mp3 players are to small for lossless files or they are touch.
A decent sounding ipod classic would be great, and a decent equalizer would help too.
 
I've noticed an incredible difference between my 160GB Classic and the latest Nano. The Nano just has much more bass and sounds much more fuller than the Classic, which in comparison sounds almost tinny. The only issue I find with the Nano is that when the volume is pumped up all the way, there is a rather noticeable hiss that can be a little annoying during the quiet segments of my music. This is all through listening to lossless too.
 
I can't comment on the Classic or the Nano but have owed a 5th Gen Ipod Video 60GB although it was one of the ipod's rated for it's sound quality I found it less musical than the 3GS or Iphone 5 all were tested through an ONKYO NDS1 Dock with a a coax connection the dock only acting as transport to a 24bit/192Khz external dac.

I use my old iphone 3GS as a DAP with a Cmoy Amp made by JDS Labs as a portable solution even with a cheap pair of Koss KSC75 has a pretty amazing sound wether your listening to FLAC or WAV files using eq app or not ! Bypassing the inbuilt op-amps and dac with a 30 pin to 3.5mm jack is best.

There is no way to convert Digital to Analog but Dac's do upsample and replace a lot of the compressed data that would be present in the Analog or uncompressed hi res digital recording - the sampling rates vary from Dac to Dac and Player to Player or DAP the ones built in the ipods are generally not that great.
 
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