iPod Slightly disappointed with ipod 5G

[ArcTeryx]

I've had a creative zen xtra 30gb for the past 2 and a half years. The thing is built like a brick. It has the same toughness and unfortunately size and weight as a brick too.
So my gf got me a black ipod 5G for valentines day. It's working great, the buttons are very easy to use, navigation is great, the display is gorgeous.
Except...

1) There is a constant hissing like listening to vinyl with my shure E2's, E3's, and very slight with my sennheiser HD 205's. They seem to be ok with my sennheiser hd580's due to their much higher impedance.

2) Play lists... arggg... I can not edit more than 1 play list. One of the features I liked best about the creative was that any time I choose to play anything, it would automatically add that to the playing now list which I can modify and save. I have to manually do that with the ipod.

3) Settings. If I want to keep my main menu neat, I can hide some options, like the extras. But there is no way to get back to the extras unless I go into the settings, enable display of the extras, then go back to the main menu to access them.

4) Screen. It's brilliant, bright, beautiful, but way too bright to use at night. I can light up the sidewalk in front of me with it. It SUCKS down the battery bone dry like nothing out there and screams rob me at night. MAKE A DIMMER!!

5) Battery life. They claim 14 hours. Playing 160kbps MP3's straight w/o touching the display gets about 10-11hrs max. With songs on shuffle, using the scroll wheel and display (i.e. what NORMAL people do) I can barely squeeze 6-7 hrs out. I was getting 8-9 hours with 320kbps MP3's on my creative.

6) Scratches!! ARGGG SCRATCHES!! I have a protector on the front so that's fine with me. Otherwise I carry it in my pocket w/o any kind of case so its still slim.

Anyway that's my critical review of the ipod from a former creative user.
The form factor's great, controls are a lot easier to use, battery life sucks, itunes is a better interface, wish I could have ipod hardware and creative firmware.

 

[DaftUnion]

Your saying you like the iPod except (insert long line of complaints) If it's so bad as your making it out to be, then that's your opinion and use something else. Nobody's forcing you to use it

 

[1rottenapple]

Yeah I'm kinda disappointed with the battery life on the 30gig. Of course I can from a 2g mini so the battery on the is great! It barely goes down.

 

[Deepdale]

Your saying you like the iPod except ... If it's so bad as your making it out to be, then that's your opinion and use something else.

As opinions go, the one expressed is as valid as any other shared here. There is no prerequisite that one bow before the vast iPod temple and suppress any constructive criticism.

The form factor's great, controls are a lot easier to use, battery life sucks, itunes is a better interface, wish I could have ipod hardware and creative firmware.

That hardly reads like a searing indictment and we all know that he is not forced to use it. Everyone should be encouraged to provide feedback on any perceived flaws and deficiencies with the hope being that a very good consumer product can become better with subsequent releases.

 

[TrenchMouth]

thats a nice list of high end headphones that you gave us there...you really need all those?

scratches? you are complaining about scratches and you have had it since valentines day? stop using it as a hockey puck...

on that note, i do agree with the need for a dimmer backlight setting. that would be nice.

 

[ArcTeryx]

No one's forcing YOU to listen either.

But if you want to hide these flaws so that other people can blindly purchase the 5G without knowing about them, then I guess that kind of shows people what mac enthusiasts are like. Or am I wrong here?

Sorry but unlike you, a lot of people probably can afford and do use shures, UE's, and etymotics with their ipods and when you drop $400 on a DAP along with $2-500 on a pair of headphones, I'd expect someone to inform them of the constant static they'll be experiencing for the rest of their lives. It would seem like YOU'RE the one saying they shouldn't know about this.

And if anyone's expecting anything close to the stated 14 hrs of battery life under normal use, HA!, good luck on that one. I probably won't make it through 1 cross country flight from check in to landing. Can't watch a full movie on it either. I think people deserve to know that little tidbit too. At least apple was brutally modest with their ipod mini 2G battery life. My gf regularly gets MORE than the stated battery life with that one.

Your saying you like the iPod except (insert long line of complaints) If it's so bad as your making it out to be, then that's your opinion and use something else. Nobody's forcing you to use it

 

[ArcTeryx]

Well my girlfriend uses the E2's and I use the E3's, I tested them both out on the 5G to make sure it wasn't a fluke and sure enough the static's there. Sometimes it's even loud enough that I can hear it on the subway. Nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy high fidelity on the go.

I'd like to buy a dock so I can hook the line out up to my tube amp to use with my hd580's. Sure beats swapping out CD's on the cd player hooked up to it.

It's probably an impedence/sensitivity issue but it hasn't happened with the ipod mini, 4G, 4G photo, and the creative players. For some reason the 5G is the only one in the ipod line up that has it this bad so far.

Someone just told me that the creative has a brightness adjust, I recall my gf's mini also had a contrast adjust, I wonder why apple took all that out of the 5G because the screen is seriously freaking bright, almost blinding at night. Here's to hoping for some kind of fix in the next firmware they release.

thats a nice list of high end headphones that you gave us there...you really need all those?

scratches? you are complaining about scratches and you have had it since valentines day? stop using it as a hockey puck...

on that note, i do agree with the need for a dimmer backlight setting. that would be nice.

 

[Kingsly]

I listen to my iPod every day via a high end speaker system and never get that hiss. Also, I have listened to it via Etymonic's... nothing. Perhaps you have a defective iPod?

 

[zap2]

the 20hrs on the 60Gb was one reason i bought it


other reason
-lots of room for vidoe
-it size was still smaller then my 4G Color Screen 20GB

 

[ArcTeryx]

Which etymotics do you have?
Apparently a lot of people are getting them on their high end IEM's.
I hope it's a defect and not something wide spread, I know the mini is silent. I'll have to go to a store to try out the one they have in there.

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=163203&ipod+5g+hiss
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=160561&ipod+5g+hiss
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=157108&ipod+5g+hiss
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144440&ipod+5g+hiss
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=146481&ipod+5g+hiss

The cheaper ety's might not have the sensitivity required to exhibit the issues. If you have the ER4S's, they shouldn't show the noise either since the impedance is much higher than the 4P.

I listen to my iPod every day via a high end speaker system and never get that hiss. Also, I have listened to it via Etymonic's... nothing. Perhaps you have a defective iPod?

 

[adk]

Not to be a total jerk to the OP, but you posted this in another thread:

Personally I don't know why people are so protective. I carry my ipod and treo 650 naked. Only a screen protector. Because by the time it's 3-4 years old, I want scratches on the case, I want small dents on the case, I want the thing to be so trashed (but still usable) that I can say, wow I got my use out of it, I held it every day the way it was meant to be, I felt the nice slick metal finish on it and I liked it.

And you complain about the scratches here?

 

[ArcTeryx]

Yes that is true. That's why I used a screen protector.

There are some very very scratch resistant materials out there that are also transparent. (Think of the 3M material used in the after market plastic protector that sticks onto the ipod with windex)
Unfortunately neither one of the companies decided to use them.
The creative and ipod units both come with very scratch prone screens. In fact, I think there's even a lawsuit going on with the shuffle about them.

I'm not one to baby my products but I'd also like to be able to read the screen after a while. (The screen on my old zen xtra is nearly unreadable after about a year after I took off the screen protector; that was my mistake).

Not to be a total jerk to the OP, but you posted this in another thread:
And you complain about the scratches here?

 

[Kuru Kuru]

I gotta say, being prone to scratches has always been a problem that has never been adressed but always been there. Yet somehow the sleeker new iPods get, the worse the problem seems to become. I still have my original 5gb iPod from days of olde (y'know, with the moving parts and everything), and it's still quite readable. Yet my mother got an iPod photo within the year, and it appears to have collected already as many scratches as mine.
As far as the hissing issue, I had it with a friend's pair of high-end headphones, so I think it is just a sensitivity issue. Which I think should definitely be addressed, because there should be no reason not to use the best headphones you have with your brand new shiny device.
With regards to the firmware, I must admit that as much as I love Apple, I have seen some far better firmware on other players just in terms of those little extra tweaky-features that you wouldn't think you'd need, but do. I'm surprised to hear they left the contrast control out...

Edit: Plus, it's awesome that your girlfriend sprung and got that for you You have an awesome girlfriend.

 

[Quartz Extreme]

The creative and ipod units both come with very scratch prone screens. In fact, I think there's even a lawsuit going on with the shuffle about them.

The shuffle doesn't have a screen

 

[ArcTeryx]

The shuffle doesn't have a screen

Oops I meant nano. Isn't there something going on with the nano or am I wrong on that?

 

[Kuru Kuru]

Oops I meant nano. Isn't there something going on with the nano or am I wrong on that?

Nope, you're right.
I was just reminded of it today in this article at ThinkSecret, and I quote "Numerous lawsuits were filed during the quarter on behalf of iPod nano owners alleging defects in the device that make it more prone to scratching." I knew it. This better change soon; I read a Wired article the other day about a new kind of nanotech coating that would relatively nix this kind of problem. Let's hope people try actually implementing it soon... lol.

 

[Loge]

1) There is a constant hissing like listening to vinyl with my shure E2's, E3's, and very slight with my sennheiser HD 205's. They seem to be ok with my sennheiser hd580's due to their much higher impedance.

I find that the sound quality is significantly improved in the 5G compared to the 4G and 4G photo models; I'm listening with Shure E3cs. The 5G does not suffer the distortion on solo piano music, which affected a significant number of photo models; it does not suffer much bass roll off, and it no longer suffers from static resulting from the metal contact at the base of many third party phones including the Shures.

I do hear marginally more hiss though if I turn it onto pause and turn the volume up to max. However I would never listen to the iPod at that volume level, so it I consider that to be immaterial, compared to the three issues that the new iPod does fix. I find the same thing true of the nano. I also find that the 5G has higher volume overall than the earlier models so it many just be down to the higher levels (all iPods I've used are EU models, and so have the volume cap).

 

[Sean Gadoury]

I could care less if the iPod is scratched, but I have had to soft boot mine a couple of times because tracks wouldn't play or it would not turn off. These are the kind of bugs that piss me off. There are a few other features I would like especially after paying so much money, but I would settle for solid firmware with less lag and gapless.

 

[ArcTeryx]

I think you're pretty lucky to have the EU model. The volume cap probably puts an attenuator in the headphone output that decreases the static.

(all iPods I've used are EU models, and so have the volume cap).

 

[quagmire]

Apple doesn't promise 14 hours of battery life. They say UP TO 14 hours of battery life. 10-11 hours is acceptable. If they made the screen dimmer, it would take away the quality of watching videos on it. If you constantly use the backlight you are definitly not getting 14 hours of battery life. I have my 5G 60 GB iPod set at 2 seconds then it will turn off. Of course when I am watching movies I will will expect to get around the 3 hours Apple say it can get up to. Now when I calibrated the iPods battery, I got around 21-22 hours off it. That is how though Apple gets the estimated battery life. It would be nice of Apple to give us real world battery life, but the fact is EVERY company tries to get the most battery life when they test their products. I have my 5G plugged into my Bose Sound dock. Awesome sound quality. I don't hear the hiss you are talking about. But, what plagued my 4G iPod, is that when the HD spun up, I would hear a hiss. The 5G still has this problem, but it is harder to hear it.

 

[macit]

...
1) There is a constant hissing like listening to vinyl with my shure E2's, E3's, and very slight with my sennheiser HD 205's. They seem to be ok with my sennheiser hd580's due to their much higher impedance.
...

on headphones: owing largely to the fact I can't afford Shure earbuds- I use the 'phones that came with the ipod sure there known for being pretty crappy- but they don't hiss...

 

[Johnny Rico]

I love my ipod 5G (apparently I'm fortunate to have nice, but not particularly stellar, headphones), but I can't help but be constantly annoyed by the incredible lag time on the menus. If I click, click click I want the ipod to respond, respond respond instead of ....respond.... ...respondrespond! Half the time I click, then wait for a response, don't get one, assume I didn't click right, click again, then the ipod responds as though I hit the click twice very quickly. Quite a hit to the ease of use I loved so much in my 1G and 3G ipods.

 

[Jovian9]

I believe to get maximum battery life (what they advertise)...one has to do the following:
-use the recommended files (AAC 128 I believe)
-turn all extras off (no backlight or equalizer settings)
-do no use shuffle or playlists, just play songs in order

The larger the file sizes, the more the backlight is used, the equalizer being on, switching b/t songs, the hard driving loading a playlist or shuffling thru various songs all cause the hard drive to work more and decrease battery life. I always run a test after calibrating my iPod batteries where I just play from the beginning to wherever it stops in order without touching the iPod to see what kind of battery life I can get. Every iPod has gotten the advertised battery life or more when I do this except for the 40GB 3G iPod I had.

As for scratching. I am careful with the 5G. It seems a lot more fragile than than previous iPods. And since the screen is so pleasant to look at I really would not like to scratch it.

I haven't noticed the hissing on mine. I have a pair of Sennheiser's and it sounds great.

The screen is bright. I think it's great. I have used it on several occassions to find something in the dark or when I go to bed after my wife (so that I can see where I am walking)

 

[zap2]

Thats why you buy over your needs

Althought u believe ilounge test iPod Mini 2nd Gen with out messing with is and got like 27hrs

 

[mannix87]

And if anyone's expecting anything close to the stated 14 hrs of battery life under normal use, HA!, good luck on that one. I probably won't make it through 1 cross country flight from check in to landing. Can't watch a full movie on it either. I think people deserve to know that little tidbit too. At least apple was brutally modest with their ipod mini 2G battery life. My gf regularly gets MORE than the stated battery life with that one.

You're right about the battery life. I'm lucky if I get 6 to 7 hours of video use. I actually used it yesterday on a flight from Singapore to Manila, w/c takes around 3 1/2 hrs, and before touchdown, the battery was almost completely drained ;considering that, the night before, I had it fully charged. I listened to some music playlists/podcasts for 1hr, watched around 3 to 4 music videos, and watched a 45min. featurette.