[dcguy73]

After much study of the Audiocircle and Headfi forums, I decided to send my eBay-purchased 4G 60gb iPod to Vinnie for an iMod. Hopefully Apple won't release the 6G iPods tomorrow with optical and digital out and 40 hr. battery life ...

I couldn't find a definitive answer in the forums as to the difference in sound quality between the modded 4G iPod lineout and the 5G lineout. So I guess I will find out the answer myself...

I trust Vinnie to do good mods, but a month after I ordered a modded Squeezebox 3, he came out with his mods to the Olive music servers, which he said sounded much better than the Squeezeboxes!

Is it Moore's Law or Murphy's Law at work here?

I have an SR-71 amp and a 1/8" to 1/8" mini cable ready...

Do you guys have any advice on portable headphones to match up with this combination? This is supposed to be a portable setup, so I'm not bringing my HD650s or AKG 1000s on the bus...Are there good-quality portable headphones I could use that would benefit from this source/amp combination? (I have Sennheiser px100s, but those were pooh-poohed in a different forum as not being worthy of an iMod/amp combination...I also have some UE superfi 5 pros...are those worthy?)

 

[mrarroyo]

To some the Super 5Pro would be worthy. Other like me prefer the Etymotci ER4S. Some the Shure 5C, etc.

Only you can decide, but you will a very nice rig, iWine moded 60 gB iPod with an SR71. Sweet! Enjoy it.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Yeah, the one w/ most clarity and accuracy is the ER4 series. If you want a warmier sound to it: Shure E4 for sure. 5 Pro is not...worth it, period.

 

[warrior05]

did he give you an estimated turnaround time? i'll be sending mine in soon and was hoping it would be ready in time for the NYC Regional Meet.

 

[Gnus]

Damn, I'm sooooo tempted to order an iPod and send it in for the mod right now from all the rave reviews it's been getting.

Even if Apple did release the next-gen iPod, I doubt it would come close to the audiophile quality of the mod.

 

[kiwirugby]

dc_guy,

I am using the AKG DJ81s and re-cabled (Drew Moon Blue Dragon; Enigma silver) KSC75s with my iMod -> Wyvern AG16 mini-mini -. Xin's SM IV as transportable. Really good sound coming out of these combinations.

 

[jtevol1]

dc_guy, please report your impressions of the iMod after it's burned in.

 

[dcguy73]

Huh, I've tried the ER4 series...thinking about the Shure e500...but you don't like the 5 Pros?

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtheisticFreedom Yeah, the one w/ most clarity and accuracy is the ER4 series. If you want a warmier sound to it: Shure E4 for sure. 5 Pro is not...worth it, period.

 

[dcguy73]

He said 1-2 weeks for the mod.

Quote:

Originally Posted by warrior05 did he give you an estimated turnaround time? i'll be sending mine in soon and was hoping it would be ready in time for the NYC Regional Meet.

 

[dcguy73]

Thanks! I'll definitely look into the DJ81s. How do you like the SM IV?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwirugby dc_guy, I am using the AKG DJ81s and re-cabled (Drew Moon Blue Dragon; Enigma silver) KSC75s with my iMod -> Wyvern AG16 mini-mini -. Xin's SM IV as transportable. Really good sound coming out of these combinations.

 

[dcguy73]

Will do. I wish I had a 5g iPod for purposes of comparing the two.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtevol1 dc_guy, please report your impressions of the iMod after it's burned in.

 

[Nick Christy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dc_guy Will do. I wish I had a 5g iPod for purposes of comparing the two.

I have a 5g 30gig and a 4g 60gig with IMod.

The difference is HUGE.

I received my Imod yesterday (3 week turnaround including shipping to the UK) and have listened for about 4 hours.

Straight out of the box within 10 seconds (i.e wayyyyyyy before burn in) the difference was obvious.

Absolute clarity, no background noise (REAL blackspace), huge detail, much more presence and much more soundstage.

Absolutely worth every cent.

Just get on and do it people while you can still get hold of 4g's.

I have everything recorded at 320 kbps AAC and im running the ipod through a 2005 total bithead (also worth every cent) and HD595's and the limiting factor I'm mostly finding now is the quality of the original recording. Bad CD's really stand out (RHCP's Californication, Oasis Definitely Maybe go hang your heads in shame).

Really people, if you have the $200 Vinnie wants for the Mod - spend it. You wont regret it.

Nick

 

[ga11]

I have Red Wine Imod and I installed Rockbox on it. As good as imod sounded with apple firmware, rockbox took it to another level. With rockbox everything sounds clearer, background is darker. It really is amazing the sound you get from it.

 

[kiwirugby]

dc_guy,

I really like the SM IV. I have graduated through many versions of the SM, but this one is truly the best of them all. The soundstage is amazing. I also like the ability to use the four switches for the different configurations. For example, the bass boost helps with my AKG501s and the impedance switch with the KSC75s.

Of course, truth be told, it's hard to say what really contributes to what in a multi-component rig, even a trasportable one. At least it is for me!

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwirugby I really like the SM IV. I have graduated through many versions of the SM, but this one is truly the best of them all. The soundstage is amazing. I also like the ability to use the four switches for the different configurations. For example, the bass boost helps with my AKG501s and the impedance switch with the KSC75s.

Yay, looking forward to receiving mine and using it with my iMod iPod.