IPod-Audible Books- sound quality

No matter which format I download books from Audible.com, 2,3,or 4, the sound quality if very poor when transferred to my nano. It's great whenn played back on my Mac computer, so it seems like a nano spoken word problem. Music plays back perfectlly.
Any suggestions? Anyone else experience this problem? My primary reason for purchase was audio books, so I may send it back if there's no way to improve the quality.

Purchased iWow plug...

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Ipod second Generation sound quality problem.

Hello there,
i´ve been using my nano for 1 year without any problems, with the first version (i think 1.1.3) that came with the equipment.
The sound quality was great until i update it to the last FW. The sound quality is terrible. Very very bad.
Please, how can i reinstall the old version of the FW?
many thanks to anyone
Nuno

I'm having the same problem. If you find a solution please let me know. Ever since I installed the last update my nano sound quality is awful when I try to play it in my car via my iPod connector or use headphones.

IPod classic poor sound quality

Hi,
I have a three year old iPod classic, and have noticed over the last month an issue with the sound. The sound quality is extremely poor and static sounding, like an am radio station whenever I use ANY setting on the equalizer. When the equalizer is set to off, the sound is normal again. This happens both with earphones and a dock with speakers.
Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance!

Hi,
I have a three year old iPod classic, and have noticed over the last month an issue with the sound. The sound quality is extremely poor and static sounding, like an am radio station whenever I use ANY setting on the equalizer. When the equalizer is set to off, the sound is normal again. This happens both with earphones and a dock with speakers.
Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance!

IPod Classic 160GB Sound Quality Questions

My question relates to this older thread found here http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1126861
Basically, it's that the new iPod Classics have inferior sound quality compared to older models because of the new Cirrus DAC, with reports of it sounding too bright/fatiguing/metallic/too much treble.
I love warm and laid back sound, so this concerns me and is the only thing stopping me from purchasing one. However, I am going to mainly use it in my car hooked up to a Pioneer P6100BT through USB which bypasses the iPod's DAC and uses the Pioneer one. Since I won't be using the iPod's DAC, will these sound issues not apply to me?
Thanks in advance!

The Apple Discussions thread begins in September 2007 - old 160GB iPod Classic.
This long thread suggests that the latest 160GB model has improved sound quality.
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f15/7th-gen-2009-ipod-classic-160-sq-448992/
Richard

IPod Killed my Sound Quality

I recently bought my wife an iPod. Shortly after plugging it in the first time I noticed that the sound quality playing through my soundsticks is horrible. The music is flat, muffled and sounds like an old AM radio. I tried turning off the sound enhancer, I saved my eq settings and then messed with them. Nothing works. I pulled a song out of my library and played it side by side (alternating) on iTunes and Quicktime player and the difference is night and day. iTunes is flat and QT is full, rich sound with lots of highs and low end punch.
I have seen some similar postings on the boards, anyone have any solutions yet? I am using iTunes 7.02.

Purchased iWow plug...

Why does my iPod have bad sound quality?

Hi!
I have an iPod Touch 8gb.
iOS 4.3.4
Jailbroken...
About 3 months ago, my headphone jack broke and was stuck in my iPod...
I got it out a week ago..
But the sound quality is really bad.
Theres too much echo, not enough bass and too much distortion and gain...

Based on other user's expereince, the headphone jack is damaged and requires replacement provided that the problem is only with headphones.

IPod Photo: Poor Sound Quality - Updates

As most of us who have bought the iPod Photo already know, the sound quality IS FLAWED. The distorsion (or background crackling) of high frequency/high output sound (such as piano, high output electric guitar & some deep bass output - however the vocals seem to be fine) is there and something needs to be done about it. Some good examples of where this kind of problem occurs, from what I have found are: Radiohead (most of the OK Computer album), The Hives (the iPod Photo cannot seem to cope with their loud distorted guitar style & very high output), and Incubus (a lot of Morning View). Some people who are still using the tinny, lacklustre stock earbuds, or just don't listen to their music carefully enough, or listen niavely, may still not recognise this.
I refuse to let this issue drop, as I have spent good money on what should be, a technically flawless sound player. I do like this player though (mine is 60GB). The features are good, the photo element is excellent, the 60GB storage is unrivalled, but the main function of the player, to play music, is not good for this one issue. It is so disappointing considering Apple have obviously overlooked this issue (or simply let it slip by thinking nobody would notice), for what is otherwise an excellent piece of equipment.
I record all my music on iTunes, using the MP3 encoder. Some people think the MP3 encoder in iTunes is poor, but it is as good as most. It is all ripped at 224kbps VBR. I use Shure E2c earphones, which are also excellent, and by far the best value for money if you're looking for a warm tone & deep bass in your sound. The step up in price to the Shure E3c might be worth it if you prefer a more detailed, but possibly colder sound.
All that considered, there is absolutely no reason why the sound should be poor on my iPod Photo (when it is fine on the iPod Mini, and using Audio software on my PC), apart from there being a hardware/software glitch. There simply must be. Either that, or something in the sound has been compromised to accomodate the photo elements or colour screen.
I have sent an e-mail to Apple regarding all this, and will hopefully hear from them soon about what is going to be done to resolve this. I will keep this post updated as and when I hear news from them. I also have a case number in motion with their customer services department, and they cannot ignore this anymore.
Something must be done! Redeem yourselves, Apple!

yes i know what distortion and clipping are - i don't hear them.
anyway perhaps this website:
http://www.dapreview.net/content.php?article.133
has a solution that will work for you, it's at least worth a try.
here's a sample:
"All mp3 files have a default volume tag of around 95 to 105dB (decibels - a unit of loudness). When the iPod plays at this output volume, distortion does not occur. When you boost the iPod's bass however, with the equalizer, you are increasing the volume of the lower frequencies past this value (in order to make them more prominent amongst the other frequencies of the sound), and this, in turn, causes clipping and distortion. Basically, the iPod's amp is trying to output a volume that is greater than its inbuilt volume limit - so it serves crackling. By using MP3Gain to reduce the volume tag of your mp3 files to around 89dB, we can leave some headroom to further boost some frequencies without overdriving the iPod's amplifier."
"For example: if you boost the 60Hz frequency (low bass) by around 10dB, the iPod will output that frequency at 99dB (89 + 10). At 99dB, distortion does not occur. If you boost a song playing at 105dB by 10dB, however, we get a total of 115dB which, no doubt, has passed the threshold of distortion. From experience, 105dB is about the limit; we need to reduce the volume tag value of our mp3's significantly below 105dB to avoid distortion. 89dB is the value recommended by MP3Gain developers, and I concur, as this value has eliminated all distortion on my iPod that used to result from boosting frequencies via equalizer presets."
the other "fix" that comes up time and time again involves using higher impedance headphones. I think the basic idea is to go no lower than the stock buds, stick to 32ohm+. a lot of people report problems with 16-25ohm 'phones.
Along the same lines; you could use a pocket-dock (to get line-out) and a 3rd party amp, then use the headphones of your choice...

Sound quality of the various generations of iPods

Hi, I wondered if anyone has any opinions about the overall sound quality of the various generations of iPods.
Thanks, Chris
iMac G5 2.1 Mac OS X (10.4.7)
iMac G5 2.1 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

I can only speak for myself, I have not used 1st, 2nd,6th Generation and new Nano of iPods, but the differential of sound quality among 3rdG, mini and Nano are not noticeable. I read an article in Hong Kong (I may no agree with), indicating that iPod Shuffle's sound quality is not as good as other iPod models, but iPod Shuffle's sound qualtiy is still above other MP3 players.
Having said that, believe your ears.

Has Apple addressed poor sound quality issues with new 160GB iPod classic?

I just bought a new 160GB iPod classic, replacing a perfectly good 80GB iPod Video (5.5), thinking that the newer one would be superior to my 3 year old model. I discovered that the sound of the new unit was flat and muddy compared to the older model. I found that the 5th gen iPod video was more "spacial", if that's an appropriate word to use; the bass was more present and more clearly defined, as was the rest of the sonic spectrum. I searched several forums to research this issue and while there were numerous references to this issue, all of the posts I found referred to the original iPod classics (80GB and 160GB) and not the later 120GB classics nor the new 160GB classics like the one I bought. Has Apple done anything to address this issue since the first classics were released or are the new ones still suffering from the same sound quality issues as the original classics?

Based on your observations here, they apparently have not changed the sound quality since the original 160GB classic. I noticed a clear narrowing of the sound stage (ambiance) between the 5.5G 80Gb and my 6G 160GB. You're describing the same characteristic. I don't own the newest 160GB version and came here today to see if it might have improved the sound quality back to the 5.5 spaciousness. Note that the 5.5G has a higher signal to noise ratio than the 6G, making it difficult for me to enjoy it through efficient balanced armature in ear monitors like the Shure SE530s or Ulimate Ears Triple.Fi 10s.

Ipod touch 5 sound crackles and bad quality - how do I fix it?

When I plug my 5th gen iPod touch into speakers or headphones the sound quality is awful and it is crackles and there is lots of "noise". There must be something wrong with How can I fix this?

Do headphones sound OK?
Assuming the speaker sound OK when connected to another device:
- Try cleaning out/blowing out the headphone jack. Try inserting/removing the plug a dozen times or so.
Try the following to rule out a software problem
- Reset the iPod. Nothing will be lost
Reset iPod touch: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
- Reset all settings
Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset All Settings.
All your preferences and settings are reset. Information (such as contacts and calendars) and media (such as songs and videos) aren’t affected.
- Restore from backup
- Restore to factory settings/new iPod.
- Make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store. Seems you have a bad headphone jack or other hardware problem?.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

New Ipod Touch 5g, poor sound quality?

Hi,
I recently got given a silver ipod touch for christmas, after having had a 5G nano ipod for a few years. i had always had no problem with sound quality with that ipod. However, I have noticed that even with my Bose headphones and on my Bose dock, certain songs heavy in bass (seems to be a lot of hip hop), such as my Jay-Z and Drake albums, the bass is very bad and fuzzy and messy. It sounds terrible. I have listened to the very same songs through my Macbook Pro through headphones and there is no problem. All my music is from itunes/amazonmp3/CDs so I don't understand whether my ipod is faulty or whether this is just how the new Ipod Touch is? If so I am returning it pronto! I need my bass!

Try:
- Reset the iPod. Nothing will be lost
Reset iPod touch: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
- Power off and then back on the router
- Reset network settings: Settings>GeneralReset>Reset Network Settings
- iOS: Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections
- iOS: Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points
- Restore from backup
- Restore to factory settings/new iPod.
- Make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

Rebuilding library after hard drive crash AND sound quality of iPod files?

Hi all,
I had a hard drive crash and hadn't done a back-up in awhile. My iPod was up-to-date though. I used third-party software to grab the music off the iPod. So now I a good portion of my library back up to another hard drive AND the entire library pulled off my iPod. Should I just direct iTunes to the files I pulled off the iPod or direct it to the backup and add the missing files from my iPod files? Clear as mud?
Also what will be the sound quality of the files I pulled from the iPod?

If you copied the files from the iPod to a folder on your computer then open iTunes and go to File>Add Folder to library and add the songs back into iTunes (or simply drag the folder from it's location to the iTunes Source pane, - the long pane on the left. They should sound fine since they are simply copies of the originals. Before you add them check your iTunes preferences, go to Edit>Preferences>Advanced and make sure the boc "Copt files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" is checked.

IPod w/Cassette Adapter-How to Optimize Sound Quality?

I have I believe a G2 iPod (15 GB), and I play it in my car using a cassette adapter. I've found that to keep the sound from degrading at above average volumes, I have to make some adjustments. One, I have to set the EQ to 'Bass Reducer'. Two, I have to make sure the volume on the iPod is at about 80%. If I go above that, the sound distorts. The lower you go below that, the more hissing you get w/ the playback. I also turn the 'Sound Check' setting on.
Any other recommendations on how to optimize the sound quality when playing it through your vehicle sound system? Also, I'm thinking about getting a G5 unit (most likely the 4 GB Nano). Anyone have any feedback on whether I can expect better sound quality, in particular in my vehicle with the setup outlined above, by upgrading to the newer unit?

Various Methods to Connect to a Car Stereo System, or Listen to Your iPod in the Vehicle
Best:
Direct connection via the dock connector or headphone jack of your iPod, to the mini-jack input (or AUX RCA input jacks) of your car stereo. Not many low/moderate-end cars have this feature yet, but it is becoming more popular. Some aftermarket auto stereo units may have this feature.
There are also some after-market, moderate to fairly expensive direct interfaces, that hook into your existing car stereo to provide a high-quality, direct connection. Most will also power/charge the iPod. Pretty slick, but can be pricey ($80-$300). If money is no object, a clean way to go. Not very portable from car to car – if at all.
http://logjamelectronics.com/ipodproducts.html
http://www.myradiostore.us/auxadapters/blitzsafe/blitzsafe-m-link-ipod-interface .html
http://www.theistore.com/ipod2car.html
http://www.mp3yourcar.com/
Better:
Connect your iPod to a cassette adaptor and play your tunes through your car's cassette player. Some new cars no longer come with a cassette player, so it may not be an option. It will provide even better audio quality if you can run the audio feed out of the dock connector (see the SendStation link below). Can be portable between cars that have a cassette player and also be used in your home cassette system. $5 to $20 for the adaptors, with large variations in quality (even with the same model).
Good:
Attach an FM transmitter to your iPod and play the tunes through an unused FM station. Convenient, but wireless FM transmitter signals are susceptible to static and outside interference, and can vary in strength and quality depending on your location. Some noticeable degradation and distortion, depending on the quality of the transmitter, the sensitivity of your ears and the airwave congestion in your area. Highly portable between cars, and may be used in a home system. FM transmitters that need to be plugged into a DC auto jack may not work in a home environment (without some sort of adaptor). You can pay from $15 to more than $80 for some of these.....but for FM quality audio, how much is too much?
Marginal:
Attach an external speaker system to the iPod and play it in the car. Workable, but not too good - unless you spring for a $300+ Bose (or similar) system. But why? Only if your vehicle has no Stereo system, perhaps.
Brave Techno-Geek:
This site gives some directions on adapting a car stereo by yourself. Risky, but it has been successfully accomplished by a forum member. Fairly inexpensive....unless you screw it up.
Whichever you choose, power the iPod through your car’s DC power -- either from a power adapter, or as part of the combined audio adaptor. Have a method to secure the iPod to the dash/console/etc. See the reviews for all the various accessories at the iLounge
You will also get better audio output if the dock connection plug is used, rather than the headphone jack. See Sendstation for a novel adaptor called a PocketDock. Others types are also available via this site.
I have read positive and negative reviews of each method, and within methods there are great variations in performance of different manufacture's systems – and peoples’ opinions of their performance. Some cassette adaptors/FM transmitters work poorly, some better.
FWIW: I have the iTrip Mini & the Newer Technology RoadTrip!+ FM transmitters, a Belkin cassette adaptor (used both with & w/out the PocketDock) and two vehicles with the BlitzSafe direct interface. Using the same song in the same car, I found that the FM transmitters worked, but not as good as the cassette adapter via the headphone jack. Using the PocketDock on the cassette adapter resulted in a significant audio quality improvement. As expected, the Blitzsafe direct connect was exceptionally better than everything else: less tinny, a more warmer/richer sound, and close to true CD quality.

Which ipod I should buy? - sound quality

I have bought ipod photo to replace my ipod 3G 15GB, i feel disappointed about ipod photo. It seems that it is quieter than my old ipod, and if I turn the volume to be louder, the sound seems distorted. Also, the detail of music sounds worse than before too.
So I am looking for ipod mini or ipod shuffle. I only consider sound quality, which one should I buy?
Espeically those with one or more ipod, please come to share your point of view. I know different ipod sounds a little bit different. So I wanna know how do they differ?

Well Ipod Mini And Ipod Shuffle have the same apple earphones but if your looking for a better device go with mini.. this is goanna cost you more but the shuffle is cheaper and it also has great sound but i suggest the mini it has a screen and holds more songs

How can I improve the sound quality of my new iPod?

Hey there,
I just received my new iPod with my new MacBook Pro computer.
I have read every bit of documentation i received plus I have scoured resources here on the forum, but I am baffled.
I just synced my iPod for the first time to my Macbook, iTunes,
With the supplied earbuds (from the iPod), the sound is not very good at all. In fact, it the sound of each song seems to break up quite a bit, and the clarity is not very good.
As an experiment, I plugged the earbuds directly into my MacBook using the same songs, same quality, etc, and the MacBook sounds decidedly better.
What can I do to improve the tonal quality that is so lacking in my iPod compared to the same recordings on my computer?
Any tips? Tricks?
Thanks for your input.
Joel
www.readyacoustics.com

Ok Joel, I think I have the answer for you.
First, the iPod sound. The 5th Gen iPod is a good sounding unit. It has been designed to have a flat, neutral - uncoloured - sound, which is a good thing.
There should not be that much of a difference in sound quality between the iPod and the MacBok Pro. Are you sure that all settings are equal on both units? For instance, make sure that the eq is flat on both units, and same goes for the output level. For the same material being played, the louder one will be perceived as sounding better.
There are ways to improve dramatically the sound you hear from your iPod: (a) better headphones (b) a mini, portable headphone amp.
(a) better headphones: For a good roundup, check out these two sites:
http://store.earphonesolutions.com/shureearphones.html
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=2
I would say that the new Shure E500 (around US$450) would be on top of my list, price not being an issue. It seems like they're good no matter what you're listening to. All others seem to sound good on, say, classical/acoustic, but are way too flat - read boring - for modern music, such as techno or house, or R&B. The brand "Etymoyics" fall into this category, for example. But then again, some people would disagree, so read as much as you can on one of the forums I mentioned above, Headfi - really good.
(b) mini headphone amp: These are very small and portable, and people who have bought them swear by them. Check out Headfi again, this time on their amp forum:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=3
Think about spending about around $500 for a great little portable amp. They're made by enthusists, small-scale companies. Real jewels, some of them, and I mean jewel in terms of quality, not just looks.
Anyway, this should get you started...Good luck.
A.

IPod-Audible Books- sound quality

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