Customer Reviews: Read 46 more reviews...
 just as expected: lots of show, lots of go. November 14, 2007
Daniel Dalton
46 out of 47 found this review helpful
I record all my cds in Apple lossless format: you really can tell the difference! So, no downloading from i-tunes, just a permanent, can't-tell-the-difference on my expensive stereo, backup of all my CDs. Now I can get my whole collection onto one player, that's now 3500 songs, 87GB, give or take, and loads of room for more. I won't need more space for another few years: top stuff.
Sound quality is great. Sometimes a little bright through headphones, but with loads of deep bass and nice subtleties, often picking out detail in the high notes that the cd player doesn't translate. it is quieter than the older players, as noted elsewhere. decent headphones fix this (I use etymotic er6-i which are tuned for lower oomph devices, and cut out background noise really well) and this will still play uncomfortably loud (just: I must be getting old!) at full volume
It looks and feels good. the back scratches easily: I don't know why the high gloss chrome is chosen as it is so transient a finish. the display is nice, and doesn't scratch. I wonder if the full colour backlit screen is a bit unnecessary given that a monochrome, text based, display works so well, and efficiently. maybe if you wanted to select at-a-glance as you spin through songs and albums then it would be good, however, see my (and others') comment about lag and cover art. The different options as to how music is selected seem well sorted, better than in earlier generations. the controls are quite sluggish at times, which gets annoying, and I echo the cover-flow reservations expressed elsewhere: it can slow right down and then become less than useful. sometimes the delay is great enough to activate a surprise song. overall however, it's no big deal.
sync'ing appears noticably quicker and more straightforward than with my older ipod. probably all in my mind, but this is a sure sign of how smooth this is to use with PC.
battery life is as awesome as suggested, really nice compared to previous models.
the other bundled (non-music) stuff doesn't interest me, so no comments there. Overall, heartily recommended, at last an Ipod for audiophiles-lite
Superb Value for Money!...(the sound is not a problem)... January 21, 2008
alextorres (Near Bristol, UK)
29 out of 30 found this review helpful
This is my fourth mp3 player, after an iriver, a Creative Zen and a 40GB ipod. The reason for the upgrade is space - I've learnt through (slow and bitter!) experience that with these players, if you use them often to listen to music, you are better off getting one with a large capacity where you can store all of you current (and future!) music collection - anything else leads to frustration! So, looking in the market to upgrade from 40GB, what options are there? Not many, perhaps the 80GB ipod but what else? From reputable manufacturers there's a Creative Zen at 60GB but not only is the 20GB jump a bit small but they charge over 300 for it!! When it comes to ipods, the 80GB was a temptation, particularly after some of the bad reviews for this item on here, but I decided not to fall into the same trap of incremental upgrades as before and so went for the massive 160GB, based on my satisfactory experience with the 40GB ipod.
The warnings from previous reviewers that nearly put me off buying this were the ones about the sound volume. Thankfully I ignored them - on the basis that the sound couldn't really be thaht different to the 40GB version - and am glad i did. In fact, I have applied my own sound limit (as on the 40GB model) as the maximum is painfully high! Like some other reviewers, i do listen to the player through in-ear earphones - these are a must for comfort and sound, the ones suppliedas standard by ALL mp3 player manufacturers are useless (I use Creative Labs ones, currently on half-price offer - I use my ipod daily and hgey do give up the ghost after about three months because of flex problems but I suspect all earphones are subject to that aspect of "wear and tear").
Functionally, I am extremely pleased with the 160GB player - it is everything that I hoped from it - and for a fantastically competitive price of just over 200 it is brilliant value for money!!
A comment on the sound quality. January 9, 2008
D. Thomas (London, UK)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I'd just like to add my sixpence to what's been written about the ipod classic.
I was concerned about what the sound quality would be like after reading what others have written.
I am a musician, having played the drums for around 16 years now. I've done hundreds of gigs and consider myself to have an ear for a good sound. I listen to all styles of music from jazz and classical to heavy metal and electro house. I too like a good sound from my audio gear - I have specialist speakers hooked up to my hifi and am quite fussy with the graphic equaliser, having a particular set up that I like.
So let me say this - having uploaded a handful of varied songs and plugging in the standard supplied headphones that come with the iPod I switched it on.... and was not disappointed!
The sound quality is infinitely better than that of my previous mp3 player - it's good! Yes, the lack of a user definable EQ set up is a slight bug bear... but I managed to find three setups that were good for me, one being quite close to what I would have punched in anyway. I think people are overreacting with the sound issue... I also think it's a matter of what people get used to and then being given something a bit different. The sound is quite bright and I did notice that, through the standard headphones, the bottom end does distort a little... but plugging the iPod into my Hifi soon reassured me that it was just the headphones and not an inherent problem with the iPod - the sound coming out of the speakers was rich, fat and well balanced. If you want a better sound through the headphones then buy expensive headphones... no manufacturer will supply you with those.
Overall, it's a slick piece of equipment with a huge hard drive and high build quality - well worth the 150 I paid for it.
Maybe Apple's problem is that they've been too good for too long and people expect extremely (maybe unreasonably) high standards from them now.
It's a great machine, certainly not a disappointment.
Excellent sound and build quality January 24, 2008
Mr. P. J. Moisey (Paris France)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
This was my first iPod. I purchased it along with a set of Shure E3c earphones (which are superb ). This device is really easy to use, has excellent crystal clear sound, and the auto synch with iTunes works like a breeze, just plug in the usb cord to your pc, and away it goes. The design is well thought out and robust.
I have just one gripe, and it's almost enough to loose a star rating, but not quite. That is, you cannot easily transfer music back from your ipod onto your PC. I initially thought, when I ordered the iPod, that being such a high capacity, it could act as a backup for my iTunes collection, and if anything happened to the PC then I could transfer stuff back from the iPod. No such luck, you can only transfer from PC to iPod, not back the other way. However, I read that there is downloadable software that will allow you to do this after a fashion. It is a real shame that Apple do not allow it though.
You'll wonder how you ever lived without one! October 28, 2007
Rory Robinson (Swansea, UK)
29 out of 31 found this review helpful
I've never owned an iPod before. Probably down to the hype. Anything that gets hyped usually gets on my nerves, and I shun it. Yes, it's a personality flaw, as I probably miss out on alot of good stuff because of my attitude. Aside from that, Apple's stuck-up marketing has always annoyed me too. I've never really been impressed with iPod's in the past due to the value for money, as far as I'm concerned prior to the 5th / 6th gen, there were always better value for money Personal Media Players available.
230 for 160gb storage and it plays videos? Now we're talking. I'm persuaded!
I take it home, spent a few hours sorting through my 9 years worth of downloaded music, organizing tags and everything (my own fault for not organizing it properly before!) and upload just shy of 8000 songs onto it, taking up less than a third of the space. Wow, I couldn't be more impressed with the user interface, absolutely stunning, and the whole feel of flipping through a physical record collection as you pick your tunes is truly awesome.
Videos play like a charm too. The screen is adequate to comfortably watch TV shows on the go.
Only beef (don't feel it warrants dropping to 4 stars though) is the rubbish earbuds that come with the player. Same problem with nearly every portable music player, the earbuds they supply are rubbish, despite you spending a considerable about on the product. It does annoy me. Although to be honest I expect to upgrade earbuds these days when I buy a new player.
Get one now - it will change your life.
|
