Author Topic: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?  (Read 3770 times)

Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« on: 01 November, 2009, 06:51:51 pm »
Ive got an Ipod Nano, not the newest one, one before it(without the camera and radio) and i want the sound louder mainly(can it make the audio better aswell?)
Saw an amplifier for it that you plug into the headphone but are they worth the money? Which ones are better? Not got a huge budget, but i want something decent.
Can anyone offer any advice? Any good sites to look on?

Cheers 8)


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tonycollinet

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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #1 on: 01 November, 2009, 07:06:10 pm »
If you want it to sound better through earphones, then what you need are CX300's. Completely revolutionised MP3 player listening for me. They are "block the ear" types so not everyone gets on with them though.

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And at that price they are a steal (I paid about £20).

If you want low cost external speakers, then I would suggest you get the best you can afford from the logitech range.

toekneep

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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #2 on: 01 November, 2009, 07:09:29 pm »
I'm not quite sure what you are asking so this might be rubbish but we play our Nano through our normal Hi Fi amplifier. We can annoy the neighbours if we want to.

Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #3 on: 01 November, 2009, 07:23:09 pm »
I saw some headphone amplifiers on the net, after a search on how to make my ipod louder, but i wasnt sure if the people saying about them were giving links to good ones, or just any old one, so thought id ask on here. Seem to be some knowledgeable people on here with this type of thing.
My old Nano(1st Gen) was pretty loud, i went from that one to this one and could tell the difference in lack of sound. Even on full, and with the limiter set to max. ???


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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #4 on: 01 November, 2009, 08:29:23 pm »
Do some digging over at the HeadFi forums. They will have recommended small amps for this kind of thing. Something like the Corda XSS will probably fit the bill though.

You ought to look at a dock connector to mini stereo jack cable as well as the output from the dock connector is supposed to be cleaner than the headphone jack.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #5 on: 01 November, 2009, 08:32:47 pm »
Do some digging over at the HeadFi forums. They will have recommended small amps for this kind of thing.

Kool, ill get looking 8)


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rogerzilla

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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #6 on: 01 November, 2009, 08:53:06 pm »
Aren't all personal stereos volume-limited to protect your hearing?  If you can't hear it over the traffic, turbo trainer or Tube then making it louder is probably going to do damage.
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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #7 on: 01 November, 2009, 09:15:05 pm »
Get in-ear plugs, like the ones that come as standard with Sony-ericsson walkmans. They really improve the sound. You don't need an increase in volume with these and there is little leakage to annoy people around you.
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citoyen

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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #8 on: 01 November, 2009, 10:21:52 pm »
My son has the same generation of Nano, which he plays at foundation-shaking volume through a Bose SoundDock (present from over-indulgent rich uncle).

However, we have a bog standard Sony compact hi-fi in the kitchen with a standard iPod dock plugged into the aux port, and that does the trick perfectly well enough for me - with my rubbish ears, I'm not sure I could tell the difference in quality between that and the SoundDock in a blind test.

I've also tried playing the iPod through a Cambridge amp and Pioneer speakers combo that I got very cheap from Richer Sounds some years ago. It makes an ENORMOUS noise - I've yet to dare turning the volume dial up past 3, never mind all the way to 11.

But whatever you plug your iPod into, bear in mind that the quality of the sound it puts out will be affected by the level of encoding of your music - if you rip CDs at a very low bitrate, they won't sound good even on the best equipment. You might not notice the difference in quality if you only listen through the crappy earphones that came with your iPod, but you'll definitely notice the difference when you play it through a halfway decent amp.

If you just want better sound quality through your earphones, get a pair of Sennheiser CX300s, as mentioned upthread - my wife has these and they give a superbly rich and deep sound. Or, even better, get CX400s - I've just ordered a pair of the latest generation CX400s based on Valiant's review, priced under £30 from Amazon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they aren't so cheap because they're knock-offs - will let you know the verdict when they arrive...

d.
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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #9 on: 01 November, 2009, 10:43:04 pm »
My son has the same generation of Nano, which he plays at foundation-shaking volume through a Bose SoundDock (present from over-indulgent rich uncle).

However, we have a bog standard Sony compact hi-fi in the kitchen with a standard iPod dock plugged into the aux port, and that does the trick perfectly well enough for me - with my rubbish ears, I'm not sure I could tell the difference in quality between that and the SoundDock in a blind test.

I've also tried playing the iPod through a Cambridge amp and Pioneer speakers combo that I got very cheap from Richer Sounds some years ago. It makes an ENORMOUS noise - I've yet to dare turning the volume dial up past 3, never mind all the way to 11.

But whatever you plug your iPod into, bear in mind that the quality of the sound it puts out will be affected by the level of encoding of your music - if you rip CDs at a very low bitrate, they won't sound good even on the best equipment. You might not notice the difference in quality if you only listen through the crappy earphones that came with your iPod, but you'll definitely notice the difference when you play it through a halfway decent amp.

If you just want better sound quality through your earphones, get a pair of Sennheiser CX300s, as mentioned upthread - my wife has these and they give a superbly rich and deep sound. Or, even better, get CX400s - I've just ordered a pair of the latest generation CX400s based on Valiant's review, priced under £30 from Amazon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they aren't so cheap because they're knock-offs - will let you know the verdict when they arrive...

d.


Might give better headphones a go instead.
My brother has some(cant remember what they are) but they cancel out noise and other things and they are great, he got them cheap because of where he works and points he gets for selling different things, but they are way too expensive for me.
Ill give those Sennheiser CX300s a go i think. 8)


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tonycollinet

  • No Longer a western province of Númenor
Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #10 on: 01 November, 2009, 10:58:19 pm »
I had some cheapish (£30) noise cancelling jobs. The sennheisers are better, because the form a seal in the ear, blocking external sounds (not so good for the bike - though I do use them)

They are also much more comfortable than the ones that sit in the outer ear. For me these are painful after less than hour of use.

Valiant

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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #11 on: 01 November, 2009, 11:03:37 pm »
The first step should always be better ear/headphones. After that if you still need louder volume, you can adjust the volume levels on your MP3 tags or invest in a headphone amp, trouble with those is that you're still going through the iPods output stage so quality isn't necessarily improved. The better quality ones will use a dock connector and get the audio via a line out. That said the CX300s etc all are more sensitive than standard earphones so will go louder for the same volume. I rarely listen to my ipod on full with CX400s just case it's really loud.
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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #12 on: 02 November, 2009, 12:37:19 am »
You can run into the issue that some headphones are difficult to drive and iPods etc just doesn't have enough oomph. Then a headphone amp can fix it for you. Senn 600 and above have this problem. Most headphones designed for on the move listening are OK though.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #13 on: 02 November, 2009, 11:20:02 pm »
Are Denon headphones any good?
The Denon AHC-452B to be specific?
If not, then ill go for the Sennheiser CX300-II instead.

Cheers 8)


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Valiant

  • aka Sam
    • Radiance Audio
Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #14 on: 03 November, 2009, 04:52:04 am »
Denon don't really tend to make their own earphones so I'd go with the Sennys, that said you should be able to get the CX300s for less than £30. Careful though as there are a lot of fakes about on ebay/amazon/play market places.
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TOBY

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Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #15 on: 03 November, 2009, 01:46:11 pm »
I had some cheapish (£30) noise cancelling jobs. The sennheisers are better, because the form a seal in the ear, blocking external sounds (not so good for the bike - though I do use them)

They are also much more comfortable than the ones that sit in the outer ear. For me these are painful after less than hour of use.

My dad uses ear defenders over cheap earphones to cancel out external noise . . . I'm not kidding, bright orange ones.

Re: Make ipod sound better? Amplifier?
« Reply #16 on: 07 November, 2009, 06:54:24 pm »
I had some cheapish (£30) noise cancelling jobs. The sennheisers are better, because the form a seal in the ear, blocking external sounds (not so good for the bike - though I do use them)

They are also much more comfortable than the ones that sit in the outer ear. For me these are painful after less than hour of use.

My dad uses ear defenders over cheap earphones to cancel out external noise . . . I'm not kidding, bright orange ones.
However, I'm not allowed to wear them in the car when travelling with Toby's Mum, in case this is seen as evidence of marital discord.
Disobedient? Then read this. Compliant? then don't read this.