Ipod Classic

I haven't checked the specs of all of them I have an AGPTEK Rocker, which at $80 was more expensive that the usual $25 cheap DAPs. The manufacturer claimed that it was "THE SMALLEST AUDIOPHILE PLAYER IN THE WORLD". It supports "ALL MAJOR LOSSLESS MUSIC FORMATS: AAC/ Aif/ Apple lossless/ Ape/ Flac/ Ogg/ Wave/ Wma lossless/ M4a/ MP3/ WMA, at up to 192kHz/32bit. DSD playback is also available in Non-bluetooth mode."

Of course, it is expandable with a MicroSD card.

It has gapless playback.

The DAC is CIRRUS LOGIC CS42L51 STEREO DAC, which "faithfully reproduces 24bit high-resolution original studio-quality audio without distortion or loss of sound."

Also, it is compatible with Rockbox, but if updated with Rockbox, Bluetooth will stop working.

My main gripe with this player is that it does not remember the volume level: every time I turn it on, it sets volume to 50%.

One more reason to stay away from Apple's products. On an Android phone storage can be expanded with a MicroSD card.

 

not on my Android phone. But it's a few years old. Pixel XL.

 

This was your choice. All my Android phones have a card slot. On an iPhone you don't have this option, and the file system is hidden as much as possible.

 

Looking for some interesting projects during lockdown I managed to upgrade my 5.5 Wolfson iPod with a new battery and iflash solo with 250GB SSD Scandisk.
Must admit that I didn't rebuild the MBR as you suggest. Luckily everything seems to be working fine. My next project is an iPod 7th gen with an Iflash quad. I saw this
great Mod Modded iPod design that Paul Weller would carry with pride and am trying to build my own. How cool is this

 

You can still rebuild the MBR and delete/recreate the partition in Fat32 format by putting the iPod in Disk mode without taking the MicroSD card out of the iPod.

 

How important is this? When I had a windows machine I did the whole rebuild and remove partitions. The last couple times I installed new sd cards I simply reformatted on my Chromebook, everything works fine.

Also, don’t the cards get formatted when the iPod is initialized?

 

The iPod does not re-write the MBR when you restore it. Also, it doesn't not create a new partition table. It uses the existing one on the card. That is why it should be done when you first put the MicroSD card in the iPod.

 

I've got no doubt that this is probably the safest way to go but I guess there are cases where ExFat works fine ? Just trying to understand if this has to be done or should be done if problems occur.

 

I recently performed an experiment to see if I could discern what means to recorded music was overall preferable.

The experiment was performed with Classic Hauser, a high dynamic range recording, on LP, CD, 24/96 FLAC Download, and Apple Music Download. Playing these, nine ways to Sunday as listed below, I had hoped the experimentation would determine what medium sounded best.

• LP>Technics SL-1210GR/Shure V15V (SAS)>Sony TA-E9000ES Pre-Pro Phono Preamplifier input
• 24/96 FLAC Download>Foobar2000>OPPO-205 DAC up sampling to 24/192>Sony TA-E9000ES analog input
• 24/96 FLAC Download>Foobar2000>Creative Sound Blaster X-FI HD (for usb to S/PDIF conversion at 24/96)>TA-E9000ES optical S/PDIF input
• Apple Music Download>iTunes>Airport Express (wi-fi to S/PDIF 16/44.1 output)>Sony TA-E9000ES optical S/PDIF input
• Apple Music Download>iTunes>OPPO-205 DAC up sampling to 24/192>Sony TA-E9000ES analog input
• Apple Music Download>iTunes>Creative Sound Blaster X-FI HD (for usb to S/PDIF conversion at 24/96)>TA-E9000ES optical S/PDIF input
• Apple Music Download>Network connection to OPPO-205 DAC up sampling to 24/192>Sony TA-E9000ES analog input
• 24/96 FLAC Download>Thumb Drive>OPPO-205 DAC up sampling to 24/192>Sony TA-E9000ES analog input
• 24/96 FLAC Download>Network connection to OPPO-205 DAC up sampling to 24/192>Sony TA-E9000ES analog input
• CD>OPPO-205>Sony TA-E9000ES analog input
• CD>Rip to iTunes in ALAC>OPPO-205 DAC up sampling to 24/192>Sony TA-E9000ES analog input
• CD>Rip to iTunes in ALAC>Airport Express (wi-fi to S/PDIF 16/44.1 output) Sony TA-E9000ES analog input
• CD>Rip to iTunes in ALAC>Creative Sound Blaster X-FI HD (for usb to S/PDIF conversion at 24/96)>Sony TA-E9000ES optical S/PDIF input

Conclusion: all processes yielded a satisfying listening experience, whereby tone, sound stage, and detail seemed so similar as to preclude any revelation to a particular process delivering the most compelling sound; however, three things did stand out: first, the presence of pops distracted LP pleasure, second, play of downloads via OPPO usb DAC, Drive Port, or Network connection is inconvenient, and finally, the iTunes play of the Apple Music AAC download via Airport Express to the Sony TA-E9000ES was most convenient, and sounded on par with the CD, ALAC and FLAC media. This makes me question any need for a means to music other than APPLE MUSIC. At any rate, the exercise was a fun activity on a cold and dreary weekend which has kept me indoors. Note, Apple Music to thumb drive was not tested, since it would have required purchase of the album to permit copy to thumb drive.

 

If using iTunes and running the Apple OS, I would only do it now if you were having issues with skipping or freezing. If you are using Rockbox, I would definitely do it by putting the iPod in disk mode. In addition when copying music to the iPod using Rockbox the iPod should always be in disk mode.

 

Unfortunately, I no longer have a means to do anything except reformat the cards. I was very careful about it when I had a windows machine, but that's long gone, and my Mac mini doesn't recognize the newer sdxc cards.

As I have 3 ipods fully (1tb each) modded, I think I'm good. None of these were given the full treatment as you describe, they all work fine so far. If I ever do another ipod, I'll put it in disk mode and try the full reformat with MBR restore. Thanks for answer.

 

If you aren't getting any skips or freezes on any of them, I wouldn't worry about it. Some cards are more prone to this then others. Even after reformatting SDXC cards, I have gotten skips in Rockbox if I did not copy the files in disk mode. Once copied in disk mode the skips went away.

 

I've been using these 1tb ipods almost daily for close to a year. Zero skips, zero freezes, and maybe 2 reboots. This is way better than the ipods did when they had the original HD installed.

 

Yes, plus the iPod is much lighter and has longer battery life.

 

So I finally managed to complete my 800GB iMod classic 7th Gen. New screen, new battery, iflash quad, new click wheel. Not sure I'll ever fill so much space with music but you never know.

Now lying in the hammock enjoying some music.

 

I just charged mine from nearly empty yesterday, and that was after 2.5 weeks of daily usage of at least 2.5 hours playing WAV files. Lovin' it!

 

Used to own a Classic 5th Gen with a Wolfson DAC.

Unfortunately it took a crap before I became 'serious' with audio equipment but I do remember the sound being a bit dark for my tastes.

I do miss that thing though.

 

This is my first iPod... and I bought it this year. If you're willing to pay a bit, there are few solid techs on eBay offering refurbed ones like mine (ssd drive, larger battery, custom metal backplate to accommodate the thickness of both new components).

 

There is a company called Elite Obsolete Electronics that sells refurbished and "new" iPods. There is some company in China that manufactures iPod front cases, back cases, clickwheels and screens. This guy's "new" iPods have all new parts, but use the original frame and logic board from a used iPod. They're available in an insane array of colors and most are flash modded.

I had my 5.5 "panda" iPod delivered today with 512 GB of flash storage and a 2000 mAh battery in it.

I'm syncing my entire music library over to it now.



I have no affiliation with the guy, other than being a happy customer. Every iPod comes with some kind of warranty.

Here's the website for the curious:

Elite Obsolete Electronics

For me the big plus with the iPod is the click wheel. I know there are a lot of high-end DAPs these days that measure better than an old iPod. But they almost all run Android and have a touch screen. If I am going to use a dedicated DAP, I want it to have physical buttons and not a touch screen. And from my playing with all sorts of music players in the 2000s, nothing beats the Apple click wheel, at least to me. It's the right tool for the job.

And just because something measures better, doesn't mean it sounds better.

And you can go on Elite Obsolete's website and order an iPod in the color scheme of your choice, with as much memory as you want. I bought a 512 GB model, because I'm loading it with AAC/m4a files. But if you want to fill it with ALAC files, then you can buy a 2 TB model.

I'm a firm believer in "the right tool for the job." I will not take an iPod, buy a line out cable for the 30 pin connector, and run it into a portable headphone amp and rubber band them together. To me that seems very silly. I would rather just buy a pair of headphones that sound great plugged into the iPod headphone jack. With that I get great sound out of the iPod while I am "on the go."

If you're the kind of person that WILL do that, then you might want to look at a more modern DAP, that has a more powerful headphone amp built into it.

 

Having completed the 800 gb UK mod Pod I decided to go for one in the German flag colours for my wife !

I'm not super skilled at this kind of stuff but it's not too tricky to do and makes a nice funky present. Encourage anyone interested to try it themselves.

 

Great job, those are awesome looking. I may look into a different color for one of mine.

 

Just a note for the people contemplating a DIY project:

ifash.xyz sells SD/CF/M.2 adapters for iPod.

Elite Obsolete sells parts also. I spoke with the owner and he told me that all these colored pieces ALL come from the same factory in China. So, it doesn't matter who you're buying from. They're all going to be the same part. Which is helpful if you're not in the US. You can find an eBay seller closest to you and know you're going to get the same part.

 

Great... Now I have to build an Irish iPod...

 

I'm also a happy iflash customer. You just need to check which adapter / battery is best suited to your ipod. For example the ipod classic 6th gen has a memory limit of 250gb whereas the 7th doesn't.

Helpful Tips and Advice – iFlash.xyz

3rd party extended Battery guide – iFlash.xyz

iFlash-Compatibility – iFlash.xyz

That's very interesting about the colored pieces. I was ordering from Aliexpress.

Recommend the Snugg iPod case.

I have had some minor problems with replacement backs not being as well finished as the apple original. Also careful with the screws ! Once dropped they are so tiny that they are impossible to find.

 

I have a 60GB iPod Classic which I purchased in January 2006. It has been completely faultless.
Now I have a car with easy iPod connectivity it is a constant companion.

Can't go wrong with Apple products in my experience.



Cubbyhole could have been designed for the iPod.