Sound quality of the new classic?

great job (clap clap clap)
I have sent a link to Apple on the feedback form.

I encourge others to contact Apple as well... I'm sure they won't ignore this... the question is - why didn't they check this design better? They already had everything right!

I have my CD ripped as 256kbps AAC files. And, I try to buy iTunes Plus songs when possible. Before I had an iPod Photo. I think the bass is much better on the iPod Classic. This might help explain the "less warm" sound if the classic. I am quite happy with the sound quality of the classic. Oh, and, no more background hiss!

Enjoy life,
Steven

Hi Steven,

The Classic is an improvement over te iPod Photo, because the iPod Photo 4G and iPod 3G were among the worst sounding they ever made.

The bass of the iPod Classic is as deep and tight as with the iPod Video 5G. Take 1kHz as a reference, and you see that they act the same. It is the uplift of treble that is both audible and measurable, and the underlying reason (codec linearity) that is the curlpit we're talking about.

Marc

Wow. this is fantastic work, Marc! I sent in feedback, *as I hope MANY OTHERS will do.*

I just hope that this can actually be fixed with firmware, meaning that the codec is programmable.

Tony

Marc,
Thank you so much for your analysis. I think it was you that said the new classic had a sort of reverberating sound effect, Which i noticed when i first got the classic. This is my first ipod, and even though I can't compare it to the previous generations, I definitely notice something is wrong. I imported one of my CD's on the Aiff format which made it sound a little better...but considering each song is about 60mb it's not so space conserving. I hope hope hope this can be fixed by firmware
Fingers crossed,
Monique

Theyre different,, i set the two ipods volume in the middle(80gb classic and 30gb 5gen). However the 5 gen is louder and more open like lossless. My new 80 gb classic sound like a compressed one,like standard mp3's. i dont know if it has a default equalizer or somethin...but my eq is off...i dont know...im dissappointed. very dsppntd...one more thing i noticed., the bass is less powerful....by the way im using a $400 Bose quiet comfort 3, so i think im quite sure of what ive noticed about the sounds

I was eagerly anticipating the launch of the Classic 160 gb as soon as I read about it as my 60gb ipod simply isn't big enough to hold the desired amount of music from my collection. I am so disappointed to read of the reputed inferior sound quality of the Classic as compared to older machines. If this is indeed this is due to the new codec installed in the Classic, what are the chances any firmware update will resolve this issue. Surely this is a hardware issue?
Can't see the point of buying a Classic 160gb now, no matter how big the storage capacity is if the sound quality inferior to the ipod 5.5 80gb.
Gutted and very disappointed in Apple

A firmware upgrade should be able to fix the problems below, but a bad sounding chip is a bad sounding chip unless you replace it from the circuit board.

VERY Slow menu switching response
Display of clock rather than song info when “Now Playing”
Inability to use existing LEGAL 3rd party dock products (including Apple-advertised)
Slow connection to Mac/PC
Inability to disable “split-screen” menus
Lagging / Unresponsive click-wheel
Camera Connector not working

OK, I see the point. Before reading Marc's measurements, I listened to some music. I really hadn't had much time to just listen to music. Yes, the treble does to seem to be on the high side and somewhat irritating. I set the EQ to "Treble reducer" and it seemed to help but still didn't sound quite right. Yes, I do see this as a problem. And a firmware update can fix this? I sure hope so.

Edit: I am visually impaired and have been since birth so I have very good hearing. I strongly suspect that I can even here a little beyond 20KHz to about 22 or 23KHz. Not bad for a 40 yr old.

BTW, my earlier bass comparison was with my iPod Photo not an iPod Video.

Thanks,
Steven

I'm wondering if there are different chipsets in different manufactured batches. I haven't really noticed any striking sound difference either...

I have the 160GB Silver Classic with the 1.0.1 update and the sound is excellent. I notice no difference between my 80GB 5.5G iPod and the classic.

I guess maybe there is a difference simply based on all those confusing sound graphs and charts posted, but these ears can't tell the difference. That coupled with the fact that I haven't had any crashing or skipping issues with my 90GB song library and I am one very happy camper with the classic.

Sorry you guys are having problems - hope at least you are not letting the sound issue deter you before you actually hear the new classic with decent headphones.

Just did a blind test with my 5g and I can tell the difference every time. Twenty in a row, easy. The Classic is slightly but noticeably brighter and flatter. The 5g has a little more presence/depth and bass. That said, the Classic does not sound bad, or distorted, as the charts imply they might... just different. I'm using a nice pair of closed cup Sennheisers to listen, so maybe that makes a difference...

I also did extensive tests and compared the sound between my 4G and my brand new Classic (160GB). My result is about the same as the most experienced here. The sound of the Classic is different. And if I would have to decide, I'd rather go with the 4G than the Classic. But as this sound difference is clearly beneath the sound difference to an original CD, I dont bother to much.
What bothers me way more is the fact that Apple does not always keep the "winning points" they once have reached. I do not have the feeling that I can still blind rely on the quality of Apple products.
I would not have ordered the iPod Classic, if I would have read all those "bad" discussion threads before. Next time I will.