Sound Quality: 2nd gen vs 4th gen

Question

Level 1

38 points

Sound Quality: 2nd gen vs 4th gen

So I'm thinking about getting a 4th gen shuffle. I recently bought a pair of $75 headphones and was very pleased with the sound quality listening to them on my ipod touch 2nd gen, on the shuffle 2nd gen, not so much. So I'm wondering, has anyone listened to both 2nd and 4th gen shuffles and can comment on the sound quality?

I was thinking about the new nano however there may be some functional issues with that one.

Posted on Sep 16, 2010 11:48 AM

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Answer 1

Tony.P

Level 1

10 points

Sep 16, 2010 1:42 PM in response to iheartcle

Yeah, got a 2nd & 4th gen shuffle. Using my high end Shure earphones (SE530's) the background hiss between tracks on the 2nd gen shuffle is almost unbearable it's so loud. There is non of this background hiss on the 4th gen. Also the sound appears to be far superior. Overall a vast improvement with the 4th gen!

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Answer 2

iheartcle Author

Level 1

38 points

Sep 16, 2010 1:58 PM in response to Tony.P

good to hear, I have the AKG 319's and I haven't noticed any hiss between tracks, maybe im not listening for it. I was most upset with the bass on the shuffle 2nd gen compared to 2nd gen ipod touch, it was night and day between the two. If I do go with the shuffle, hope the bass is better.

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Answer 3

Sep 16, 2010 9:08 PM in response to iheartcle

Thank you so much for this post. This is exactly what I was wondering too, which is why I came on these boards. I bought a 2nd generation Shuffle a while back. I find it essentially unusable because of its poor sound quality (hissing, bass non-existent, overall sound level lower compared to Nano or Touch even at max volume).

I really am curious to get the 4th gen for the gym but want to get some feedback to make sure the sound quality has really improved.

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Answer 4

Sep 19, 2010 4:48 AM in response to iheartcle

Wasn't really into sound quality too much until I upgraded head phones. Now the 2nd gen is unbearable with high quality buds. The 4th gen, I'm happy to report, has good sound quality and is very easy to listen to.

FYI, I'm using Sennheiser HD495s.

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Answer 5

Sep 20, 2010 1:24 AM in response to iheartcle

I think we all might have a different benchmark for what's "noticeable", but I've listened to both the 4G shuffle and the 6G nano and I can't discern a noticeable difference in sound quality. Not sure if it's convenient but if there is an Apple store (or even Best Buy maybe) nearby, you can bring in the headphones you prefer and listen to both iPods side-by-side for a comparison test.

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Answer 6

iheartcle Author

Level 1

38 points

Sep 21, 2010 2:19 PM in response to Daniel De La Torre

well, just to close out this thread, I went with the shuffle 4th gen and yes, I am impressed with the sound quality over the 2nd gen, very pleased. Definite increase in bass and and after listening to a few songs, already hearing things i didn't on the 2nd gen shuffle.

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Answer 7

iheartcle Author

Level 1

38 points

Sep 20, 2010 12:05 AM in response to paranoidxe

Ok, this is it, will I see a noticable increase in sound quality from 4g shuffle to 6g nano?

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