new mp3 and new headphones

[admin_exported]

hi guys I have some spare cash and would like to get myself a new mp3 and headphones to go with it so I'll need some opinions and advice as I cant decide.I have narrowed it down to apple Ipod classic 5th gen or apple Ipod nano 5th gen, size ir not the matter but best sound is. for head phones
grados sr60i or audiotechnica ATH-ES7 I will use this mainly on the dayly comute to work on the train and in the streets

 

[idc]

Hi sex. With the ipods, how big and how many music files have you got? If you have a ton of lossless files from importing CDs then I would sya get the classic for its bigger memory. If it is AAC low bit rate downloads, you may as well get the nanao and save some money.

You do not mention budget. The cheapest way to get want you want is the Nano at just over £100 a FiiO E5 headphone amp with LOD cable to connect to the ipod at £25ish and then portable, sound isolating and sound leakless Sennheiser PX200 headphones at about £40.

I am not sure about the ATs but the Grados leak sound and let sound in, so they are not ideal for commuting as you and others can get annoyed by unwanted sound.

 

[Anonymous]

hi i wolud like to rip all my cds with the best possible quality i have abouth 10gb of music im mp3 format and I buy more music so will need about 16gb or more???budget wise £100 to £150 for the Ipod and £100 for the headphones I won't need an headphone amp, if the grados leak sound then they are no good on trains , I'll have to go for the AT as I have use them before

 

[idc]

If all of your music is going to be in mp3 format then either the 16gb nano or to give you future options the 80gb classic are both within budget.

You do need a headphone amp as all headphones in my experience work better with an amp. The FiiO E5 is here...

...at under £20 and it is smaller than the ipod. People use rubber bands to hold the two together. I clip mine through my ipods protective cover. It has a bass boost, which works better on sensitive headphones better than insensitive ones. Then you get a LOD cable at less than £5 to connect the dock of the ipod to the amp....

Now you will get the best sound possible and you have sufficient power to drive these cracking headphones from Goldring. They hardly leak any sound and even without noise isolation on keep you isolated from outside noise. They fold so have a carry case and they are not too big and they appear to be quite robust.

They are also very cheap at £50 off Play.com. Even if you go for different headphones the FiiO amp at 0.5 watts is enough to give everything I have far more clarity, soundstage, dynamic, the lot.

That lot comes to under £200 and since I have such a setup and have compared it to other more expensive head-fi, I can promise you that you will get great hifi sound. The only issue is if you are a bass head and like dance, rock etc. Then I would suggest different headphones.

 

[Anonymous]

thank you soooo much mate you have been so helpfull but i have one last question for you wat is the best way to put music on my future Ipod? wat format?almost 90 percent of my music is on cd with only some stuff being dowloaded .thank u so much again

 

[idc]

The best format is a lossless format and I use Apple Lossless as its file size is a bit smaller than other lossless formats and it obviously works well with ipods! If you intend to buy an ipod and then put your CD collection on it then for convenience you need the 80gb Classic as a minimum. You can get a smaller ipod and then in tunes have playlists with different file sizes to fit on the ipod, but then it gets complicated.

Dont worry if even 80gb is not enough for your CD collection, there are ways around that.

Lossless files out of the ipods docking port with the LOD cable (which bypasses the ipods amp) to the FiiO and on to headphones will give you a dynamic and sound that is capable of blowing people away. I gave a loan of my portable to a friend who, as she was listening to some Led Zeppelin, realised that she had been mishearing one of the lyrics, for the past 30 years! Thats how good you can get a relatively cheap portable heafi setup.

 

[Anonymous]

applelossless it is then have a good day sir

 

[Wightknight]

idc:You do need a headphone amp as all headphones in my experience work better with an amp. The FiiO E5 is here...

Hi idc

Have you seen the FiiO E1? Headphone amp and LOD in one.

 

[idc]

Yes WK, I should remember that the FiiO range has expanded;

http://www.mp3amplifier.com/product_info.php/products_id/76

and an E7 is coming combining head amp with a DAC.

 

[Anonymous]

IDC, having seen the advice you have given on this I am likely going to purchase the E5 model. Presumably you can just connect to using a standar 3.5mm cable though rather than the cable you recommend, I will be using it with a Sansa Clip rather than an iPod.

 

[idc]

Yes TD, it comes with a mini jack to min jack cable that is only a few inches long for that type of connection.