IPOD Photo 60G

Try the Archos instead. In terms of picture viewing, the iPod is unbelievably overhyped.

For me, the real point in using the iPod is in customised music archiving and sorting.

Investing in the docking station, the interconnect and firewire is a joke, because Apple make you buy it where 6 months ago it was amortized into the price of my 40Gb iPod photo.

Yet it is also a must in getting

(1) the docking station - which has a line out that is not gain dependent on the ipod's volume control but reflects customable EQ settings

(2) the docking station to firewire cable. This connects to the iSupply, with which you can supply and charge the iPod. A grippier sound is promised with the iSupply.

(3) DO NOT GET the recommended interconnect; if you MUST view pictures on a monitor, use the s-vga output.

Instead, fashion a DIN to RCA using ARO tonearm cable. This improves timing a great deal. And the iPod becomes a worthy source of music on your main stereo.

My next experiment here will be using the older grey signal cable, that is more shut-in sounding than the current "lavender" cable, but to me, has better timing properties. This is subjective of course.

It always comes back to the source; to keep it short use LOSSLESS COMPRESSION for music that matters.

Does anyone have any contributions?

Much as I dislike Apple, the iPod has everything else beat hands down. I bought an Archos and promptly sent it back as it was of such poor build quality with very tacky platic casework, wobbly buttons etc etc.
The iPod is a quality product and produces adequate sound quality on the move. But you're on a losing wicket trying to get anything approaching quality sound when connecting it through your hifi - whatever compression codec you use!

When I bought my iPod I thought the picture viewing capabilities were entirely pointless so went with a standard iPod.

Given the price of an iPod I'd have thought a laptop with a CD or DVD writer would be your best option.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve G:
Given the price of an iPod I'd have thought a laptop with a CD or DVD writer would be your best option.

Hmm, not such a bad idea. However, I think the latest gen can connect to a TV, so that would be pretty convenient.

If you do really want an MP3 & photo player, you might find this interesting.

I have an iRiver H340, which I believe can do basic photo displays, although I've heard it may be best to adjust them (resize & remove any embedded thumbnail, etc) for best results. The blurb on the apple site seems to show much better thumbnailing & general photo facilities, though.

SQ of the H3xx is also very good on my current phones (Grado SR125), although the bass could be better (a bit tighter). Not sure if this is the player or the phones. Other phones do seem to do this better, although at the expense of the rest of the sound.

BTW OGG is a much better format than MP3. IMO, it is well worth ensuring that any player you choose can support this format. WAV (or, better, lossless compression such as FLAC, WavPack) is even better again. That's if you want to use the player for it's primary purpose.

cheers, Martin

Oh my, the other night I downloaded a Killers track in OGG format and it sounded bloody appauling.

might investigate a portable hd instead, all i want is a large capacity portable storage device. thanks everyone for your views.