Ipod on the go: superb
Written: Sep 08 '02 (Updated Sep 11 '02)
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Pros: Excellent sound (audiophile headphone). Ease of use. Size. Design. Price
Cons: Apple Headphones
The Bottom Line: As an audiophile, I would have never thought I would get into MP3...the iPod brings that technology with brio and good sound!
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| linnfan's Full Review: Apple iPod 1st Generation 10 GB (MAC) MP3 Player |
As a frequent traveler I was looking for something that would replace my portable CD player and my 10 to 20 CDs I would usually bring with me. I have tried other MP3 players but they were either to bulky, or with limited capacity. On top, the sound quality was terrible.
The iPod offers the perfect balance between size and capacity (I have the 10GB). It is easy to use... and the sound quality is very good, far superior to others MP3 players I have tried. I compress my CDs using 320Kps to minimize degradation in the sound.
I first used it on a PC under Windows XP (and the excellent Musicmatch) and now I am using it with MAc OS X and the even better iTunes.
I bought the iPod for Windows. When I got my Mac computer, I could reset and reformat my iPod. The Apple support page had all the information I needed to do this.... and I could do without any problem.
Using the iPod with a PC or Mac is very simple. Musicmatch is less intuitive than iTunes. You insert your CD into the CD-Rom. After a few seconds, and if you are connected to the internet, the software will look up a database from which it will download information regarding the Album title, the artist, the composer, the track names, etc... Most of the time the information is accurate, but from time to time there is no information or the information is inaccurate. In that case, you can input each of these entries yourself and send the information to the database.
Before importing your songs from your CD to your computer, you can choose different level of compression. Zero compression means you copy the songs in their original format (.WAV): this is the best quality you can get. With the 10GB iPod, it means you could have 10 to 15 CDs in your iPod.
Then you have the MP3 files: there you have a full range of compression rate: from 8Kps to 320 Kps. Others options are available as well. At 320 Kps the sound quality is very very good ... and you can get about 80 CDs. If quality is less important, you could go for 160Kps (and 160CDs). Below 160Kps the quality drops a lot (simply too much information is thrown away). Certain person recommends not to go below 220Kps.
Once you are done with getting the right information, you press "Import" and the songs/album is imported into your computer. Once on your computer you can decide to synchronize the content of your music library with your iPod or add manually songs/albums into your iPod.
Browsing the content of the iPod is very easy. The screen is OK, a bit small. You can browse your music by genre, composers, artists, etc ... You can create playlists (like Mozart or Haydn). You cannot create the playlist directly from the iPod. You first create them in your computer before copying them to the iPod.
The software in the iPod is upgradeable, so if new sound format are developed, they could be used in the iPod (I presume you have to reset the iPod, a bit like changing the Operating System on your computer).
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
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Epinions.com ID:
linnfan
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Reviews written: 5
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