Filburt Posted July 18, 2007 Report Posted July 18, 2007 At least to me, it looks like what is being done is tapping the L/R outputs of the Wolfson and subbing in blackgate caps in place of the tantalum caps. It seems like to me this will turn it into an antenna for RF interference, in addition to facing inductance on the leads and increased ESR etc. Tantalum caps (in my experience anyhow) do not provide particularly linear performance, but I don't know whether or not this makes an improvement over it. I haven't managed to try an iMod side by side with an unmodified iPod, but I have tried it side by side with other sources and, while I thought it sounded OK (sounded mostly like an iPod to me), I wasn't finding myself thinking that it was the equal to an external dac or good deck in that price range, or a $1000 CD Player.
JBLoudG20 Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Posted July 18, 2007 I still yearn for someone to take apart the ipod connector on one of ALO's cables so that I can see how he attaches 12ga wire (or whatever) to a 30ga pin. I made a LOD for my zen, and man I had trouble keeping the pins from braking when I was using 26ga. I had ti fill the inside of the connector with epoxy so I wouldn't worry about it. I then proceeded to sell it for $20.
laxx Posted July 18, 2007 Report Posted July 18, 2007 I would have to assume he's cutting off all but 1 or 2 of the strands from the wire and soldering that, probably adding epoxy or glue so it doesnt fall apart That's my guess. Either that or he's cutting the surrounding pins out so that they don't make contact to the few wires he has to solder in.
hYdrociTy Posted July 18, 2007 Report Posted July 18, 2007 I still yearn for someone to take apart the ipod connector on one of ALO's cables so that I can see how he attaches 12ga wire (or whatever) to a 30ga pin. Definitely only soldering a couple strands. He bends them at and angle, and uses a whole lot of solder which just melts onto the whole wire. I guess the noise picked up by the "antenna" and lack of filter is what people describe as "added microdetail." Somethins added.... I bet it ain't from the music
hirsch Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 I guess the noise picked up by the "antenna" and lack of filter is what people describe as "added microdetail." Somethins added.... I bet it ain't from the music I have three iPods, one of which has been iModded. The lineout is clearly superior to my other iPods. It's also not noisy. Essentially, it capacitor couples the DAC to the headphone out, which becomes a line-out. The ALO thing allows a later generation iPod to retain its headphone amp. Ah well. If everyone who posted on a product had actually heard it, the discussion might be a bit more focussed. However, we'd never be able to generate decent post counts with the bullshit subtracted.
JBLoudG20 Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Posted July 27, 2007 Yes, but does it make the ipod compete with a $1000 CDP?
hYdrociTy Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 according to many, yes Its That Good! With optimum setup, my 4g iMod can achieve stellar performance, well beyond its price point. Using the same treatment as I would a $10,000 piece in my system, it sounds like a $10,000 piece! I pamper it with the best ($350+ amplifiers, $100+ cables, and $500+ headphones) and it scales as the best! Right now I am listening to my imod with cotton dock out to sr71 driving my e500's and I tell ya its WORTH the almost grand I dropped on the setup! One day ill upgrade to this and this and Ill be able to sell my "soo called home reference quality setup" and just have musical bliss in my bag via portable ultra high end sound just like the big man!
Nanoha Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 I have three iPods, one of which has been iModded. The lineout is clearly superior to my other iPods. It's also not noisy. Essentially, it capacitor couples the DAC to the headphone out, which becomes a line-out. The ALO thing allows a later generation iPod to retain its headphone amp. Just a quick question. Do you mean the iMod is clearly superior to the head-outs of the iPods or the regular dock line-outs of the iPods as well?
hirsch Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 Just a quick question. Do you mean the iMod is clearly superior to the head-outs of the iPods or the regular dock line-outs of the iPods as well? In the G4 iPod, the iMod replaces the headphone jack, so the only initial comparison available was to the line out (iMod was better). All of my comparisons were done between line outs. And no, I don't think the iMod comes anywhere near a top CDP. But I do think it can challenge just about anything under $1K. However, I also know someone who ordered an SDS-XLR/balanced Qualia to use with an iPod source. If it's what he wanted, and he had the money, why not?
Nanoha Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 Ah ha, I see I see. Thanks for the help! I just fixed my long-dead 4G iPod yesterday by replacing the hard drive. iModding it could be a possibility. But it'll be a while before I have the cash.
hYdrociTy Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 I owned a 4g imod for maybe a couple of weeks and can say that fwiw, the bass kind of improved. the 4g is my fav ipod, I believe it still looks like an ipod while the 5g is just ugly imo. It's very compatible with rockbox, everything inside is easy to replace and parts are abundant. The fact that rwa will also service it and back it up is worth it, since apple seems to have gone into the dark ages lately in terms of support. If you have money to burn, that 200 doesnt look too ugly considering what junk there is out there. People without the mod spend that much on cables and docks so...
Nanoha Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 Considering it cost me $50 to get the iPod back up and working and the iMod is $200, it feels like I would be getting a iModded 4G for less than the price of a new 5G. That is, if I force myself to forget that I paid $350 for this damn 4G that broke two weeks after the warranty ended.
hYdrociTy Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 My ipod photo broke one week before the applecare expired. But they still shafted me. Dhl didn't bother to leave a note every time they delivered the empty cardboard box, and called me the day before they returned the empty paper box to apple. Of course one day's notice is just stupid so I missed it, and by the time apple apologized it was over. They offered to try to fix it, but just sending me the stupid cardboard box again to ship i to them would cost like 36 dollars. Apple was primo and a lifestyle product once. With superb support to match back in the day. It all changed in an instant. My ipod photo box was a big cube with both usb and firewire cables, a dock, a wall charging cube, a mini to rca audio/video cable, and the nice documentation and cds. Seemingly months later, it was changed to a thin box that barely holds just the ipod and the foam. Nothing included but one usb cable, no charger, nothing. Everything cost 30 dollars apiece as an accessory. It was atrocious on the desktop front too. Software updates started becoming frequent, etc. In my hand was the pinnacle of apple's golden days, when the ipod was still luxury. Sadly it was also the last example of those days. *sheds a tear* This is why I will one day imod my 4g or get a refurb modded one again. Purely sentimental reasons.
recstar24 Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 If you have money to burn, that 200 doesnt look too ugly considering what junk there is out there. People without the mod spend that much on cables and docks so... Even to a skeptic, the difference in sound for 200 or so bucks is at least on the same level as a power cord or sheets of ERS paper.
hYdrociTy Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 Too bad there are no iec inlets on an ipod. Ers paper could be stuffed inside tho
Filburt Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 I have three iPods, one of which has been iModded. The lineout is clearly superior to my other iPods. It's also not noisy. Essentially, it capacitor couples the DAC to the headphone out, which becomes a line-out. The ALO thing allows a later generation iPod to retain its headphone amp. Ah well. If everyone who posted on a product had actually heard it, the discussion might be a bit more focussed. However, we'd never be able to generate decent post counts with the bullshit subtracted. Replacing tantalum capacitors with blackgates doesn't magically change the WM8975 into something other than a low-power codec, probably buffered by a micropower CMOS op-amp, nor does it change whatever DSP is being done. The length of the leads to and from the capacitor is also a concern to me. As I've mentioned, I've used imodded ipods, and I still think people are exxagerating about the performance. I certainly wouldn't take it over some of the DACs and CD players I could acquire for under $1K, if sound quality is the objective.
Nanoha Posted July 28, 2007 Report Posted July 28, 2007 Oh crap. My 4G iPod died again. Wow.... something must have shorted in here and fried. All right. Oh wells.
PFKMan23 Posted July 28, 2007 Report Posted July 28, 2007 Oh crap. My 4G iPod died again. Wow.... something must have shorted in here and fried. All right. Oh wells. COMMENCE FROWNING!!!!
Nanoha Posted July 28, 2007 Report Posted July 28, 2007 COMMENCE FROWNING!!!! Indeed. Wasted $50 right there. That was the last few dozen dollars of my money.
recstar24 Posted July 28, 2007 Report Posted July 28, 2007 Too bad there are no iec inlets on an ipod. Ers paper could be stuffed inside tho Arrrg...you've won this round...
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