ipod nano or ipod classic,advice please

[spadetownboy]

my old creative after years of faithful service has at last given up the ghost and i,ve decided to join the ipod revolution. i would love an ipod touch but cant justify the price so its a choice between an 8gb nano or an 80gb classic.apart from the obvious gb difference has anyone got any first hand experience of either of the two players.

[mockney piers]

Don't do it, you'll end up missing your creative and how simple everything was instead of fighting iTunes the whole time.

[Brendan]

Fucking iTunes (6)

Facist constraints trying to restrict everything I do!

[lozzyloz]

Do it. I'm using the 80gb version and I don't download from itunes. It's full from my own music collection which I've downloaded at apple lossless encoder quality. Bigger files so it only holds just over 3,200 tunes.

[Brendan]

So am I going too far in feeling that iTunes? restrictive interface and unique file formats are another corporate plot to curtail my civil liberties?

[suzilucy]

I'm with lozzyloz - I got the new 80gb classic last Oct and it's fab. You get all the cover albums like the nano. I use the itunes and have 1191 songs so far that only uses up 4.5 bg.leaving 69.8gb to play with.

The nano is small and slick but it looks like you could snap it if in your pocket you simply sat down (maybe lit's time for less of the hob nobs) but i'm female and not sure the small size of the nano would survive in my portable home inc kitchen sink aka "handbag".

[dave]

Only thing I'd recommend is that the first thing you do in the iTunes is to change the default encoder to mp3 and make sure you're not making restricted copies - that means that you'll be able to move things to another player/manager in future with less pain than re-ripping everything from CD.

By the way, having bought an iPod touch, I miss my old nano with its lovely and well-thought-out scroll wheel interface thingy. The touch one is hideous. And you can't have the Apple FM radio with it. So you're not missing out on anything except shiny screen, really...

[mockney piers]

iTunes, not iStore. Horrible, difficult interface.

Apples own 'lossless' format is indeed restrictive and about as lossless as my arse.

Not that any MP3 is good mind you. Fine for some headphones I guess, but can't understand people who rip their CDs and then get rid of them. Listening to MP3 on a decent hi-fi is like listening to a speech synthesiser read poetry. The factual elements are there, but the soul is missing.

I use winamp for library management and PC listening and then with a creative or archos or whatever you can just use explorer and drag and drop. Nice and easy.

[Brendan]

See I didn't know I could use MP3s on the iPod so I now have most of my CD collection on my hard drive in MP3 as well as in the apple format.

I only made the jump to an iPod recently having used other MP3 players for the last few years and although the iPod itself is good I don't like the iTunes interface. I also don't like the corporate ethos of making you do things their way. We all know how computers, external devices and folder systems work. Why can?t we just use them?

[SeanMacGabhann]

err... (see what I did there) - do you find the iTunes interface that bad?

I've been using different software for years and years and had all of the old Winamps but I find iTunes a breeze to do everything in - and it works so seemlessly with the iPod compared to Sony's software for example (not tried Creative - what did that use?)

You'll be asking me to buy a phone other than a Nokia next *shudders at memory*

[Brendan]

I just have a short fuse with software that doesn't work how I think it should. (6)

[Brendan]

While we?re on the topic does anyone know if there is anything you can do about the volume levels of songs being different depending on the CD they came from? Older CDs seem to be really soft while newer CDs and downloaded music are much louder. This causes bleeding eardrums when I have cranked it up to hear the Ramones properly and then Metallica comes on next a million decibels louder.

I had this problem with my Sony but it wasn?t as noticeable as with the iPod.

Spadetownboy. As you can tell I have recently made the jump you are considering. It is not as bad as I am making out. I can be melodramatic sometimes. I went for the Nano by the way. Mostly because it was cheaper and I couldn?t see myself using 80g.

[lozzyloz]

Mmm... Ultimately you're quite right about the quality, but, when you're using it out on the street with all that background noise or on the beach with the white noise of the waves it hardly matters. I keep my CD's for playing at home in better quality sound but I'm also guilty of just docking it and letting it play for the convenience factor.

I'm a Mac man. Does winamp work for Mac or is there another good alternative?

[mockney piers]

Good man. I pretty much agree with everything said on this thread so far. I love iPod's, they're lovely objects and a joy to use, and also good quality.

I hate hate hate iTunes.

And yeah, if it's background docking is fine, but if yo ureally want to listen and enjoy something, no alternative to a full format.

CD is great, but if i had the space/money I'd get a turntable, reclaim my vinyl collection from my brother's loft and replace my CDs at a cost of probably only a hundred thousand pounds or so :-/

Sadly winamp is windows only in alpha. A leopardamp seems to be on its way though as it's here in beta

http://www.wikihow.com/Download-Winamp-for-Mac

Oh, and have same issue with the Pixies Brendan.

[Brendan]

Any idea if there is anything that can be done about it?

[mockney piers]

On old tape machines you could mess about with the input levels. I've not spotted anything similar on rippers I've used, but I'll have a look for you.

[mockney piers]

This one boasts input monitoring

http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/downloads/WinADR_MP3_Recorder_1189_p/

and sound editor

http://www.filesland.com/companies/Next-Generation-Software-Inc/NGWave.html

and a ... thing

http://www.downloads45.com/details/Graphic-Equalizer-Studio-12253.html

I brook no responsibility for anything if they blow your computer up or anything.

[Brendan]

Cool thanks Mockney. I'll check them out tonight.

I'm putting the iPod through a PA for the music at our weddng and I don't think it will be that great if the levels keep on changing.

[Brendan]

Although the PA should probably be able to sort it out.

[*Bob*]

Mastering technology has changed over the years so the CDs of old will sound different to the CDs of late.

It also seems to be a competition these days with record companies to see who can MAKE THEIR CDS SOUND THE LOUDEST - often at the expense of dynamics within the music, man.

A huge CD market right now is the re-mastering one. I'd admit that some older CDs sounded appalling and could really benefit from a remastering, but it seems now that everything has to be remastered and re-sold - probably with a couple of stupid bonus tracks at the end of the album that weren't meant to be there originally and spoil the end of the album because you have to get up and stop the CD before they start playing.

[Asset]

I've still got a turntable andloads of vinyl. bought an ipod a few years ago and used it so infrequently the battery is stuffed. I didn't realise you have to run it down and charge it up regularly for it to keep working at optimum.

I am thinking about uploading some of my choicer vinyl bits to the audacity software and then putting it onto an ipod for convenience. whaddaya think?

I'm sure there is something in itunes to sort the levels out.

[mockney piers]

Having loked around the forums it looks like it claims it does but people seem to think that claim is dubious at best.

I found this utility that equalizes the levels on your library (it recommends backing up (back upping?) your library beforehand.

Plus it looks mac specific

http://homepage.mac.com/beryrinaldo/AudioTron/MacMP3Gain/

[barrymarshall]

*Bob* Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Mastering technology has changed over the years so

> the CDs of old will sound different to the CDs of

> late.

> It also seems to be a competition these days with

> record companies to see who can MAKE THEIR CDS

> SOUND THE LOUDEST - often at the expense of

> dynamics within the music, man.

>

Hi *Bob* - have you read this? A great article about the evil of reducing dynamic range and how it is crippling modern music, making it sound awful.

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/imperfect-sound-forever.htm

[SeanMacGabhann]

There was a period when I would get remastered CD's for the very reasons mentioned - about 99-2000. Things seemed about right but many of the cd's I've bought in the last year leave me exhausted after a few tracks...soooo compressed

Thirded on the Pixies tho

[Brendan]

My Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde CDs were both bought at the same time from the same shop in about ?99. Trompe Le Monde is pretty loud on the iPod where as Bossanova is quite soft.

I know there were a few years between the two but I think they were on the same label and produced by the same people.