Best audio quality - Apple iTouch vs iPod Classic


Hello all,
Any first hand thoughts / comments on which current Apple iPOD family product has the better DAC / overall music quality? (iPod classic / iTouch / iPhone)

I do not have an external DAC so the Wadia 170 iTransport is not an option at this point.

I've ripped a couple of red book CDs to AIFF and copied them to my iPhone, and I'm impressed with the audio quality when compared to my Oppo. BTW Each song on Diana Krall's "Live in Paris" is about 60 megabytes.

Although using an iPOD family device will not replace my CDP or TT, will be yet another source, when convenience is priority.

Regards,
alex333
I have the iPhone 3G and iPod Gen. 5 but currently, music is only on the Gen. 5. I'll be watching this thread to read other members experiences.

I do know that if you go into preferences and raise the volume in iTunes for every song, the aftermarket headsets seem to deliver cleaner sound. I have no idea why, unless it changes the way the chip in the iPod drives the load.
I have both an iTouch and 5th gen Classic, and personally cannot tell the difference in SQ, whether just using earbuds or running it into my system. I like the iTouch for long trips because I can put a couple movies on it and watch 'em. The classic holds way more music at a time, and when you're using the lossless codec, that extra storage comes in handy.
The classic is a better music replay device, IMHO, because it will hold significantly more music. The touch is more of an all purpose tool. For example, I'm typing this note from an airport on my Touch. And, I use my touch as a controller for my Squeezebox.
any a/b audio quality comparisons playing aiff sources between the two? i believe they use different dacs internally..
Just curious what you ended up getting, I'm debating myself to get an NANO or a Classic.... The new Classic is a 120G which is HUGE compare to the NANO.... I think I just answered my own question, I'll get the CLASSIC!
Haven't gotten anything yet but I'm working on it.

From Red Wine Audio.. "What you may not know is that that the 4th and 5th generation iPods use a very high-quality internal Wolfson Microelectronics DAC (Wolfson DACs are used in quite a few high-end home audio CD players)."

Actually owned one and sold it to a friend, who's currently not using it, so I'm trying to buy it back from him (not using it, but has to find it first..)

Will let you know.
.

thanks for starting and sustaining this very interesting discussion.

Can someone please tell me how to identify a fifth generation or sixth generation iPod?

And what are the battery issues with these models, e.g. can they be replaced, etc.?

Thanks in advance

:) listening,

Ed

.
Ed,
Here's a URL from Apple on identifying IPODs http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1353

Batteries can never be user replaced on any IPOD.

Could not get my hands on the 5th gen 30gb IPOD after all.

Also after thinking it through, since FLAC takes up so much space, I think I'm going with a squeezebox solution instead.

Cheers,
I have the Bose noise canceling headphones. I prefer the sound of my 5th Gen iPod over the iTouch. I gave the iTouch to my kids.
I have the Ipod, I don't know the technical generation of it, I bought it new 9 months ago and it has a 120 or 160 GB capacity. My son has the touch 16 GB (because he likes the games/downloads/etc. . .). Listening directly to the two pieces, I hear no difference.

To me, and as referenced about the D Kraul 60 mb/song (by the way, that is a great album) the non-touch version makes more sense. I think the touches are up to 32 gig now, still a fraction of what the "5th generation" is capable of holding. For that reason (and the fact I hear no difference based on high res. music), I would get the biggest capacity. I don't like to constantly be adding and removing music. I like different music based on my mood and don't want to be limited to 20 albums when I am traveling for a whole week.