My quick unbiased iPod review

Apple didn’t do much new when it introduced the fourth generation of the iPod, but it didn’t have to. No one has beaten the company at the portable audio player game yet, but with a 75 percent market share, the only way to go is down.

The fourth generation iPod works much the same as the third generation player, with some detail improvements.
Like the Archos Gmini XS200 and Samsung YH-925, the iPod distorts, sometimes a lot, when you use the EQ settings. Harmonic distortion is minimal without EQ, but at higher volume levels most EQ settings showed audible distortion.

When we couldn’t hear it, we could see it clearly on our audio spectrum analyzer. Bass response is approximately 5 dB at 40 Hz, the practical lower limit for most music.

To find out if there is less distortion when using the line out connector on the dock.

When the amount of distortion in the headphones was measured at listening volumes, the same amount was found in both jacks.

But powering a stereo system or external headphone amp requires much less power output and requires no EQ in the player, so your music will be clean.

With Apple Lossless compression, iPod is just as capable of driving a high-end audio system as your CD player.

However, if you select equalizer presets in iTunes (which doesn’t have the distortion problem), your iPod will switch to your chosen equalizer per song when you download it to the player.

Another reason to own an iPod is the plethora of aftermarket products and accessories.

There is certainly much more available than with any other large hard drive player on the market. You can expand its capabilities with hardware and software for PDA functions, gaming, recording, wireless streaming, and more.

It’s a platform, it’s a social phenomenon, and it’s a robust device with millions of satisfied users, even though we care about distortion. you
Human factors are still the best, and there’s some excellent usability engineering in this fourth-generation player.