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Headphones for Your iPod

The iPod changed everything: The portable audio world went from believing that an 10-lb boom box was just fine to accepting the notion that spending $350 bucks on a tiny digital music repository was a swell idea. We agree! While it is sadly missing the digital output interconnectivity we'd like to see as hardcore audio geeks, it is (by a very slim margin) the best-sounding portable hard-disk digital player we’ve heard. To be fair, most hard-disk Mp3 players are also similarly good-sounding as long as the file quality / bitrate remains high. We have found that the proprietary upscale Apple/MAC file formats (like Apple 'LossLess' and 'AIFF') are quite good-sounding as are the higher numerical [non-Apple] bitrate/bitdepth files rated at 320k and 256k. Of course, digital uncompressed .WAV files also sound superb but they are typically too bulky for the smaller-storage player devices to deal with effectively and thus remain better suited to computer-based hard-drive listening applications.

We consider the recently upgraded iPod Apple 'earbuds' to be passable given their design, so we don’t think it’s all that worthwhile to recommend a mostly lateral switch to the Sennheiser MX300 which are slightly more ergonomically-fitting earbuds at a killer low price. However, the Yuin PK1 and PK2 earbuds are probably the best-sounding we've heard yet in the category and although not cheap, they're worth it for serious earbud afficionados. Also fresh on the market are the Sweden-based D-Jays and J-Jays earphone products which are excellent 'entry-level' ear canal headphones (ECHs - not earbuds!) with great low pricing and good sound.

We also think there are some other upgraded low-cost headphone options definitely worth considering for listeners wanting to improve the sound of their iPod/Mp3 player. The Sennheiser PX100 we've recommended for years as a very durable, folding, portable-application, inexpensive headphone that sounds really good. The PX100 is an 'open' earcup design so it won’t block out the rest of the world. If you want inexpensive, small 'sealed' headphones for better isolation and ambient noise-blocking purposes, we recommend the AKG K26P. It’s a bit more cool-looking than the Sennheiser sealed model PX200, and the AKG fits better plus it delivers a beefier bass response. You’ll get the very best possible isolation from an "ear canal headphone" (aka 'ECH'), and for use directly out of an iPod /Mp3/ laptop computer we recommend the Etymotic ER6i or at a bit more sizeable investment, the smooth and superbly-detailed Shure SE310. The venerable audiophile-grade Etymotic ER4 earphones also sound truly terrific at a reasonable price and are recommended for listeners into lovely clarity & supreme musical detail resolution in the mids & treble ranges.

If you want to seriously improve the sound of your iPod, Mp3 player, or laptop computer, you’ll have to buy better headphones and also likely get a portable headphone amp and/or DAC [Digital-to-Analog Converter]. A great way to start is with an Total AirHead or Total BitHead amp (for computer sources) and one of our GigaBag carry-bags for the whole audio shebang... For a MAJOR 'audiophile-grade' sonic step up from that, you will want to consider our Portable Micro Amp and the awesome HeadRoom Micro Strap travel system for use with our specially-designed Micro Bag tote-bags!

With either of these amps, you can take the headphone output of your iPod / Mp3 and run the volume setting up to one or two clicks short of full power to interconnect to an amp. iPod does offer a dedicated audio line-out when placed in an Apple [or other] docking station -- which is useful only while plugged in at your home /office. But if you want to use a true line-out to the headphone amp while on the move, an SIK line-out dock will greatly improve the audio connectivity of the iPod by providing a direct line-level analog 3.5mm [1/8"] output via the iPod's bottom pin configuration, thus by-passing the player's low-grade, noisy headphone jack out.

For further in-depth information on iPods, how to navigate iTunes effectively, and also some good recommendations for iPod accessories probably the best place to go is the thick book "iPods & iTunes for Dummies" which serves as an excellent reference guide for iPod beginners and intermediates. Also well worth checking out for the more skilled iPod-ista is www.ipodlounge.com or www.ipodding.com; if you’re a true geek www.ipodhacks.com will get you deep into your machine's innards, but if you’re a REAL geek, then you probably already knew that!

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