Any opinions on the ipod classic and ipod touch?

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merc141

Limp Gawd
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I have an older 8GB ipod nano (4th or 5th generation not sure) and its starting to fail. I was thinking about both of these:

Apple iPod classic 160 GB Black (7th Generation)

Apple iPod touch 32GB (4th Generation)

My concerns are mainly sound quality. Also I my nano just doesn't have enough capacity. 32GB seems plenty enough for me, the 160GB might be a bit more overkill. Also what is the lifespan of the classic given that its storage isn't flash? I worry that any impact might break it. Looking at the benefits of the touch I see WiFi and some of the apps look very interesting. I don't have experience with an iphone so I don't know any pros v cons of IOS. I am looking for opinions what do you guys think?
 
iPod Touch. I don't see sound quality being significantly different between these two iPods. Flash is the way to go for durability and the the Touch does so much more than just playing music. The Wifi will allow for streaming which i think is a big plus.
 
Touch is more versatile. Access to cool apps, large color touchscreen, no moving parts, camera, web browsing, etc....
 
If you have a large library and need to have it with you all the time, the Classic is for you. Otherwise, I would go with the iPod Touch, especially if you are going to be working out or running.
 
i like touch, i used to have a 160gb classic and personally i don't load all my songs into my ipod (it would not fit anyway) and so the touch is good enough for all the songs that i need to listen for a certain period. plus the ability to go online, apps, camera. Touch is a no brainer to me
 
If you want and need apps on your player, then I would recommend the iPod Touch. If you need to carry your whole library with you, then I would get the classic. As long as you don't drop it, it's fine reliability wise. I've had mine for 3 years without issue (including while running), and there are the classic faithful that are still using version 5 and 4 iPod's without issue. So don't let 'reliability' be the big factor.

I want all of my music with me wherever I go. 32GB isn't enough for my purposes.

I personally don't need apps on my player. If I wanted apps, it would be on either an iPhone, Android phone, or Windows 8 phone (or use a tablet... which I also have.) A music player's purpose for me is to play music. Eventually my classic will be regulated to car duties, since as it can hold a majority of my music and be controlled by many head units, it's an inexpensive solution.
 
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iPod Touch also has a slightly longer battery life than the Classic (if you're just playing music).
 
KatalDT said:
iPod Touch also has a slightly longer battery life than the Classic (if you're just playing music).
Click to expand...

Does it really? I'm not being sarcastic, I've never looked into it.

I can say this though. I spent a week in New York doing touristy things, and literally listened to the Classic pre-sunrise to sundown and never got close to draining the battery. I've also done 12-14 hours flights chained ultimately leading to 24 hours and never killed the Classic. Granted I will admit that I didn't use it straight on the flights, but I did use it an awful lot, probably in the 10-14 hour category.

Looking it up Apple says the Classic gets 36 hour battery life. Sounds about right to me. Music only on the Touch says 40 hours. I'm not entirely sure if the 4 hours in general will make a huge difference. You'll have to make that call.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
Does it really? I'm not being sarcastic, I've never looked into it.

I can say this though. I spent a week in New York doing touristy things, and literally listened to the Classic pre-sunrise to sundown and never got close to draining the battery. I've also done 12-14 hours flights chained ultimately leading to 24 hours and never killed the Classic. Granted I will admit that I didn't use it straight on the flights, but I did use it an awful lot, probably in the 10-14 hour category.

Looking it up Apple says the Classic gets 36 hour battery life. Sounds about right to me. Music only on the Touch says 40 hours. I'm not entirely sure if the 4 hours in general will make a huge difference. You'll have to make that call.
Click to expand...

Thinking about it, I'd imagine the iPod Touch may have a shorter battery life during practical use... more apps, more battery required to power up and display the bigger screen. The 36 vs 40 hour estimate is likely music playing on random/loop for that amount of time with the screen off.
 
KatalDT said:
Thinking about it, I'd imagine the iPod Touch may have a shorter battery life during practical use... more apps, more battery required to power up and display the bigger screen. The 36 vs 40 hour estimate is likely music playing on random/loop for that amount of time with the screen off.
Click to expand...

I would tend to agree.

Still I would break it down to what I said earlier: Do you need apps? and Do you need to carry your entire library? I think the answering of those two questions will basically solve the decision process.

If there was a 128GB iPod Touch, then the decision would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, such a product doesn't exist... yet... Only a matter of time however.
 
Not to knock too hard on Apple, but their sound quality for all their DACs is somewhere between mediocre and complete shit.

I'd just buy whatever you want. If you are using a transport that allows you to bypass the Apple DAC (like the Wadia dock), then I'd definitely go for the highest capacity classic you can find, as lossless file sizes start adding up really quick.
 
I'd classify the iTouch sound quality, from the perspective of mobile devices, as "good". The classic, in comparison, I would describe as poor.

In short, the former sounds pretty balanced, with okay bass response and a more open sound. The classic sounds constrained, separation is poor, bass response is poor, treble isn't as smooth.

All this said, they're Apple devices; they're okay, but not as good as some of the competition. A Sansa Fuze is where you wanna head if you want great sound quality, and for not much money. It really depends on what you want from your device, and whether or not you already have a phone.
 
Are you opposed to having a better output source like one that connects to the port on the bottom, and not the headphone jack?
 
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