I Do Not Think You Know What That Word Means

By Wes Phillips • Posted: Mar 1, 2006

iPod Hi-Fi? "iPod Hi-Fi accurately reproduces the lowest cello notes and the highest piccolo notes; the brittle strum of an acoustic guitar and the powerful thump of a driving bass."

Uh huh—as long as they're between 53Hz and 16kHz. For 128kbps files, that's probably good enough, but hi-fi it ain't.

Comments

Submitted by Buddha on March 1, 2006 - 1:12pm.

I must beg to differ. There are exotic and expensive tube amps and Lowther-based speakers that can't do that. What we are seeing with the iPod is embryologic hi fi, just like the struggle for fidelity at the beginning of many new formats. The iPod is just getting started down our road. I don't think the first 4 yars of the CD era were hi fi, either. Same with LP, maybe even longer than that. It may not be totally hi fi right now, but it will be!

Submitted by Wes Phillips on March 1, 2006 - 2:40pm.

Fair point, Buddha. To paraphrase JA, knowing the specs doesn't tell you what it sounds like, so I should withhold judgement until I actually hear it. And it is the first product to emanate from Victor Tiscareno since he joined Apple's audio division—and I do have great respect for him.I'll report back after I've heard it.

Submitted by Ward on March 1, 2006 - 4:23pm.

I'd been hoping to hear some reaction to this from real (rather than Steve Jobs-type) audiophiles. While Hi-Fi would seem to be a misnomer, I bet it's better than the comparably-priced Bose solution. Let's see some measurements on it :-)