10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
Wonderful compact tech, expect limited sonics
Date of Review: Mar 7, 2007
The Bottom Line: Buy this if you want an easy to use iPod that is small and if don't mind buying replacement headphones.
The 'file management' is a cinch.
You can set up iTunes to A) auto-rip inserted CDs to your computer and B) auto-upload your reconnected iPod.
you can also get fancy with custom playlists, selectable updates (keep all your music on your computer but only put2 gigs of that day's favorites on your iPod) and you can generally tweak the behavior of both iTunes and iPod as you get to know them better
I listen to '192' setting (high quality) files created from CD s using iTunes encoder.
I have two pairs headphones - inexpensive Sony large-diaphragm to use at home, and Shure E2-C in-ear monitors for on the go. So it is a little slippy and you have
I hear a slight bit of dynamic distortion due to extremely miniature audio circuits.
This made me back away from using the EQ 'pre-sets' - unlike adjustable EQ, these pre-sets are obviously not too flexible & seem to add distortion when the bass is pushed. I know the Shure headphones aren't ideal for bass, but the iPod was struggling to retain clear dynamics in EQ settings that enhanced bass at all. Especially recently mastered CD sources!
I would prefer if I could pre-set a few custom EQ settings, which could easily be recalled. Acessing this EQ menu is awkward when you are on the go and changing between albums frequently.
The screen and menu layout is nice, the hardware pretty good. It can be operated with one hand. I did find it was easy to touch the wrong part of the wheel, and accidentally skip tracks or toggle unwanted modes. So it is little slippy and you have to be precise.
Every owner must know:
- If your NANO freezes up totally, hold down CENTER and MENU buttons for 6 seconds until the apple logo appears to reboot.
- find and use the VOLUME LIMIT setting, because it is easy to accientally thumb-wheel the VOLUME CONTROL to a painful sound level. This happens when you THINK you are scrolling in another mode but the slippy controls suddenly put your thumb in charge of the audio level. Be aware this is dangerous!
- speaking of danger to your ears, the supplied white earbuds should be tossed in the garbage. Besides sounding like the catbox smells, they do not isolate well - so when in a noisy street or subway train, people crank the sound levels to compensate and damage their hearing. You should spare some money for good sound-isolating headphones before you ever splurge on a music player to buy more gigs or fancier features.
If you can't afford good phones with this iPod, don't BUY the NANO - instead buy a Shuffle or a good-value player like the Creative Labs Muvo 2-gig for half the price or less... and GET some Shure or Emotics ear monitors with the money you will save.
