Which iPod?


After taking a skeptical back seat on compressed mobile music all this long, I finally think it is time to take the plunge. Have decided on Shure E4C for earbuds and now wondering which iPod to go with.

Done some research on the net and came across various versions such as the mini, nano, photo etc. Now, I'm not too crazy about watching videos or photos on a 2 inch screen. My primay need is AUDIO and need to find the one that sounds best with Apple Lossless Compression. I will go for the video/photo version if they have better sonics.

Any advise or exprience sharing is highly appreciated.

Cheers,
Amal
amal
I too was going to purchase a Nano, but they were selling 15GB iPods at the same price and since the iPod is still small.....I paired up mine with a Headroom Micro Amp and Ultimate Ears UE10Pros. It's awesome.
Tvad,

Isn't this the beauty of this hobby? I spent countless hours reading and listening to Shure E4C against the Etymotic ER4-P and decided on Shure and was going to buy it this evening, and then, Bham!!

Thanks a lot for the advise. While I came across the UEs during research, never had a chance to listen to them, so they kind of slipped thru my fingers. Now thay are firmly back on the table, so I need to go find a dealer for an audition.

As for the iPod, I am not entirely sure if Nano is the way to go. Besides the woes of construction quality, it is very small and light, so I am not sure how compromised the amplifier is. Not very many things come is such smaller packages with the whole goodness retained, unless the designer is David Berning, so...

Thanks Programmer and Lenny for your responses. Could you guys please clarify this 15GB iPod you are fererring to? Is this the Original iPod that had a monochrome screen?

Cheers,
Amal
The Nano is the coolest piece of hardware I've ever touched.

But, lots of complaints about scratches on the Nano's screen, and 4gb just insn't enough space for high quality music. It's ok for low bitrate stuff, but if you use better phones you'll definitely hear quality loss.

Nano for short listening sessions (the gym?) 60 GB (or more) for work. The new video ipod is a nice blend between the two.

Isn't it great to have options!

Good luck
Akaddict,

Have you had a chance to compare the audio quality between the 60GB Video iPod with the 20GB audio only version? While I have nothing inherantly against a device that features a color display and video capabilities, I'm wondering if the prominence given to video would cut back the audio performance. Not to mention the associated video noise. My primary need is audio.

Cheers,
Amal