How to improve iPod sound quality

I love my iPod. I love all my iPods. And being a professional musician who likes technology I have quite a few of them around the house.

However, the iPod has a problem. In standard, box fresh, mode it sounds pretty poor. Maybe some people might think that badly compressed sound being squeezed through tiny little spheres is good enough, but I, and many people like me, don’t.

So what can be done to improve the sound quality of an iPod?

The only things that can be changed without resorting to forcing open the case and replacing the amplifier, something which only the most jaded audiophile would consider worthwhile, are the headphones and the quality of the music stored on the drive.

I’ll deal with the quality of the music first.

As a musician I already know that all recored music sounds better on vinyl and nothing will ever change that.

Don’t argue, don’t roll your eyes, I’m right and you know I’m right. I can hear the sound of audiophiles applauding while an equally large group of audiophiles start to get their pitch forks.

I’m joking, relax. About the pitch forks, not about the vinyl. The point I’m trying to make is that music is real, it isn’t digital, so over digitizing it will inevitably result in sonic degradation.

Thankfully, Apple give us a lossless encoder that, whilst not strictly lossless, makes a pretty good job of putting the music of your choice in a format that is iPod friendly and reasonably good to listen to.

Always use the Apple lossless encoder to be sure of using the best source material.

Next, take a look at those headphones.

You can probably already guess that my attitude towards the ridiculous practice of inserting tiny little things that resemble mints normally left at the table after a meal into your ear canal is not positive.

It doesn’t matter how much money you pay for a set of these ridiculous things they will never sound anywhere near as real as a proper pair of headphones.

If you are serious about making your iPod, or any portable music player, reproduce audio to the best of its ability then invest a little money in a good pair of real headphones.

As a professional trumpet player I spend a lot of my time in recording studios with various pairs of headphones attached to my head whilst forcing ever ounce of creativity I can muster into a microphone.

From time to time I am sent products by audio companies. And sometimes a product stands out and becomes a product that I am happy to use and endorse.

A few months ago I was sent a number of items from Equation Audio, an independent producer of microphones, headphones and other assorted equipment that people like me use every day.

I’ve been sent headphones before by other manufacturers, usually by distributors, but they have never really made me sit up and take notice.

The Equation Audio RP-21 headphones, pictured above, however, are a revelation, and, frankly, the answer to all musicians prayers since they are perfect for tracking, mixing, mastering and, going back to the iPod sound quality question, listening.

The RP-21 headphones, or Ear Tools as Equation Audio refer to them, are best described, if I had to sum them up in 1 word, as accurate. They don’t attempt to boost anything, nor do they roll off at the bottom or top like many headphones do. They just push the music to your ears and get out of the way.

I’ll add a more detailed review on ashleymorgan.com, aimed specifically at musicians and with reference to the tracking, mixing and mastering benefits of these headphones, in the near future.

Admittedly, they don’t get out the way aesthetically, being finished in a very glossy metallic orange lacquer, but I have to say that having headphones that are obviously mine is a great advantage. In the studio I can always clearly see my headphones and can easily shout across the studio…

Get your hands off my orange cans

…if another musician accidently puts them on his head.

Comfortable, light, powerful and above all linear, these cans are now a permanent fixture in my gig bag and, when I get a chance to listen to music rather than create it, on whichever iPod, or mini disc player or portable of any kind, falls to hand.

With a street price hovering just nicely at around $99 these headphones punch well above their weight, out classing the more established brands.

Visit Equation Audio to learn more.

Making an iPod sound like a million dollars isn’t difficult. Choose the right format for your music and give your ears a treat with some comfortable and accurate headphones.

Ashley Morgan is a UK jazz trumpet player and owner of independent record label 447 Records. Ashley Morgan is the trumpet player with Enormous.