Customer Reviews

Apple iPod classic 160GB - Black - 6th Generation (Latest Model)

5 star:		(216)
4 star:		(58)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(38)

 

 

Ordered the iPod Classic from Amazon and received it within 3 days (after cancelling my order for the same product for hmv.com because they were messing me about and couldn't get it!!...rant over, I'll carry on with the review).

I can't fault the product, memory is huge, am still in the process of transferring all of my CDs onto the ipod. be aware that you only get around 148GB of useable space due to the formatting etc. on the device, but that is still a huge capacity. I think these are much better value for money in terms of memory than the iPod Touch.

I have had no problems with the volume; goes more than loud enough for me, with great sound quality. I have loaded one short video onto the ipod and it plays very clearly with great picture and sound quality.

iTunes is really easy to use (even if it is often cheaper to buy an album on CD rather than download it!), but it has a great range of features, allowing you to rip your CD's, add album artwork, lyrics, videos, movies, contacts etc.

Ipod also comes with 3 games; a quiz game (including a quiz based on the music you have put on your ipod), Klondike and another game involving bounicing a ball. All are quite entertaining, and I assume you can download additional games from iTunes if you want.

Also comes with an adaptor for a docking station. Whilst this didn't fit in my docking station, I had some adaptors that came with the docking station and the ipod fits in that one perfectly, allowing me to play music out loud as well as through headphones.

Can't fault this product-if you need memory get the iPod Classic. If you want a touch screen and ability to browse the web etc, you'd be better off with the iPod touch, but at the cost of much smaller memory!!

I had previously had the 80GB Classic iPod, but had filled it with music, so was looking for something larger. However, I was put off by all the comments about the lack of volume. And I know a bit about volume, as I have seen The Who, Deep Purple and Motörhead, all holders of the 'loudest band' record in their time! Having looked around and found very little with a similar capacity (and nothing in a similar price range), I decided to take a chance - I mostly use the iPod in the car, through the cars stereo, so reasoned I could just crank that volume up to compensate.

Well, I don't know what the comments on volume (or lack of it) have been made in comparison to - but I can detect no difference between this and my old iPod (or indeed a Nano). OK, through the headphones it is not quite as loud as the bass bins at Motörhead, but still loud enough for me.

On other matters, the screen is certainly clearer than the previous 80GB one, for both text (song titles) and video. The only problem that I have, which is just the same as the previous iPod, is that when I drag and drop all my music into it somewhere in the process some of the song titles (within an album) get mixed up - the album will play in the correct order, but some of the song titles shown will be wrong. Not a major problem (but would be good if anyone knows a fix - and please don't say load the songs one at a time, I have WAY too many for that option!!) as it does not detract from the listening.

So, overall, I would thoroughly recommend this product as a portable music device. If, however, you want neighbour annoying volumes I suggest that you buy some hifi separates .......

Many reviewers are a bit miffed that Apple have played around somewhat with the classic's capacity but I have bought one only having owned an 8 gig Nano. I wanted the extra space for films & audiobooks and although I really like the iPod Touch it just doesn't have enough space. I want something I can load up with all my favourite tunes, programmes & films + a load of audiobooks to take on holiday. This does the job really well. The capacity is very good and means I dont have to keep swapping items around or decide what I want to take. The screen cannot compete with the touch but it is way bigger than the nano & works well enough although I use a dock to put it through the telly on holiday. The picture is far better than I expected and the sound clear. Everyone knows how well i-Tunes works and the addition of genius, while not vital, is a nice touch. So heres a list of pro's & con's.
For: That huge memory capacity, I got the black finish & it looks lovely,(you can get a personal message inscribed for free but you have to order through Apple for that), rapid response, intuitive controls & layout, a doddle to load, substantial feel/build especially compared to the nano & other makes, lots of accessories, great fun & capable of storing hours of entertainment for when you're away from home.
Against: Can be a little noisy, Films are battery hungry, iTunes charge an arm & a leg for just about everything,(yeah I know that's a bit random but I thought I'd have a whinge anyway), if you don't need the memory save up your shekels & get an iPod Touch, Fairly heavy, dump the headphones coz they're tat & buy some Sennheisers instead.
All in all I love this item & recommend it totally. Have fun!

New Apple iPod classic 160GB - Black

I bought one of these, the latest 8th gen model, despite warnings from other reviewers on Amazon that it now had a cap on volume, which I really didn't want; yes, I know, I had to hear it for myself. It's true, the maximum volume has been reduced by about 30%. This is a problem when listening to quiet music such as classical and acoustic folk in noisy places such as buses, trains and my local gym where I failed to drown out the disco. I have found that many older albums, eg from the 60s such as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell albums, have been recorded to CD at a low volume level, and similarly, the maximum volume level attainable from this new iPod is not enough for these. I don't mean ear-shattering volume and 100% of the time, but a proper volume control should allow for all possibilities. There are three ways to up the volume on this model: the volume control, a volume limiter in "settings" on the root menu, and in the iTunes software (although this merely adjusts all songs in your library to the same average level, it doesn't boost volume to any significant degree). Even with all of these up to the max you would have a problem with quiet music in noisy environments.

This is a real shame, I bought one on the basis of hearing the volume and quality from my son's iPod nano, but this just doesn't have the same power. It is, 'though, a beautifully made and feature-packed player, simple to use. If volume isn't an issue for you, then great, no reservations, but if it is, I recommend hearing one if you can, before you buy.

I bought this to replace my 5 year old 60GB black 5th generation iPod as it was full up. At the time 60GB was big enough as I was ripping at 128kbps but since then iTunes Plus has doubled the quality rate (and the size required) plus I'm also using my iTunes library for streaming around the house and the extra quality is noticeable.

160GB should be enough to keep me going for a few more years. This generation iPod is a little over half of the thickness of my previous 'pod. Other small improvements are Genius mixes and a slightly better screen with the 'cover flow' function scrolling random album covers across the screen. Finally the screen is now split with the menu on the left and graphics on the right.

Unless you need the greater capacity of the 160GB drive, I would say there is no compelling reason to upgrade. For new buyers, if you have a lot of music and want it all with you wherever you go this is the best option. Less music and the Nano or Touch may suit you better.

This is for all those people who are having volume issues with this iPod, I did notice that when I bought this iPod it was easily quieter than my wifes previous 60gb she had purchased a few years previous. I looked up how to increase the volume in addition to just changing the volume setting on the iPod itself. Here is a real quick and easy way. This is how to do it on a Mac but on a PC I guess it's just a drop down box from the top. If you highlight your entire music library on iTunes and select "get info" (command & I on a mac) you get a pop up box with all the info including artwork etc. Click the options tab and select volume adjustment then move the bar accross to the right to 100%. then hit ok and depending on the size of you library to the time it takes to update, I have around 30gb and it took a couple of minutes. Then just sync your iPod and the volume has increased I would say by 20% or so. If you add to your library you will have to select that song/album and repeat the process but I go in once a month and select all and it updates any new ones in seconds. Hope this helps and if anyone does this on a PC maybe you could post the keystrokes.

New Apple iPod classic 160GB - Black
I regard myself as a bit of a techno-phobe to some extent, and so was a little concerned about ordering this item. So many of my friends were talking about how you can store all your music/photo's etc., all in one place. So I took the plunge and odered one. I am so pleased that I did, it's very easy to use which was a great relief to me. I now have something over 200 music albums on it. To be able to select one album to play or shuffle all my music to play or several albums by the same artist is really good, and no more fiddling about loading different CD's all the time and someone shouting "the music's stopped". It's the best electronic gadget I have purchased for a long while. The sound quality through my hi-fi is excellent. All in all one very happy customer wishing I had bought one ages ago.

I bought this ipod to replace my recently dead 40GB 2nd gen ipod and I've been very pleased with it, I've had no problems with skipping etc that other people appear to have experienced. I use iTunes and have from 2003, I've never had any problems with the software it works perfectly with the ipod and the new version is great as it allows you to home share so my daughter can access my music library without having to fill her much smaller hard drive. I connect a number of different ipods (ie, my fathers 8GB Nano) to the software linking to various playlists customised for the capacity of the machine.

I've had one problem where it developed a white line across the screen. I took it to an approved Apple repairer and received a brand new replacment with a new full warranty. I collected the new one within 2 days one taking the faulty one to the repairer.

This is my first iPod or indeed MP3. I decided to buy it because I was fed up with lugging a load of Minidiscs around with me. In just about every respect I am pleased with the iPod Classic. If find i-tunes easy to use on my PC (Windows XP with Service Pack 3), although I am finding I am filling my computer hard drive quite fast. So far I have only used the iPod for storing music, and the 160GB on the iPod Classic is proving to be more than ample for my needs. So far I have 6.9 Days(i.e. almost one week of continuous music) recorded, which is taking 18.05GB of space. The synchronising with i-tunes is easy. Battery life has not been a problem. So far I have only charged the battery with supplied lead from the USB socket on my PC. Note that whilst mains chargers are available, they optional extras.

My musical taste is almost exclusively classical music of just about every sort from Monteverdi to Mahler. The sound quality at the default settings I find very good. Many people have commented on the maximum volume level. My view is that for private listening at home, the volume is more than adequate using the supplied headphones. When listening on the bus going to work, the maximum volume obtainable is too little for quiet passages, but just about adequate for louder passages. In my view the maximum volume is inadequate for listening on a normal commercial plane.

When importing CDs into the iTunes on my PC, I found that the accuracy of some of the information about the pieces is rather variable, and not available for some CDs (even some from 'mainstream' labels). The same comment also applies to the optional album cover images - some are completely wrong. I prefer to edit the composer name to put the composer's surname at the start of the field (e.g. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus instead of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) to make it easier to find pieces by composer. However these are really comments about the accuracy of data available rather than the iPod itself.

The ability to find music by composer and other searching on iPod I have found to be really good.

I also bought the leather flap-up case (not Apple) from Amazon. Whilst this is excellent in terms of easy of use and the protection it provides, I do think that the 'build' quality of the case is rather disappointing in comparison with the iPod itself.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. With the benefit of hindsight, I am not sure I needed 160GB of storage (but I am not complaining) and the maximum volume limitations are a little annoying when travelling. Otherwise highly recommended.

Thought about replacing my iPod Nano for weeks, browsing the professionals reviews and the opinions of amazon customers; which were mostly complimentary but with many criticising the volume limit. Amazon offered the best deal on the 160GB classic and after a lot of hesitation went for it. I chose the black one (beautiful). As usual with Amazon the delivery was fast. I spent most the day it arrived loading it up - eventually with over 60GB of my music. Since then I have spent a fair bit of time and money downloading more from itunes. I'm really pleased with the classic 160GB. I have my entire record collection available wherever I am. The sound quality is superb (no problem with volumes), the build/finish is excellent, the screen/picture quality just magnificant, download and Sync faultless. For information I don't use the iPod earphones provided. I have the Griffin "ear thumpers" (which I used with my old nano) the classic though providing much improved sound quality. Overall, the classic 160GB is just brilliant. I can't wait to fill it but with such a huge storage its gonna take a lot of time and cash. If you are undecided just buy it and enjoy.