Blogcritics: Comments on Unwritten Rules For New iPod Users

Comment by Eric Berlin

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 03:31:48 EDT

Tom - how much for the bad boys you mention? I've been a $10 black wrap around the top of your head guy on headphones ever since I bought my first walkman when I was 13. However, one ear goes out from use (or from sweat in the ear at the gym) and I buy a new pair every 4 months or so. I think the same people that blare their handheld devices are the ones who scream into cell phones in public.

Comment by SFC SKI

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 03:07:24 EDT

As I am on the road right now, my laptop is full of iTunes, I am glad you brought up the external HD, I'd hate to lose everyhting I have built up so far. I haven't had any trouble with tags, oustside of a dozen re-titlings, and iTunes pulled in my .wma stuff easily. I love my iPod, but I have a hard time getting it to be recognized by my PC, so updating can be a teeth-gritting experience. It is worth it though. Playlists are a must after you build up a few hundred songs, other wise you might never hear certain songs, who has time to listen to 10 continuous days of music?

Comment by Lono

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 03:02:57 EDT

Also, have lots and lots of time to recatalogue almost every song in your CD collection because the songs tags don't line up the way you want. Also, have lots and lots of storage on your PC. once I had the iPod, I of course wanted to move all my CDs onto it. So, the first thing I had to do was put all my CDs on my computer into iTunes. Well, I damn near blew up my poor hard drive loading CDs. I got an external hard drive (80 gigs, $50) that now handles all of my music files. That way, if my PC crashes or is stolen... all of my music is in tact. I love it though. It has revolutionized how I use music in my day to day life.

Comment by Mark Sahm

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 14:39:18 EDT

Tom --- on #3, I was referring to the white earphones that come with the iPod, not all in-ear phones. But I agree with you about the Fontopias, I actually use them as the replacement for the white ones.

Comment by Tom Johnson

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 14:16:53 EDT

3. Just because the in-ear phones are IN your ears does not mean people around you cannot hear your music. Not true if you have a set of in-earcanal headphones like the Sony MDREX51 (in the "Fontopia" line of products.) These slip actually inside your ear canal with a very soft, pliable silicone sealer that not only prevents the music from escaping to those nearby, it deadens outside sounds to a stunning degree. And once you get them in properly, the dynamics of the music blow away any open-air headphones I've listened to (I'll leave that to the experts - I don't have $300 to drop on a pair of headphones, so maybe those are better.) Great bass response and a much more 3-dimensional soundfield with these in-ear headphones are another plus.