Series
Pocket Hi-Fi: Sound Signatures, IEMs and the iPod
A nine-part guide to purist portable listening: what you can actually hear, sound signatures, reading frequency-response graphs, IEM drivers and impedance, fit and eartips, DACs and players, the iPod Video 5.5G with Rockbox, building a FLAC library you own, and pairing IEMs with the iPod.
9 parts · first published
- 01
What You Can Actually Hear: Sample Rate, Bit Depth and Bitrate
The limits of human hearing, why 44.1 kHz stores sound up to 22 kHz, what bit depth and bitrate really measure, lossy versus lossless, why hi-res exists, and what Bluetooth earphones like AirPods Pro and the Sony WH-1000XM4 do to your music.
·8 min read - 02
Sound Signatures Explained: Neutral, Harman, Warm, V-Shape and the Rest
A reference to the sound signatures audiophiles use to describe IEMs and headphones: what neutral, Harman, warm, dark, bright, V, U, W and vocal tunings sound like, who each suits, and how to find your own.
·5 min read - 03
Reading a Frequency-Response Graph: Targets, Ear Gain and Why Measurements Disagree
How to read an IEM frequency-response graph: what target curves like Harman and diffuse field mean, why IEM graphs are never flat, which parts of the graph to trust, and how to use comparison sites without fooling yourself.
·6 min read - 04
IEM Drivers, Impedance and Choosing by Signature
Dynamic, balanced armature, planar, electrostatic and hybrid IEMs explained: why more drivers is not better, what impedance and sensitivity mean, why multi-BA sets change with the source, and verified picks by sound signature.
·6 min read - 05
Fit, Eartips and Cables: The Cheapest IEM Upgrade Most People Skip
Why seal and insertion depth change an IEM's sound more than most upgrades, how foam, silicone and wide-bore tips shift the tuning, how to size them, and when a 4.4 mm balanced cable is worth having.
·5 min read - 06
Your Phone Is the Weakest Link: DAC Dongles, DAPs and Output Impedance
What a DAC and an amp do, why phones lost the headphone jack, how dongle DACs and dedicated players compare, the 1/8 output-impedance rule, balanced 4.4 mm, and an honest word on hi-res and Bluetooth codecs.
·6 min read - 07
I Replaced Spotify with a 2006 iPod
How an iPod Video 5.5G with a flash and battery mod, Rockbox 4.0 and a short settings file became my main music player: why this model, which settings keep the signal clean, and how the whole setup lives in version control.
·8 min read - 08
Beyond Spotify: Building a FLAC Library You Own
How to build a lossless music library legally: rip your CDs accurately, buy lossless downloads, rebuild your Spotify playlists from owned files, then tag, normalise and size it for a Rockbox iPod.
·7 min read - 09
The iPod vs a $900 Sony: What You Actually Hear
Pairing IEMs with a Rockbox iPod Video 5.5G, and how it compares with Sony's NW-ZX707 and Signature Series Walkmans: output impedance, which IEMs suit which player, a buying order, and the settings that keep both honest.
·7 min read