[rockadanny]

I won a 4G iPod Nano at my company's Christmas party (oh, excuse me, "Holiday" dinner). Up to that point the best part of my night was the open bar (yes!) and sitting next to Nancy (yes!). Anyway, I was underwhelmed with the little gewgaw so I sold it to a fellow worker prior to leaving the party. (To minimize the tackiness, appearance of ingratitude of a gift for which everyone else was salivating, and to share my good fortune, I sold it for half retail.) Anyway, I've used some of the dough to buy a few choice music items:
1. CD - Watermelon Slim & the Workers - electric blues. Well recorded, huge, full sound. Amusing lyrics for mostly original songs, all done with superb playing and satisfying vocals. My favorite cuts: Devil's Cadillac, Hard Time, and Possum Hand (instrumental). I have had my fill of "Baby, Please Don't Go", yet these guys do such a good, refreshing job with it, I'll likely not skip it most of the time. Excellent release.   
2. CD - Chris Smithers - Leave the Light On - acoustic folk/blues. Mostly original songs, Chris plays guitar extremely well, has a solid voice, and his lyrics are honest, open, and expressive. He has been compared to John Hammond, and I can sort of agree. He does a very good job with Dylan's, "Visions of Johanna".  I can see myself playing this CD a lot (at night on the couch with the lights low and a cold Dale's Pale Ale; or in the barn while caring for the horses, with a cold Dale's Pale Ale ... uh oh, I see a pattern developing ...). Excellent release.
3. DVD - Festival Express - Old thyme hippie rock-and-roll at its finest. Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, The Band, Buddy Guy (!), The Flying Burrito Brothers, etc. Good music, good herb, and riding on a train. It doesn't get any better. The only DVDs I own are music performances (except for Ghost World, which does contain an awesome, and comical, 60's Indian rock-and-roll video; plus I can easily relate to Buschemi's character), and this is one of the best.

[Jon L]

Don't tell me you only tried the Nano with Apple earbuds and wasn't impressed 

Just my opinion, but Nano sounds plenty nice with a nice pair of earphones like Etymotic, Shure, etc. 

However, you could have used the money to buy this MUCH superior-sounding and looking MP3 player, the Meizu M6 

http://www.miniplayer.info/

[robert1325]

Jon L ,  you must be a member of headfi! 

[rockadanny]

Naw, never even listened to one. Don't like the in-ear buds regardless of manufacturer. For me, music is not a soundtrack to life - walking around with phones on. I prefer my excellent 2-channel home system - being enveloped by the sound. So I say, gimme mo' music, mo' music, mo' music (assuming it's decently recorded). Besides, my point was just to tell a (hopefully slightly amusing) story that leads into the highly recommended music I procured. (This is a music forum after all.)

[Levi]

I am glad that you are liking your new iPod. 

If you don't like it, you can send it in my way.

Happy Holidays!

Levi

[ctviggen]

Personally, I love my iPod.  It's worth double the cost to me.  Granted, music on my megabuck system with bolder-cable modded SB2 sitting in a room with 10 bass traps sounds better than on the iPod.  But I can't carry my several thousands of pounds of speakers and amplifiers in my car to listen to on long trips or carry this to work to listen while writing patents all day long.  I don't like the ear buds, either, but use headphones. 

As for music, I might look into Chris Smithers.  I've mellowed out in my old age (though I do have a Rammstein CD in my truck right now).

[mcrespo71]

Jon L ,  you must be a member of headfi! 

And that's a bad thing?

[Canyoneagle]

I can relate to the paradox that the iPod as a "life soundtrack" device can present.  On one hand, it is a fantastic little unit that can be carried anywhere, with excellent sound quality.  On the other hand, it (when used while walking about) can contribute to the sense of isolation that is already so prevalent in our 'society'.

Personally, I use mine as my primary source in my home audio system.  I will be receiving my Red Wine iMod in the next week or so, and look forward to having it at the heart of my system.
If the modded 4th gen player (which apparently has an excellent DAC) is anything like it has been reputed to be (i.e. comparable to a Meridian CD player), suffice to say I will be elated.  If my little Nano is anything to go by,

"I don't need no stinkin CD player!"

It sounds like you've parlayed yours into some excellent music, so good on ya if that is what you want.

Happy Solstice!

Warmly,
Michael

[JDUBS]

Jon L ,  you must be a member of headfi! 

What's this about?  I have a Red Wine iMod -> LaRocco PRII portable amp -> Shure e5c headphones which I use for my commute to and from work.

Headfi is a GREAT resource.

[Antman27]

I do not have any mods ,I have a pair of Ultimate Ears super.fi 5EB and I could not be happier
I wish I could get my home system to sound like thees headphones 

[daveshel]

A few weeks ago a buddy was over with his iPod and just for fun we jacked it into my AVA tube rig. I was definitely underwhelmed - it sounded nowhere near as good as a CD. It was better than a cassette, I'll give it that. I concluded that extreme portability was the only justification for owning one and I'm just not an earbud kinds guy.

[jqp]

I listen to music:

At home on my system
In the car (supposedly THX certified)

both beat an ipod with earbuds

I use my Pocket PC cell phone to listen to mp3s at the beach, or at the pool, rarely at work - thats about it