iPod Sound quality, 4G vs current Nano

[beige matchbox]

I've got a 20Gb 4G iPod that still functions just fine, and has a run time of a good few hours, but i've never been fully happy with the sound quality. The main issue is with low frequencies, I get a notable amount of distortion, even at mid volume, and this is on a volume limited UK model.

Now, I've heard the Classic has a new chipset of some sort that gives better sound quality than the previous iPods, I'm wandering if the Nano also gives improved sound quality?

I'm not interested in the other features of the Nano, although it's smaller size would be nice

 

[Killyp]

I've never managed to push my new Nano into clipping, I think you should be fine...

 

[laxmax613]

my new classic has considerably better sound than the 5G it replaced.

 

[jackiecanev2]

Actually, the Wolfson DAC (in the 4/5/5.5 gen + touch, iphone, and current nano) is renowned as a relatively high end chip. The new Cirrus Logic chip is only in the new classics and has gotten mixed reviews, most of which are stating its inferiority to the old Wolfson.

With compacts like these, it's less about the chip though and more about the amplifier within the unit. The touch and iphone are known to have a higher noise floor than the nano (read: background hiss). A DLO paired with a pocket amp will certainly take care of any amplifier issues. If you're concerned with SQ, it could be a number of factors: lossy audio, your cans, amp, etc.

So basically, the classic has a new chip which isn't necessarily any better than the nano or 4g chip. If you're getting distortion, it's probably not the chip in the unit thats causing it; probably the amplifier within the unit.