Ordered an iPod

[Stefen_Maxwell]

I just ordered my self an iPod mini. I am really excited to open it up and replace the battery and hard drive on this guy. Got to figure out rockbox after that. Has anyone gotten into iPods since owning a dumb phone or any MP3 player?

[rejectconvenience]

I am a big fan of iPod modding! I love my iPod so much, but I re-found them well before I switched to a dumb phone. I had canceled Spotify in favor of the iPod 6 or so months before I made the switch to a dumb phone, so my timeline is real whacky.

[Stefen_Maxwell]

I am a big fan of iPod modding! I love my iPod so much, but I re-found them well before I switched to a dumb phone. I had canceled Spotify in favor of the iPod 6 or so months before I made the switch to a dumb phone, so my timeline is real whacky.

I never had a Spotify or any streaming service. I wasn't into music much after working as a bouncer at a nightclub/concert venue. Working has a way of destroying your passion for anything.

[rejectconvenience]

Working has a way of destroying your passion for anything.

This is why I don't do Youtube memberships or Patreon - I did have it at one point, but as soon as people started paying me, it instantly felt like a job, which sucked all the fun out of it.

I'm excited for your iPod journey and re-discovering the joy of music! I have LOTS of recommendations if you want to find new stuff!

[Linkard]

I really want to buy an ipod, but I'm not sure I even have the material or skill to change the battery and hard drive but still mod it. What model should I get ?

[rejectconvenience]

@Linkard so it depends - the iPod 5th gen (iPod Video) is the most popular and arguably the easiest to mod and clean up. The issue with that model is that it has gotten VERY expensive in the past couple years, even to get a broken one on Ebay. The iPod 4th gen mono (or photo), or iPod Mini would be second best, however come with their own unique challenges. I'd have to confirm with the iPod Mini, but the 4th gen or lower all require a firewire brick + cable, which again, adds to the cost. The 6th and 7th gen (Classic) are also very good, however, they are well known for being much harder to work on, and they often times cost more that the 5th gen counterpart.

I'd avoid nanos at any cost, and I'm personally a fan of the 4th gen shuffle, but it has no real expansion, and has a rather small storage size of 2GB. iPod Touch 1-4 are also interesting, very cheap in comparison, and since they can't like really connect to the internet due to SSL changes in that time, they're just big touch screen iPods, but again, no expanded storage, and they are also famously hard to repair.

This guy sells 5th gens refurbished with a new battery and working hard disk drive for around $90 USD: https://eoe.works/collections/apple-ipo ... ew-battery

I have bought devices from him before, good stuff, but that HDD is going to fail in time, and you will need to shell out another $50 to get the flashmod stuff to make it work with an SD card.

I really recommend checking out local thrift stores and used media stores. They normally don't have them in stock, but when they do, it's normally a much lower price of entry to get into an iPod compared to Ebay or otherwise.

[Stefen_Maxwell]

I bought a mini that needs a new battery, but I was going to open it up anyway regardless of which ipod I bought. The mini also is the easiest to upgrade the storage. It only requires a CF express card while the classics require an adapter to CF card. Also, mini's and 4th gen photo have a monochrome screen so it should be easier to see in direct light without a backlight unlike later models.

[MikeGs]

I bought a 5th (5.5)gen iPod classic a year ago, changed the battery (twice) and upgraded the storage with an iFlash-CF mod and a CF to MicroSD adapter. After a quick fix while restoring the iPod using Windows, it's been great!

Being able to listen to my music library without any distractions or ads has reminded me why I should start self-hosting and archiving a bunch of things that I take for granted. Three months ago, I stayed up in the mountains, in the middle of nowhere for a week and, with a very unreliable internet connection, it was a blessing to have my iPod on me the whole time.

I also bought an iPod dock that has RCA output and a remote, so I thought of making a media center where, the center unit is the iPod itself, but I still need to find some space for it, and some good speakers.

Another thing to mention is that my main source of music has always been Youtube Music or Soundcloud. I can't count how many times some of my favorite songs have been removed from any of these platforms, so the iPod allows me to have an external backup of all the music I care for, and it doesn't screw up my playlists every few weeks.

It's sad to see how iPods are now really expensive to buy. I was quite lucky to buy mine for 55€.

It's insane to think that 19 years later we don't have any device out there that comes close in terms of build quality, repairability, community support and functionality. I know there's some brands out there still making MP3's and MP4's but, after seeing the reviews, it can be pretty hard to find a decent portable player. I don't really need a full fledged DAC when I'm out and about, standard MP3 quality does make the trick for me, so I chose the good old reliable iPod.

[Stefen_Maxwell]

I bought a 5th (5.5)gen iPod classic a year ago, changed the battery (twice) and upgraded the storage with an iFlash-CF mod and a CF to MicroSD adapter. After a quick fix while restoring the iPod using Windows, it's been great!

Being able to listen to my music library without any distractions or ads has reminded me why I should start self-hosting and archiving a bunch of things that I take for granted. Three months ago, I stayed up in the mountains, in the middle of nowhere for a week and, with a very unreliable internet connection, it was a blessing to have my iPod on me the whole time.

I also bought an iPod dock that has RCA output and a remote, so I thought of making a media center where, the center unit is the iPod itself, but I still need to find some space for it, and some good speakers.

Another thing to mention is that my main source of music has always been Youtube Music or Soundcloud. I can't count how many times some of my favorite songs have been removed from any of these platforms, so the iPod allows me to have an external backup of all the music I care for, and it doesn't screw up my playlists every few weeks.

It's sad to see how iPods are now really expensive to buy. I was quite lucky to buy mine for 55€.

It's insane to think that 19 years later we don't have any device out there that comes close in terms of build quality, repairability, community support and functionality. I know there's some brands out there still making MP3's and MP4's but, after seeing the reviews, it can be pretty hard to find a decent portable player. I don't really need a full fledged DAC when I'm out and about, standard MP3 quality does make the trick for me, so I chose the good old reliable iPod.

It is really depressing how there are no repairable ipod alternatives at all. I looked so hard and ipods where the only option if I wanted to be able to replace the flipping battery myself. What a sad world we live in.

That being said, did you get the ipod dock on ebay. I wish I got into the ipod scene earlier when things weren't so expensive.

[Stefen_Maxwell]

@Linkard so it depends - the iPod 5th gen (iPod Video) is the most popular and arguably the easiest to mod and clean up. The issue with that model is that it has gotten VERY expensive in the past couple years, even to get a broken one on Ebay. The iPod 4th gen mono (or photo), or iPod Mini would be second best, however come with their own unique challenges. I'd have to confirm with the iPod Mini, but the 4th gen or lower all require a firewire brick + cable, which again, adds to the cost. The 6th and 7th gen (Classic) are also very good, however, they are well known for being much harder to work on, and they often times cost more that the 5th gen counterpart.

The iPod Mini can charge with either a usb or a firewire cable. My current mini is a usb only since I have no firewire. It takes longer to charge with usb from what I have read, though.