Why not use Rockbox'd Ipod?

[12milluz]

First off, I'm not new to professional audio- I do a lot of home recording and I run live sound all the time at local theatres. I understand the technical side, but I don't have the experience taping concerts. My main question is why not use my iPod for taping? I have a fifth generation Rockbox'd iPod Video. I also have a TuneTalk which gives me a line in jack. I have professional mics and preamps, so that is not an issue for me. Given the iPod with Rockbox and a Line-In jack, why not use this setup? All the searching on this forum, albeit dated, has said NO GO with iPod. But honestly, with the setup I have now, what is different from the iRiver H120?
Thanks guys!

[Chuck]

First off, I'm not new to professional audio- I do a lot of home recording and I run live sound all the time at local theatres. I understand the technical side, but I don't have the experience taping concerts. My main question is why not use my iPod for taping? I have a fifth generation Rockbox'd iPod Video. I also have a TuneTalk which gives me a line in jack. I have professional mics and preamps, so that is not an issue for me. Given the iPod with Rockbox and a Line-In jack, why not use this setup? All the searching on this forum, albeit dated, has said NO GO with iPod. But honestly, with the setup I have now, what is different from the iRiver H120?
Thanks guys!

The iRiver has digital inputs and outputs.

[rhinowing]

-the ipod has a crap A/D
-ipod has awful battery life

[12milluz]

Battery would not be an issue as I would use a battery pack with the Tunetalk, but if the A/D is that bad, I'll take your word for it. Are there any smaller models (in capacity) than the H120? For my recording, I wouldn't need 20gb and if I could save on cost by lowering capacity, then I might end up buying a new recorder.

[rastasean]

What mics and pre-amps do you have? If you have professional equipment, would you really want to plug it into such a device meant for consumer playback of mp3s/mp4s?

I think the 120 would be the way to go without spending that much money. They can be had for $100-130 and i doubt the 20 gig hdd adds that much of a cost onto the final price.

[Chuck]

I still believe a Rockboxed iHP-120 is the best stereo 16 bit recorder/bit bucket out there. When CF card modified it's unbeatable for reliability, price & ease of use.

[page]

I still believe a Rockboxed iHP-120 is the best valued stereo 16 bit recorder/bit bucket out there. When CF card modified it's unbeatable for reliability, price & ease of use.

especially at it's cost. I hate replacing the parts though. The hdd is easy enough, but I find the battery to be a bitch to change...

[darktrain]

First off, I'm not new to professional audio- I do a lot of home recording and I run live sound all the time at local theatres. I understand the technical side, but I don't have the experience taping concerts. My main question is why not use my iPod for taping? I have a fifth generation Rockbox'd iPod Video. I also have a TuneTalk which gives me a line in jack. I have professional mics and preamps, so that is not an issue for me. Given the iPod with Rockbox and a Line-In jack, why not use this setup? All the searching on this forum, albeit dated, has said NO GO with iPod. But honestly, with the setup I have now, what is different from the iRiver H120?
Thanks guys!

Also the rockboxed ipod's have been notoriously unstable and freeze up, not sure if this is still the case but it was a couple years ago.

[Aladar]

I'm scared of getting another H120, because the one I got died on me about a month or two after I got it..

[rastasean]

I'm scared of getting another H120, because the one I got died on me about a month or two after I got it..

I've got two that were loved tenderly by two different tapers and both are showing their love to me (the h120s) by still working.

[sunjan]

My main question is why not use my iPod for taping? I have a fifth generation Rockbox'd iPod Video. I also have a TuneTalk which gives me a line in jack. I have professional mics and preamps, so that is not an issue for me. Given the iPod with Rockbox and a Line-In jack, why not use this setup? All the searching on this forum, albeit dated, has said NO GO with iPod. But honestly, with the setup I have now, what is different from the iRiver H120?

1. It is possible to record with a rockboxed Ipod, but it doesn't mean that all accessories are supported. If you search rockbox.org, you'll find that all reports on Tunetalk so far have been negative. The developers don't have access to all third-party gear, so not enough work has been done there. Get a plain line-in connector instead, like this:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=115762.msg1550982#msg1550982
2. Like others said, the recording feature for Ipod is still ridden with bugs. Many report that there is recurring hiss one of the channels, or crosstalk. Maybe the AD is to blame, maybe other conflicting hardware, maybe Apple's proprietary protocol, obstructing the devs: http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=15730.0
3. Rockbox for Ipod doesn't have the same feature set as rockbox for Iriver. No Safety Clip AGC (no gain control at all for most models), the recording screen is not as elaborate. No live headphone monitoring, etc. The list goes on: http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=9244.15

So if you put all of these factors together, it's quite obvious why it's a bad deal to fork out $40-$80 on a dock connector just to get line-in, when you can get an entire working H320 on ebay for $70-$80!
That also explained why so few of the devs bothered to spend their money on all these overpriced little accessories for the Ipod. Simply not worth it when you have superior technology at your fingertips.

[12milluz]

Thank you for the nice reply. It made it all nice and clear.

[petur]

Also the rockboxed ipod's have been notoriously unstable and freeze up, not sure if this is still the case but it was a couple years ago.

Rockbox on ipod is rock-stable now

[Chuck]

But (respectfully) I say that the iRiver blows it outta the water!

[petur]

But (respectfully) I say that the iRiver blows it outta the water!

yup

still does, after all these years...