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scottiebabie

Presenting The "Gmod"!

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Thought I’d share this titbit of info with any and all fellow head dudes who cares about the music and SQ they hear. Me and a GENIUS fren of mine by the name of Gary have talked about the Red Wine Audio Imod ipod and how we in Asia and SEA specifically don’t get to share in the fun (due I guess to costs, the low ringgit and maybe distance). To make a long story short, we talked, discussed, debated and finally acted to make our own SQ ipod mod. Since the gentleman’s name is Gary, I decided to call it the GPod (short for Gary modded iPod).

 

Well after many hours of mental R&D, rounding up parts and pertinent technical info, we finally spent the better part of last night (and morning) tearing into the guts of my poor 30gb 5gen Ipod. The result is the 1st prototype of a local Malaysian (aren’t we proud??? :rclxms: ) 1st ever in SEA (afaik) developed SQ ipod mod - the GPod! :party:

 

I spent what wee hours left of this morning (coz I couldn’t put it down) listening and critiquing the proto GPod. The results are…..Astounding, Amazing, Awesome! Driven by a RSA Tomahawk into a podectomized AL iM716 (my current reference with an Ety ER4p/s arriving shortly I hope), i'm rediscovering my music collection. Song after song, track after track, I’m simply overwhelmed and astounded by the increased clarity, PRaT (pace, rythmn and timing), speed, dynamics, etc.. Its as if the heavens opened and a great veil was lifted off and I’m finally hearing what’s truly contained in the music so much so I couldn’t put my GPod down. Every song comes with an electrifying sparkle that I have not heard before! And all on 320/256AACs!!! It is with supreme tiredness (lucky I get to ponteng work today) but also with great exuberance and happiness that I’m at home writing this (as I’m listening my proto GPod of’coz :smoke: ).

 

Bearing in mind the usual caveats regarding one off prototypes (such as inadequate burn-in of parts, inconsistency of settings, unreliability, etc..) and the fact that I’ve sold off my home rig and so am totally relying on my Total Recall (or lack of) for comparison, it is my humble opinion that the GPod’s SQ supercedes my prior Cambridge Audio 540c CDP and is atleast comparable to my (now ex) Marantz 63SE + Zhaolu D2 DAC combo! WOW..think about that for a moment!

 

Anyways, brader PCWORK (a fellow LYN forumer and headcase) will be joining me this sunday at my humble abode for a joint listening session (he’s so in LOVE with the ES7 :wub: ), so I hope he’ll either somewhat confirm or fully debunk what I have just posted. It should be revealingly fun nonetheless. On top of this, I might join WALABIES in an initial unveiling (pardon the pun) of the GPod at the July local KL headfi meet barring any major catastrophes and time willing.

 

If the question now is can I get one? The answer to that is I’m not quite sure. Gary and I started this project as a personal venture on my part to get the utmost SQ source for my ultimate portable rig as I’ve given up on a home rig (for the time being atleast). There are still some technical hurdles to cross and I’ve still to settle on the best setup option. Eg. the proto GPod’s headout is now the lineout but we’re debating if using the lineout dock isn’t the better option as it then allows the GPod to be used as a regular ipod (ampless). There’s also the issue of costing as I’m sure we’re all aware Malaysia isn’t exactly a Mecca (again pardon the pun :rolleyes: ) for launching such a product. Nevertheless, I shall endeavor to perfect this GPod mod as its SQ is simply mind blowing and to not share it would be a sin IMO.

 

That’s it for the time being and I shall updated this thread as new facts and info presents itself and shall also endevour to answer any questions (or not :ppth: ) as best as I can. Thxs for reading my rantings!

 

ps:i have not included any pics because the GPod looks and walks like a regular 5gen ipod (as all mods are internal) but thankfully DOES NOT quack like one :thumbup::holiday::party:

 

O before i forget, im sure some of you s'preans will be asking hows it compare to the RWA imod? well...i've contacted and am planning a mini meet with another super fellow headfier (EFN@headfi.org) who owns and loves his 4gen imod. will certainly update this thread when that happens and damn the outcome :innocent::grin:

 

edited June26:due to numerous requests, we decided to change our ipod mod to GMOD (instead of the original GPOD). hope this alleviates any resultant confusion :blush:

Edited by scottiebabie

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obviously then take pics of the internals!!

 

?!?!?!

 

 

also if you're feeling very generous, just post a diy guide and sell kits with parts... :yes:

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Nice to hear of some regional innovation as well. Did you mod the 4G or 5/5.5G Ipod?

 

we modded the 5g ipod without the need for a special cable btw :beer:

 

obviously then take pics of the internals!!

 

?!?!?!

also if you're feeling very generous, just post a diy guide and sell kits with parts... :yes:

 

diy guides and kits wont help most people much not because im being a selfish chinaman :bash: but because (GPod) gary's genius is in his ability to solder and desoldering very thin ipod type smt pcbs. the values he changed and replaced are about the size of a pinhead. that plus knowing which values and what to change.

 

i believe RedWineAudio's site made it quite clear what they do and AFAIK, its no lie. up to and until now, that info is widely circulated. the fact that there's NO one else doing it should provide us with a hint of the difficulties in the execution. indeed all u have to do is to take apart a imod to trace what was done so that part isnt rocket science.

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this would be interesting... can't wait to find out more.

 

 

(i wonder if apple will be unhappy about something called gpod. maybe gmod? :D

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this would be interesting... can't wait to find out more.

(i wonder if apple will be unhappy about something called gpod. maybe gmod? :D

 

LOL! i doubt Apple owns all the words ending in "..pod" + can u see them going after someone who mods a few ipods?? :bash::lol: .

 

alittle update as its been a few days since the eventful moment. goodnews is the GPod's still functioning fine and pumps out serious sounding tunes. im still in the process of determining best SQ capacitor/resistor values. we still have to tidy up the whole mod plus decide if we gonna use the lineout option (RWA musta spend time on it and who are we to buck that!). besides demo'ing to friends, i'll also be bringing the prototype to a local headfi meet to gauge reaction and see if my ears have been lying to me :think::doh::blush:

 

if things workout as anticipated, i already promised a well known s'porean DIY headfier (nicknamed "Qsilver" of Qsilver lineout docks) i'd ship the unit to him to audition and perhaps have a head2head with local s'porean headdudes with RWA imods. now that should be interesting :party: .

 

if the GPod aquits itself with honor and we're satisfied about reliability (not that its an issue but we must be absolute about QC) and settle the cost issue, we'll see about doing a few GPods for the interested few :thumbup: (if there's any interest ofcoz). but lets take it one step at a time :smoke:

 

ps:FWIW the GPod mods wont cost usd249 + usd110 for imod cables ;):thumbup:

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I'm still on the fence on getting an imod. I want to upgrade the internal drive to the new 100Gb Toshiba and put in a high capacity battery at the same time. I mailed Vinnie if he could do the swap and mod at the same time which seems more efficient to me than opening the iPod twice. Unfortunately his answer was rather abrupt and not very friendly or helpfull at all so I've scrapped that idea. I'm eagerly awaiting your end results and almost certainly will be one of your first customers if and when you decide to do this for other forum members!

Edited by Singapura

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I'm still on the fence on getting an imod. I want to upgrade the internal drive to the new 100Gb Toshiba and put in a high capacity battery at the same time. I mailed Vinnie if he could do the swap and mod at the same time which seems more efficient to me than opening the iPod twice. Unfortunately his answer was rather abrupt and not very friendly or helpfull at all so I've scrapped that idea. I'm eagerly awaiting your end results and almost certainly will be one of your first customers if and when you decide to do this for other forum members!

 

thank you for your confidence and kind words. im currently awaiting the shipment of a well known S'porean Headfier's 5g ipod to be Gmod-ed. he's very kindly agreed to post his impressions (and perhaps a detailed review of head2head with 4g imods) once he recieves and auditions the Gmod unit.

 

we are currently working out the details and investigating the viability of doing the Gmod on a commercial basis. of coz, we'd be happy to change your battery and HD at the sametime at NO charge. will update as i know more. meantime, my prototype's working great with zero issues FWIW :thumbup:

Edited by scottiebabie

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Off Topic: Replacement HDD for ipod

 

Singapura, do you have a source for the Toshiba 1.8" MkxxxxGAH drives? Toshiba told me there's a shortage and it's cheaper to get a refurb ipod than getting a new drive. I'm trying to replace my 4th Gen with a new drive too. Do let me know if the drives are available.

 

:b2t

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I think it would be nice if you could perform the Gmod on the lineout instead of the headphone out... And much nicer too if you could squeeze everything into the ipod so that a special gmod dock cable won't be required :) That and approach or better imod 5g sound quality, and you'll have a winner :D

 

when are you planning your mini-meet? I can't wait!

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I think it would be nice if you could perform the Gmod on the lineout instead of the headphone out... And much nicer too if you could squeeze everything into the ipod so that a special gmod dock cable won't be required :) That and approach or better imod 5g sound quality, and you'll have a winner :D

 

when are you planning your mini-meet? I can't wait!

 

Any update on the Gpod?

 

we've actually managed to put in a set of hiQ wima low tolerance matched pair smt caps on the ipod pcb itself, thereby negating the need for any "special" cables. its totally plug n play!!! :party: you can used any dock + cable combo you wish. :rclxms:

 

we working on turning the headout into the Gmod out and have been somewhat successful. however due to the fact that the headout of the 5G/5.5g 'pods resides on the separate backplate portion, anyone opening their 'pods mite accidentally sever the Gmod cable. thats the $99 problem. other than that, headout to Gmod-out isnt much of an issue.

 

infact we just shipped our 1st production unit to a local s'porean headfier and is anxiously awaiting his review of Gmod vs normal ipod lineout and Gmod vs 4g imod. we're super confident the Gmod will acquit itself with honor :thumbup:

 

O and the Gmod's SQ is pretty spectacular IMO (although i must admit my opinion isnt entirely unbiased :wub: ). as to the Gmod's SQ being equal or better than imod, i leave that to others with better ears than mine :whistle::grin:

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