Why get an iPod when you already have a phone?
Let’s explore the possibilities...
Apple discontinued the iPod in 2022, but it feels like people stopped using iPods way before that.
But now they are back!
I used to have a 6th generation iPod Classic and that thing was fantastic.
The metal faceplate looked awesome and there was more than enough room to store all of my favorite music.
But mobile phones and streaming services have taken over as the primary way people listen to music nowadays.
While they are more convenient, there are still many advantages to using an iPod.
Here’s why you might want to rock an iPod again (or for the first time):
Now that you know why an iPod can be a great thing to have, here’s how to get one.
There are 2 ways to get an iPod, you can either buy it refurbished, or you can refurbish it yourself.
Since they are so old, most iPods will have something wrong with them, usually the battery or hard drive.
So before you make in impulse purchase, ask yourself if you want to do the work yourself, or if you want to buy one that’s already done.
If money isn’t an issue, then buying a pre-made one can save a lot of time and headache.
Put in the order and Chad’s your uncle.
But if you want to save a few bucks or you like to tinker, then buying a broken iPod and fixing it up yourself can be a lot of fun.
Just be very wary of “new” iPods. You never know what is actually in that sealed box.
I like to buy used iPods because they are lower risk (cheaper) and I can see what I’m getting.
You can look for refurbished and used iPods on:
The next question to answer is…do you want to use Rockbox or iTunes as your primary operating system?
You can use both, but most people use tend to use one or the other because you have to set them up separately.
Which one should you choose?
It depends on a few factors. The operating system you choose can also determine how much storage you should buy.
Here’s the bottom line…
The stock iPod operating system is more stable.
The downsides are that there will be a limit to the number of songs you can play because of the Apple database and you have to use a computer that either runs Windows or an older version of OSX to initialize the new drive on the iPod in iTunes.
You also cannot play FLAC files in the default iPod operating system.
Rockbox will allow you to play more songs and allows you to drag and drop songs from any computer. You don’t need to have iTunes.
There are also a ton of different pre-made themes that you can use.
It also allows you to play FLAC files, which are more universally compatible than Apple’s lossless format, ALAC. There are also more settings that you can customize in Rockbox.
On the downside, Rockbox can crash occasionally and most of their themes don’t look as good as the stock Apple interface.
If Rockbox crashes, it’s not a big deal, just restart the iPod. It’s just a bit of an inconvenience.
Most people report that Rockbox works well though.
So if you have more songs than the iPod’s listed limit or you don’t want to use iTunes, Rockbox is the better choice.
But if you aren’t close to the iPod’s limits, you prefer the rock-solid interface and you don’t mind keeping iTunes around, then the stock operating system is the way to go.
If you decide to use Rockbox, you can still boot back into the iPod OS, but it will be a hassle to maintain two separate libraries.
Before we move on, this is a good time to figure out how much storage you’ll need for your songs.
The first thing you’ll need to figure out is what type of song files you have.
There are basically 2 types of song files:
Many times you can see what type a song is in audio players if you look at the song properties.
Here’s an example from VLC Media Player.
Then you can look a the file size in a File Manager and put this information into a storage size calculator to figure out how much space you’ll need on your iPod.
You can try this one or this one to get started.
You can also look at the sound files on a computer and take the approximate average file size in megabytes and multiply that number by the number of songs you intend to store.
If you are just starting out and don’t know which file type to use, then this next section is for you.
There is usually a lot debate around this topic, but luckily there is a very easy answer.
Here’s why this is important…
Lossy (compressed) music has a much smaller file size, so you can fit more songs on your iPod. It achieves this by cutting out certain frequencies. The most popular file type is MP3.
Lossless (uncompressed) music keeps the original recording intact, making the file size bigger. So you get better quality music, but you can fit fewer songs on your iPod. The most popular file types are FLAC, WAV and ALAC.
Now, many people say that they cannot hear the difference between lossy and lossless music.
But you might.
I can.
So before you start loading up your iPod, consider what matters to you most, small file size or best sound quality.
In order to see if you can tell the difference between lossy and lossless files, simply go to a site like Qobuz and buy a single song. It costs a couple of bucks and is a worthwhile experiment.
Then download both the MP3 version and the FLAC version of that song and see if you can tell the difference between them.
Now…even if you can tell the difference, do you care?
If it does matter to you, then only add lossless files to your iPod. Just be aware that you will probably have to add more storage to your iPod.
If you’re one of those people who can’t tell the difference, then MP3s are good enough. You won’t need as much storage.
Also consider that mixing formats is certainly an option too.
Maybe you store punk songs in MP3 format because they aren’t high fidelity anyway.
But you use FLAC for jazz songs, where you can hear the difference.
Do what makes sense to you.