Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple iPod classic 160GB silver

Having picked up my iPod from the Apple store this afternoon I am very impressed with its performance so far. The menus are fast & responsive and the videos play like never before (the screen seems clearer than on the earlier video iPods). The brushed metal look is far more sophisticated than previous plastic case designs and should prove more durable.

It does take a while to copy all the info across to the iPod first time (30 mins per 10GB), and it is very specific about the movie formats that it can play, but if you are looking for a replacement for an earlier model of iPod and need more storage than the 16GB in the touch then the Classic range is pretty good value for money.

It comes with 3 pre-installed games, the cables & basic headphones (replace with better ones to hear your music as it was intended), and two Apple icon stickers.

You need to buy a case separately, and there is no dock included (but mine from my G3 iPod works fine with the provided cable).

If you aren't interested in the touch screen interface of the other new range, or would rather buy proven technology then this is the choice for you.

I've just replaced my old 40GB ipod with this incredible 160GB pocket powerhouse. So far, so good.

The unit itself looks great, the iconic white plastic case has been replaced by a black or silver brushed steel one and Apple have stuck with the chic minimal design that makes their stuff so much cooler than everything else. The screen is large and bright and has good resolution. The menus are simple and quicky accessible as always. It has tons of features including games, video playback and album artwork scrolling.

There are two main niggles as to why I haven't given the ipod classic 5 stars....

The first is that getting the ipod to display the correct album artwork is maddeningly difficult. iTunes will download the artwork but it won't find more obscure stuff and much of the time gets the others totally wrong. You can edit this in itunes but it is fiddly and time consuming because you have to look for the correct ones on google or whatever.

The second reason is that Apple have not included a mains charger and appear to have stopped producing them altogether which I think is bonkers. You can charge it from your USB lead but what about when you are on holiday etc? Luckily I have an old charger but if I hadn't this would have been a major hassle.

All in all I wouldn't consider another mp3 player than the ipod but the two criticisms I made above may be worth considering when spending this much money.

First off - I am an iPod fan: my 3G was a constant companion, and is still in use. I bought my wife an iPod Video, which we've enjoyed especially when travelling. When my 3G battery was now down to 90 minutes, I purchased the Classic 160.

What's good? I like the style, and I like "coverflow" (although as the Ipod is usually in a case it's not often seen!) And the music sounds great - at least as good as on the 3G, other reviews notwithstanding. At 160 GB, I can get all my 120GB of music on and let iTunes sort it out. And battery life is stunning in comparison with the 3G, even when new.

However, the volume cap is the bad news. The EU (as you will know) have imposed a maximum decibel level on all personal stereos. This is not new - I bought the iPod in the knowledge that maximum volume was limited. However, the limitation (that is in the firmware) has been encrypted. For the other two iPods I had used GoPod to remove the cap - GoPod does not recognise the new iPod, and as the creator of GoPod no longer has an iPod, it is unlikely that an upgrade will be forthcoming.

What does this mean? For me, the iPod works great with my ER6 earbud headphones - although I have the volume on full, as opposed to on half to three quarters for the 3Gs (I ran a comparison test.) However, when I use my Bose Noise Cancelling earphones, there is not enough volume to drive them. This is, you might imagine, rather annoying. I shall have to buy an amplifier if I want to use these. Again, on three quarter volume, the 3Gs have no problem.

Think car stereo too. If, like me, you connect to your car stereo through the headphone socket, the volume level is too quiet to be heard above ambient noise. A problem.

The good news here is that the PC connector at the bottom is unaffected - so if you use external speakers that slot here, you'll be fine. And a work around for headphone users is to buy a remote that plugs into this socket, and then connect the headphones here.

Overall, then, if your headphones work fine with the iPod this is a five star review. If not, it might not manage one star. I'd suggest trying out your phones on a store/friend's iPod, and making your mind up. Or buy a US model - no restrictions here. Buy across the pond and take it back with you - and save money too! - or purchase through a reputable US supplier. Even with duty, you'll be likely to save money = and avoid a crippled machine...

As an analogue-loving audiophile I've never bothered with compressed music except for ATRAC versions of my vinyl albums and CDs to play on the move. When the 160 Gb pod arrived I realised there was no need to compress the audio at all so it might actually sound alright ! What it comes down to in the end is the quality of the Digital to Analogue converters in the device and not using any form of compression. Apple seem to have deployed quality converters on this model so you can get very nice sounds out of this iPod and of course the interface is Apple loveliness as usual. This model is the closest Apple have got to a 'hi-fi' ipod so far and so gets my vote.

I am a long time apple computer and ipod lover. Am onto my 3rd mac computer and 2nd ipod. I had 3rd gen 40gb ipod which was full so my other half got me the 16o and he took the 40. The ipod itself is brilliant lots of room and all teh things i loved about the old one but with newer sleeker looks.

why the 3 stars, well because apple are greedy and charge teh earth for necessary accessories. My old top of the range 40gb came with case and dock with charger. This top of the range 160gb comes with neither. What on earth use is a usb computer charger, I can't carry my computer everywhere with me. So I thought no problem I can use the old ipods dock and charger. Well No I can't teh new ipod will not accept a charge from it.
Much as I love the product for such an expensive item to come with no charger is a disgrace.