Is Apple tuning out audiophiles? or is Michael Hiltzik an idiot?

[M A V I C]

It's been a few years since I was told the comment about the iPods DAC. I was told the Zune had a better DAC.

The theme in most of your responses was that the iPod's DAC is fine for most people. But I'm talking about audiophiles here... in this case a guy who would spend $1k+ on a pair of headphones, and who knows how much on his amp for them. It had vacuum tubes he had to replace every so often.

[Article Accelerator]

M A V I C wrote:
It's been a few years since I was told the comment about the iPods DAC. I was told the Zune had a better DAC.

From the CNET link above:
"I spent a few hours with the 32GB versions of Microsoft's new Zune HD and Apple's latest-generation iPod Touch...The iPod Touch...The trebly parts...were still distinct, but the bass sounded rounder and warmer, and the midrange (the most important spectrum when choosing audio gear) shone through. It made me realize how much sound was missing when I listened to the Zune HD...On the Zune HD, the acoustic guitar in the Radiohead song sounded clinky and thin, and the percussion in the Bungle song was unbearably high-pitched. On the iPod Touch, the guitar sounded like guitar and the percussion was complementary rather than overwhelming."

[M A V I C]

Article Accelerator wrote:
[quote=M A V I C]
It's been a few years since I was told the comment about the iPods DAC. I was told the Zune had a better DAC.

From the CNET link above:
"I spent a few hours with the 32GB versions of Microsoft's new Zune HD and Apple's latest-generation iPod Touch...The iPod Touch...The trebly parts...were still distinct, but the bass sounded rounder and warmer, and the midrange (the most important spectrum when choosing audio gear) shone through. It made me realize how much sound was missing when I listened to the Zune HD...On the Zune HD, the acoustic guitar in the Radiohead song sounded clinky and thin, and the percussion in the Bungle song was unbearably high-pitched. On the iPod Touch, the guitar sounded like guitar and the percussion was complementary rather than overwhelming."
That doesn't really mean much. If you get used to listening to music on a device where it's not the same as the original, when you hear the original you may not like it. Boosting the base is a very common thing non-audiophiles like to hear. It's completely subjective review.

I'd like to see some data.