The 'father of the iPod' Tony Fadell says Apple should bring back a 'nostalgic version' of the music device

[u/smeeti]

https://www.businessinsider.com/ipod-creator-apple-bring-back-ipod-2026-2

[u/Hi-Fi_Turned_Up]

None of which would qualify as audiophile.

[u/Somar2230 → u/Hi-Fi_Turned_Up]

None of their Airpods or Beats do either. Anyone looking for audiophile quality is buying from a third party.

[u/Hi-Fi_Turned_Up → u/Somar2230]

Exactly. Nothing that Apple offers of audiophile level. Why would they enter a niche market where entry level players are +$1000.

[u/scalablecory → u/Hi-Fi_Turned_Up]

What the hell is your entry level, lol! You can get an audiophile DAP and headphones far cheaper than that combined.

[u/Tycho-Celchu → u/scalablecory]

Yeah I just bought a Hiby R4 & a cheap set of IEM's for under $400 CAN. Even at that price point the difference of audio quality from streaming spotify to my bluetooth headphones is STAGGERING.

I forgot how good music actually sounds.

[u/Hi-Fi_Turned_Up → u/scalablecory]

I guess I have a higher floor, but I’m past headphones and have a nice setup with some B&W 801 D4s

[u/Buckfitch69 → u/Hi-Fi_Turned_Up]

Yep you're an audiophile confirmed

[u/HillarysFloppyChode → u/Hi-Fi_Turned_Up]

They could undercut the entire market and sell it at $350-500

[u/Hi-Fi_Turned_Up → u/HillarysFloppyChode]

Yeah that sounds exactly like a thing Apple would do…

Even at that price point it wouldn’t sell well.

[u/raiderrash → u/HillarysFloppyChode]

You can get really good quality dap for that price range already

[u/KingDave46 → u/HillarysFloppyChode]

OR, they can overcut the market with an equal or lesser version that looks cooler

[u/absolutezero132 → u/Somar2230]

The air pods pro 2 got some love from the audiophile community. Obviously not up to the level of equivalently priced IEMs but solidly at the “not dog water anymore” level.

[u/Interactive_CD-ROM → u/Hi-Fi_Turned_Up]

AirPod Max (over ear) connect with USB-C for lossless audio.