HiFi Blog: digital audio goodness

There are some reports that Apple may not be using SigmaTel’s audio chipset for the upcoming Shuffle replacement (whenever that comes). AppleInsider reports:

In a research note released on Tuesday, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu said there is “potential risk” that Apple’s yet-to-be announced new and improved entry-level iPod will not incorporate components from semiconductor maker, SigmaTel Inc.

Unless they have really come up with a great chipset, and this isn’t a move driven entirely by cost savings, that is potentially bad news for the upcoming Shuffle’s sonic abilities. It’s almost a given among the audio geeks (those that give a damn about MP3s and drop by the same forums we do, at least) that the Shuffle produces the best sound among the members of the iPod family—this is due to the SigmaTel chipset; all other iPods use Wolfson’s chips. Apple itself acknowledged this to a degree, but claimed its latest iPod video sounds as good or even better. Back when we had first presented the iPod video we had noted this:

How does it sound? “The company said the new iPod sounds as good or better than the iPod shuffle, which Apple considers its prior gold standard in terms of sound quality.” (source).

(For the record, I think the Shuffle still ranks higher than the iPod video when it comes to sonic performance amongst the aforementioned audio geek circles, altough its lead has gotten shorter.) Here’s to hoping Apple’s got a powerful chipset on their hands, capable to rival SigmaTel’s current offering.