The iPod Classic Is Still Awesome After 16 Years

Why am I paying $100 a year to listen to music that I already own?

What's old becomes new.

Listening to music is an activity I do daily. I try to be consistent with reading, exercising, and eating healthy—but listening to music is the one constant I do outside of the necessities. My earliest memory of music is from listening to Beatles CDs on my dad’s stereo when I was 8. I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember.

But listening to and liking music doesn’t make me all that unique or interesting. What’s interesting, to me, is that my old iPod is still cranking out tunes 16 years later. Granted, my iPod isn’t 100% original but at its core, it’s the same it’s always been.

Some History

I’m not alone in my adoration of the iPod. There’s an entire Subreddit dedicated to the device. The iPod was a hit for a reason. Steve Jobs said it best with the now-famous slogan of “1,000 songs in your pocket.” In 2001, this was mind-blowing. My first MP3 player was a Rio 600 32MB. I could maybe fit a CD at 64kbps on the device’s puny storage. But I didn’t have to deal with CDs and that was a win.

So when I received my first iPod, a 4th generation 20GB model, it was a revelation. I could carry 10,000+ songs with me everywhere. That little iPod followed me throughout high school and beyond. In college, I had a 120GB 6th generation iPod that I used religiously while mowing lawns in the summer. Once smartphones and streaming became popular, I used my iPod less and less.

That was until I discovered the DankPods YouTube channel in 2020.

A Case for Using an iPod in 2023

I’m a massive fan of music streaming programs like Spotify. I’ve discovered so much great music, and I’ve been able to do ridiculous music-listening challenges because of them. But what I’ve noticed over the years is that I own 90% of the music that I listen to on Spotify. Essentially, I’m paying $100 per year to listen to music that I already have.

So what am I paying for? Convenience, really. I love the ability to listen to everything but that also means I don’t ever get deep into anything. Some would call it analysis paralysis, hence why I listen to the same artists repeatedly. 

Thanks to modern updates for the iPod, I was able to install 256GB of flash storage into an old iPod Video 5.5. Batteries have also gotten better. And since my iPod no longer has a giant hard drive, I can put in a larger battery that lasts longer than before. 

What I like most about my iPod is that I don’t have to pay each month to use it. There aren’t any distractions or notifications. The music doesn’t stop if somebody calls me. 

And the sound quality is usually better than what’s offered on Spotify, namely lossless ALAC files. Since I prefer wired headphones over Bluetooth, this isn’t a sacrifice. 

I also made a few aesthetic updates to my iPod with a translucent cover so I could see the logic board. I updated the back panel so it says 256GB as if it were OEM.

Used daily.

For what you’d pay in a year for Spotify, you could build a solid iPod that will last for years to come. I have about $80 invested into my iPod. I’ve built several for friends and family. They’re easy to mod and the parts are plentiful. I recommend starting with the 5.5 generation iPod video with 80GB of storage. Those are the easiest to mod and they have the largest RAM, which means you can put in a bigger storage. 

My iPod is a Video 5.5 that started life as a 30GB model. It works great but struggles shuffling all of my music due to its small RAM. I can’t push it past 17,000 songs without it crashing. Get an 80GB 5.5 Video if you can but be prepared to pay more since most iPod enthusiasts want them.

A Case Against Using an iPod in 2023

I’ve been building my digital music collecting for 20 years. Putting music on a new iPod wasn’t an issue since I had been maintaining my collection of 30,000 songs. If you don’t have a big collection and don’t want to invest the time and resources to acquire it, then getting into an iPod Classic will be a burden.

The iPod uses the old 30-pin cable, which is still available but not all that common anymore. If you like to keep your electronic devices simple and uniform then the iPod will likely frustrate you with its proprietary cable. 

Apple seems to be making the process of updating music on the iPod more difficult with each OS update. You can no longer update an iPod in iTunes but have to use Finder instead. It’s not awful but it isn’t like what it used to be. Luckily, programs like Rockbox can remove the Apple OS, which makes managing music easier.

You could use an iPod with its original battery and hard drive but you’ll eventually run into issues. That’s why updating the storage to flash is crucial. All of this takes some skills with technology and troubleshooting. If you’re not the kind of person who likes to tinker then I would recommend sticking with music streaming. There’s a level of nerdiness required to retrofit an iPod with new storage and make the music play. 

Takeaway

If you’re a millennial like me who grew up with iPods then I think there’s a nostalgia factor that will make listening to music on these old devices enjoyable. And if you didn’t grow up with iPods then I still think there’s a case to be made about their practicality in 2023. You can still buy music from sites like iTunes, Bandcamp, Qobuz, and HD Tracks.

Will I cancel my music streaming subscription? Probably not. I love classical music and streaming is still the best way for me to listen to lots of great classical music for a low price. But for the majority of music that I like, my iPod has more than enough to satisfy me.

The iPod does for me what a mixtape did in the 80s and a mix CD did in the 90s. My iPod is an expression of my musical taste that works regardless of an internet connection or subscription. If that sort of thing appeals to you then I would consider getting into the iPod game in 2023. You won’t regret it.