I did something much like this a few years ago and still have the iPod. It's a really nice unit and does sound good. The OS took to a 200 GB SD card like it was made for the capacity.
However the earbud/IEM market has changed a lot since these were released. The iPod 5.5g is essentially unusable with some of the more sensitive balanced armature IEMs such as the Campfire Audio Andromeda, as I discovered. There's a very audible buzz whenever the amplifier circuit is on that really can't be ignored.
In my opinion, the spiritual successor to the iPod today are the Sony Walkman players that run Sony's own Linux-based OS. Recent versions of this such as the A50 series or WM1A sound excellent and are very quiet with even highly sensitive IEMS. Unfortunately they may not be much longer for this world any more either as everything moves towards Android.
However the earbud/IEM market has changed a lot since these were released. The iPod 5.5g is essentially unusable with some of the more sensitive balanced armature IEMs such as the Campfire Audio Andromeda, as I discovered. There's a very audible buzz whenever the amplifier circuit is on that really can't be ignored.
In my opinion, the spiritual successor to the iPod today are the Sony Walkman players that run Sony's own Linux-based OS. Recent versions of this such as the A50 series or WM1A sound excellent and are very quiet with even highly sensitive IEMS. Unfortunately they may not be much longer for this world any more either as everything moves towards Android.