EPTCOWON J3 & MP3 Player Thread - Page 2
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pookychoo
New Zealand96 Posts
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phosphorylation
United States2935 Posts
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Kamais_Ookin
Canada4218 Posts
On January 07 2011 19:51 GWBushJr wrote: There are certainly places in North America that you can get it online from for example NCIX, I'm not too sure about actual in-stores though.Oh nice, it has flac/wave, but what it only goes to 1411 but no 2116.8 any stores that have it in North Amerika? the sony portable players don't have flac except this korean one in the OP and the only way for apple to get it is via some format specifically made for it... | ||
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StellarSails
United States32 Posts
On January 07 2011 19:56 metzGRR wrote: I hate how they have to put a super expensive led display on all mp3 players nowadays. If you buy something with an 8 gig capacity, and it has a led display, to listen to music with, your priorities are screwed up. I completely agree. If I buy an MP3 player it is solely to listen to music. As long as there is a display to easily select which artist or album is in play it is sufficient. What I really care about is memory so I can carry my huge collection of music around with me wherever I go. I wish I didn't have to use an Ipod, but nothing on the market really compares with the 160gb ipod (this cowon J3 32 gig is the same price as a 160gb ipod), so my money is on the ipod. Also, I hate itunes, its so clunky; there are plenty of programs that let you use an ipod without using Itunes. | ||
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phosphorylation
United States2935 Posts
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gulati
United States2241 Posts
On January 07 2011 19:36 HuggyBear wrote: The D3 is the pinnacle of true tech junkies. It has every single thing possible from both the Apple world, and the COWON world. The display is just as high resolution as the Retina display, it has crystal-clear HDMI out, it runs Android OS 2.1, it has WiFi... I can go on and on and on. It is perfect However, these perfections come at a detrimental loss in battery life. The battery life is slashed over 300% from the J3 for these new features. That is a loss that I personally don't want to take for an MP3 player, but that's just me. If you truly love high-end displays and neat features such as Android OS, HDMI-out, WiFi, etc., then go with the D3. However, if we are speaking strictly on terms of audiophile MP3 players, you can be indifferent, since they both should use the same exact sound properties that the S9 and J3 used (there is no official release of the sound properties yet). However, going by history, it is safe to say they will use the Wolfson chipset once again. On January 07 2011 19:41 ZERG_RUSSIAN wrote: Can you explain to me why it wins the WiFi category when it... doesn't have... WiFi... Sorry for the confusion. This was judged in the category of Features, and I personally put more weight onto expandable memory for an MP3 player over WiFi for an MP3 player, but that's just my opinion. On January 07 2011 19:51 GWBushJr wrote: I love the fact that you seek that high of a bitrate for your music  I don't think COWON can go to that high of a rate. Maybe, but... that's just overkill to the max. But I still love it And yes, you can buy these in select high-end audio stores, but your best bet is Amazon (cheapest and fastest). On January 07 2011 20:13 writer22816 wrote: Compared to the S9 (I own it), they share:
They differ in:
So, they are pretty darn similar. The S9 dominated the market when it was popular years ago. I still love my S9. As for the D2+, I think he summed it up On January 07 2011 20:30 alffla wrote: WOW wtf thats real damn small?? wtf theres no screen even? so its kinda like ipod shuffle or something? O _o how much does this cowon j3 cost? The COWON J3 costs:
All prices are from Amazon, and are pretty much as low as you will get. On January 07 2011 22:25 Treeship wrote: I completely agree. If I buy an MP3 player it is solely to listen to music. As long as there is a display to easily select which artist or album is in play it is sufficient. What I really care about is memory so I can carry my huge collection of music around with me wherever I go. I wish I didn't have to use an Ipod, but nothing on the market really compares with the 160gb ipod (this cowon J3 32 gig is the same price as a 160gb ipod), so my money is on the ipod. Also, I hate itunes, its so clunky; there are plenty of programs that let you use an ipod without using Itunes. The COWON X7 is your solution my friend | ||
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Wala.Revolution
7582 Posts
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couches
618 Posts
I really want that COWON X7 but I dunno, the screen...ahhh. =\ | ||
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gulati
United States2241 Posts
On January 07 2011 23:43 couches wrote: I never understood why mp3 players need fancy screens. What would battery life be like if all it had was a small display showing only artist, song, album, playlist, genre, category names and then a menu for device settings. Seems like you could get more bang for your buck if you weren't throwing 150+ dollars at a fancy touch screen to play angry birds on or to watch youtube on wifi. I really want that COWON X7 but I dunno, the screen...ahhh. =\ You are absolutely right. An MP3 player does not require any fancy gimmicks, cameras, WiFi, etc. It requires high-quality sound properties. The iPod G3 was my favorite iPod to-date, and is the only one I would ever use again. However, COWON and other overseas companies alike have truly seized on the competition and realized that MP3 players need to return to their roots, however they must also be competitive in the global market today. I believe that the S9 and J3 are very elegant blends between high-end simple MP3 devices, and the new-age fancy touch screen displays. It isn't overkill, but by no means is it a dime-a-dozen player; it satisfies both extremes. Also, the fact that COWON is a Korean company makes me even happier | ||
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phosphorylation
United States2935 Posts
On January 07 2011 23:43 couches wrote: I never understood why mp3 players need fancy screens. What would battery life be like if all it had was a small display showing only artist, song, album, playlist, genre, category names and then a menu for device settings. Seems like you could get more bang for your buck if you weren't throwing 150+ dollars at a fancy touch screen to play angry birds on or to watch youtube on wifi. I really want that COWON X7 but I dunno, the screen...ahhh. =\ What's wrong with it? It isn't cutting-edge and instead "compromised" compared to S9 or J3. It features I think around 100 hours of battery per charge, huge HD space, and same great sound quality. I don't think you would ever need more battery life than that. | ||
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Rinrun
Canada3509 Posts
On January 07 2011 19:14 ieatkids5 wrote: pretty nice write-up. although people reading this should know that generally, sound quality is bottlenecked by the headphones you're using. for most people, upgrading their headphones will improve sound quality much much more than changing the mp3 player. That said, if people are looking to buy a new mp3 player, this review will help them out i personally use the sansa clip+. small, cheap, good, expandable memory, good battery life, good features, and has an equalizer. probably the best value all around. This was basically what I was going to post.  The Clip+ is a beast stock, but once you rockbox it - its on a whole new level. | ||
Jibba
United States22883 Posts
On January 08 2011 05:14 phosphorylation wrote: What's wrong with it? It isn't cutting-edge and instead "compromised" compared to S9 or J3. It features I think around 100 hours of battery per charge, huge HD space, and same great sound quality. I don't think you would ever need more battery life than that. Because it's too big, the same reason I prefer a Droid over an EVO or Incredible. I got my J3 from B&H in New York and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I kind of wish it had the large HDD of the X7, but my experience with physical drives in mp3 players hasn't been great so I'm willing to make due with 64gb instead of 160. I love that it's relatively small and very light, and the flash interface is somewhat customizable. It certainly doesn't have the features of a Touch, but I have a smart phone for that so I really don't care about internet access. | ||
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gulati
United States2241 Posts
On January 08 2011 05:36 Jibba wrote: Because it's too big, the same reason I prefer a Droid over an EVO or Incredible. I got my J3 from B&H in New York and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I kind of wish it had the large HDD of the X7, but my experience with physical drives in mp3 players hasn't been great so I'm willing to make due with 64gb instead of 160. I love that it's relatively small and very light, and the flash interface is somewhat customizable. It certainly doesn't have the features of a Touch, but I have a smart phone for that so I really don't care about internet access. I got my S9 from J&R downtown. I've known B&H, but I never knew they had a store in New York. How much did you pay for your J3, and what color did you get? Btw, herro neighbor! | ||
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Jibba
United States22883 Posts
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caelym
United States6421 Posts
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Neoto
United Kingdom19 Posts
![[image loading]](http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/ir/iriver-ihp-140-40gb.jpg) Mine is a bit more battered than that of course | ||
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couches
618 Posts
On January 08 2011 05:14 phosphorylation wrote: I don't think there's anything actually wrong with it. Just, there is a lot of overlap between touch screen mp3 players like an itouch and smartphones. One has huge storage capacity the other has texting/calling. Everything else they can share, basically. Would be sweet to see the two devices merge with both of those perks. But as long as there's good money to be made in keeping them separate it may not happen for a while. However, my phone does have a 16g microSD so it's getting there it seems like.What's wrong with it? It isn't cutting-edge and instead "compromised" compared to S9 or J3. It features I think around 100 hours of battery per charge, huge HD space, and same great sound quality. I don't think you would ever need more battery life than that. What I would really really like is a smaller device like the shuffle or the iaudio e2 but with large capacity. That will probably take some time to develop. Just hate feeling like I'm tethered to a computer with a smaller capacity mp3 device. I unno, when most ppl are already carrying phones around it sucks to have to pay for and carry yet another similar sized device for music too. | ||
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[Fin]Vittu
Canada507 Posts
Back to the J3, i was really hesitant on getting it as my 4th gen ipod nano hasn't broken yet (i felt that was a waste). but since i had a bonus from work i decided to go for it, (i also justified my purchase by the fact that 8gb on a nano isn't enough). Upon realizing that the 16gb J3 had a slot for expandable SD memory, i pulled the trigger and purchased it. fast forward...the j3 came in the mail i quickly loaded up a few songs on it and had a listened. the sound was very transparent, and since i listen to some electronica (hardstyle, skrillex, house, trance) i played around with the EQs. The EQs has room for 5 user-defined presets! How awesome is that, I have one made for pink floyd, general heavy metal and classical. There are also the presets which come with, such as BBE MP, Mach3Bass (please try this setting on transparent IEMs its so thick-sounding). And to add to the deal, you aren't bound to any software! This baby functions like a usb where you just drag and drop music files, no questions asked. So. Very. Very. Simple. And. Clean. My days with itunes are over, i can merrily uninstall it from my computer, no more lag, no more "SYNCING IPOD" messages, no more "hanging-on-the-screen-because-i-clicked-a button" problems. I don't have anything negative to say about this mp3 player, i mean it even supports flac, though i find flac a waste of space and uncessary on a portable source, so i just rip from flac to v0 (mp3 format). I agree with how the mp3 should return to its original roots, emphasizing its build on Sound to noise ratio (snr), support for a multitude of formats (ogg, aac, flac, wav, mp3, alac) and EQ settings. And not on how many "extra features" it has. for some people like me, i prefer browsing the internet and using wi fi on my laptop so i dont have to squint at my browser that's on my mp3 player. nor do i need a camera/video...(face-to-face with me while i listen to music....seriously?). It's a shame cowon's mp3 players hardly make it on the north american market where everyone is blinded by apple/sony mp3 players. If it weren't for this TL thread: http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=147218 i wouldn't have known about the existence of cowon. | ||
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Chef
10810 Posts
I think that having pride in one's possessions is fine (I suppose), but this is too much. On 'audiophile' forums you will see threads for a pair of headphones, or a particular mp3 player that go on for dozens of pages. What exactly are you guys talking about? Everyone just says 'I like this!' or tries to feel elitist about something they purchased. I think there is something that makes you want your mp3 player to be more than it really is. You paid $300 for a device. It plays audio. It plays videos. That's what you paid for. Yes, it does it better than a cheap knockoff player, but the majority of the players on the market are very competent. There is really nothing to say about them, except "it does what it does." Possibly to the dismay of audiophiles, Cowon's claim to fame is its equalizers. Clip+'s claim to fame is that it is well RockBox supported (ie RockBox equalizers). If you don't use equalizers, they really don't have an advantage over the rest of the market (except perhaps in looks/snob appeal), and most audiophiles think of equalizers as a sin (which although I don't often use equalizers, I still find it hilarious). I use a Cowon S9. I wanted a Samsung player but unfortunately they don't sell those in Canada. I wanted to give some hope against Apple completely monopolizing the market in Canada, so I bought a Cowon (I thought about Archos, but those apparently have infamously unreliable firmware, even compared to the numerous complaints people make about Cowon players). This I think is mildly sane. Writing a 2000 word essay on a topic that is really very simple, on the other-hand... seems unhealthy. If you were an engineer who builds mp3 players you might have something to say... But as a layman, all we can say is 'I like this player' and point to arbitrary specs of the player to try and back up the claim even if we don't really understand them. | ||
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gulati
United States2241 Posts
On January 08 2011 06:29 Chef wrote: I tried to write a decent post in here earlier, but then deleted it. I'm going to try again now. I think that having pride in one's possessions is fine (I suppose), but this is too much. On 'audiophile' forums you will see threads for a pair of headphones, or a particular mp3 player that go on for dozens of pages. What exactly are you guys talking about? Everyone just says 'I like this!' or tries to feel elitist about something they purchased. I think there is something that makes you want your mp3 player to be more than it really is. You paid $300 for a device. It plays audio. It plays videos. That's what you paid for. Yes, it does it better than a cheap knockoff player, but the majority of the players on the market are very competent. There is really nothing to say about them, except "it does what it does." Possibly to the dismay of audiophiles, Cowon's claim to fame is its equalizers. Clip+'s claim to fame is that it is well RockBox supported (ie RockBox equalizers). If you don't use equalizers, they really don't have an advantage over the rest of the market (except perhaps in looks/snob appeal), and most audiophiles think of equalizers as a sin (which although I don't often use equalizers, I still find it hilarious). I use a Cowon S9. I wanted a Samsung player but unfortunately they don't sell those in Canada. I wanted to give some hope against Apple completely monopolizing the market in Canada, so I bought a Cowon (I thought about Archos, but those apparently have infamously unreliable firmware, even compared to the numerous complaints people make about Cowon players). This I think is mildly sane. Writing a 2000 word essay on a topic that is really very simple, on the other-hand... seems unhealthy. If you were an engineer who builds mp3 players you might have something to say... But as a layman, all we can say is 'I like this player' and point to arbitrary specs of the player to try and back up the claim even if we don't really understand them. Although I do respect your opinion, I think you are being ignorant. There is no reason to shoot down people because I do not have a Masters degree in Musical Engineering. I deem myself to be an audiophile for the hardware and quality of samples I listen to, and for the over-attention to detail I take in regards to audio. You do not have the right to tell TeamLiquid, or any other forum for that matter, to be unenthusiastic and just blindly purchase hardware. That is what Apple hopes for the rest of the world to do, which is why there are people like us, anythingbutipod.com, head-fi.org, etc., which attempt to shine light upon those who are not as understanding about high-end audio. As you can read above, I defined what SnR and some other technical terms are. I'm trying to help people out here and give insight to a world that is far more beautiful than Apple. If you don't appreciate it, that's perfectly fine. But don't call me unhealthy for writing a 2,000 page essay on a "simple" topic. I love hearing feedback and support from other people around the world who share the same ideals as mine, and it's evidence enough to show that there are a lot of people here who know what they are talking about. If you want to be cynical and claim that we just arbitrarily find a specification and try to correlate that with another reason that we like the product at hand, you can do that. But you are incorrect with your statement, because you do not know to what degree anyone's musical knowledge extends to. To claim that we don't understand what we are really talking about is BM. | ||
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