Cowon J3 RMAA Tests
 

The J3 is basically the same as any other Cowon player, concerning RMAA measurements - the same bass roll-off with low-impedance phones as always, but nothing to complain about. Same as the O2 and V5 in listening tests, the J3 has no hiss at all reasonable volume levels, even with very sensitive phones. It's slightly better than the S9 and much better than eg. the D2 in that aspect.

With difficult to drive multi-armature phones it performs very well (due to its low output impedance) - with those kinds of phones it technically beats players like the Sony A845 and Hifiman HM-801, only to be bested by the Sansa Clip/Clip+ in frequency response. In reality, only the A845 couldn't properly drive those phones according to my listening tests, all other players perform basically the same.

RMAA - Cowon J3 Loads vs Clip+
RMAA - 16 Ohm - Cowon, J3, S9, D2, i9
RMAA - 32 Ohm Multi-Armature - Cowon J3, Sansa Clip+, Sony A845, Hifiman HM-801 (Different volume levels - only frequency response and crosstalk are relevant in this test!)

I'm working on getting a J3 now, so this is excellent news dfkt. I love my D2, and the S9 just wasn't for me. Now, after reading all these great reviews and seeing that it's a pretty solid player w/driving power, I gotta have 1.

Thanks for being yourself,....honest!!!

Man, so amazing that the tiny, inexpensive and versatile Clip+ continues to sonically best products costing much more [in the case of the crapfest HyFyMan, much, much, much, much more....]

:-D

Or is it the NoHi(ghs)Man now?

Actually it only wins the J3 in low end frequency response... J3 wins, sometimes massively (as according to the RMAA for the SE530), for the rest.

The Clip+ and Hifiman tests with the SE530 were made with low output volume, just to check frequency response and crosstalk - the other results are worse due to the low volume. Back then I tested a range of multi-armature IEMs with the Clip+ and Hifiman - and I didn't want to blast the test signal at full volume through my UE11, SM3, etc. Thus the worse SNR and dynamic range. It is indicated in the RMAA graphs, but it's a bit confusing. So the J3 and Clip+ are basically the same in most aspects, except that the Clip+ drives any phone with a linear frequency response. The 16 Ohm test has both the Clip and J3 at the same volume level and is a bit more indicative overall.

In the meantime I decided to sacrifice the SE530 for the good cause, and started making RMAA tests at full volume with them. The Sony A845 test with the SE530 was made at full volume as well, contrary to the Clip and Hifiman - shows that it's a not so great effort in comparison.

I see.

And well, the Sony's frequency curve is amusing as heck. :D

Thats hard to believe about the bass roll-off problem because I own a Cowon J3 and to my ears I feel that the bass on the J3 is more detailed, tight and has more life than my Cowon D2 which has the infamous bass roll-off. I am even using the same low impedance earphones (Sennheiser CX300II) that I used with my D2.

Art

Placebo? That, or EQ.

Probably EQ. The Mach3bass on my J3 is far superior to the same function on my D2. On the D2 the Mach3bass just made the bass more bloated and muddy where on my J3 it makes the bass more deeper, tighter with more life.

Art

Of course one can't say one player's hardware performs better than the other when they have different sound enhancements. Old BBE vs. new BBE is way different - if one sounds better than the other is only a matter of personal preference. These RMAA and listening tests were performed flat, that's the only real point of reference between different players.

I don't have the D2 anymore, but back in the day I did volume-matched listening tests between the D2, S9, X5, and a few others - and they all sounded exactly the same, no difference at all. The bass roll-off is mostly an unsightly thing in graphs anyways, it usually doesn't matter much if it's at -2dB at 50Hz, for most music styles.

Off-topic posts moved here: http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56811