J3 Line-In Question - urgent!

[dreamybear]

All,

I'm looking to buy a J3 (8GB version) for a friend. She needs an MP3 player with a line in function, something that most players out there do not have. However, I understand that the J3 requires a semi-proprietary 20pin USB line-in cable that's sold separately. Because my friend is only in town for a visit and will be leaving in a week's time, I won't have enough time to order one for her off eBay/JetMall.

Can anyone please advise the following:
1. Where to buy the line-in cable in Vancouver, Canada
or
2. Whether the headphone jack doubles as a line in jack (which I've heard exists for some MP3 players)
or
3. What else I can do to allow her to record using line-in? =(

Thanks in advance for your assistance!!

[CrowdAds]

[dfkt]

1.) Probably either Jetmall, Amazon, or some eBay store. Those cables are very proprietary and very rare. Good luck finding it for a decent price.

2.) No, line-in only works over the proprietary USB port.

3.) Nothing, only the Cowon cable will give you line-in.

Furthermore, the J3 only records in WMA, not other format. Which is extremely limited and annoying for many people's needs.

[dreamybear]

Thanks so much for your help, dfkt!

Given that there are now very few MP3 players on the market with line-in function (and that it's hard to find an older Cowon model on short notice), I guess I will advise my friend to get a voice recorder instead.

[musichound]

Even though the J3 records only in WMA, the files can be easily converted to another format, even though it might degrade the quality a bit. I am hoping that Cowon decides to at least provide the option in recording to MP3 format via firmware release. Why they chose WMA is beyond me.

[james444]

Some of the current Transcend DAPs (e.g. 870) still have line-in recording to WAV. Don't know about their recording quality though.

[Angelopsaro]

What is line in?
Is it the ability to transfer sound to another system? Because i can use my cowon j3 as auxiliary on my home stereo system through the 3.5mm

[james444]

No, it's quite the opposite, transferring sound from another system to the DAP (usually via 3.5mm analogue line-in)

[Angelopsaro]

So i guess its useful from playing audio files from an external disk for example. Thanks for the info.

[james444]

No, that would require USB host functionality. Line-in is for recording analogue sound, e.g. from older equipment like cassette players or record players (though you'd also need a phono preamp for the latter). It's also suitable for recording radio from a line-out or headphone out. Or you could plug a line-in capable DAP into the line-out of a soundboard to record a live session.