Is J3 still the one to go for?

[peacespotting]

Hey,

My (great) iAudio9 is slowly getting old and I need to think about replacing it (that and I want to buy something new and shiny ).

I'm a bit of a Cowon whore so was wondering if the J3 is still the player to go with since it's coming up to 2 years old. Just to be clear I'm only really looking for an audio/video player so I'm slightly put off by the smartphone-esque-players-that-aren't-actually-phones since they're on the expensive side and I probably wouldn't use it anyway since I already have a smartphone.

So basically I want to know if the J3 is still worth getting or would it be worth waiting around for a next-gen Cowon player.

Thanks

[CrowdAds]

[cowonj3owner]

Cowon have released a number of players after the J3 and they all look a lot better than the J3. But in the end they never seem to be able to compete on quality. The J3 seems to be the number 1 player in the prtable audio market.

[piranha17]

HI,
I buy a j3 this week from exportprive! Why?
Portability, battery , amoled screen, cowon sound quality etc etc...

why I did not buy the Z2 ?
Because I have a HTC Sensation androide phone.

PS: sorry for my bad english

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by peacespotting

... So basically I want to know if the J3 is still worth getting or would it be worth waiting around for a next-gen Cowon player ...

I would agree with cowonj3owner, the J3 is hard to beat and it's still a great player IMO ...

[alstein]

Hi, I recently sold my Zune 120, and am looking for a replacement. Superior sound quality is of primary importance. I've read some very positive reviews of the J3, however I also read that Cowon players do not work well on Windows 7 64 bit systems which is what I use. Can anyone confirm if this is, in fact, true? If so, I will look at other alternatives. Thanks.

[Lagoo56]

I used to have a Cowon O2 and it worked fine with my Windows 7 64 bit laptop. All Cowon players work as flash drives so theres no reason for them to have problems with any version of Windows to be honest,they all require no software and no nothing,just plug in and load the player like a flash drive.

[DSperber]

Originally Posted by alstein

Hi, I recently sold my Zune 120, and am looking for a replacement. Superior sound quality is of primary importance. I've read some very positive reviews of the J3, however I also read that Cowon players do not work well on Windows 7 64 bit systems which is what I use. Can anyone confirm if this is, in fact, true? If so, I will look at other alternatives. Thanks.

There is no problem whatsoever with the J3 and Windows, of any flavor, if you run the J3 in its default MSC mode for USB connection (rather than the alternative MTP mode).

MSC causes Windows to assign two drive letters to both the internal and external storage (if present) of the J3. And that means 100% of all Windows and 3rd-party vendor programs will work 100% perfectly with the J3, exactly as with any other removable USB drive or device.

MTP mode is also available for the J3, but it's more cumbersome and difficult to work with, and very very few Windows and 3rd-party programs "understand" MTP mode properly. The J3 is "just barely usable" if in MTP mode, and you need to really know what you're doing in Windows if you have some justifiable reason for using MTP mode on the J3.

Anyway, just stick with default MSC mode, and the J3 will be 100% usable by any Windows or 3rd-party program. And you'll have the best sounding music player, with a beautiful AMOLED screen. Add in the Kizune UCI replacement package (Lynx for main-menu desktop, Leaf for browser, Sense for music, and Vision for pictures) and you'll be glad you made the J3 purchase.

[alstein]

Originally Posted by DSperber

There is no problem whatsoever with the J3 and Windows, of any flavor, if you run the J3 in its default MSC mode for USB connection (rather than the alternative MTP mode).

MSC causes Windows to assign two drive letters to both the internal and external storage (if present) of the J3. And that means 100% of all Windows and 3rd-party vendor programs will work 100% perfectly with the J3, exactly as with any other removable USB drive or device.

MTP mode is also available for the J3, but it's more cumbersome and difficult to work with, and very very few Windows and 3rd-party programs "understand" MTP mode properly. The J3 is "just barely usable" if in MTP mode, and you need to really know what you're doing in Windows if you have some justifiable reason for using MTP mode on the J3.

Anyway, just stick with default MSC mode, and the J3 will be 100% usable by any Windows or 3rd-party program. And you'll have the best sounding music player, with a beautiful AMOLED screen. Add in the Kizune UCI replacement package (Lynx for main-menu desktop, Leaf for browser, Sense for music, and Vision for pictures) and you'll be glad you made the J3 purchase.

Thanks very much for the information.

[alstein]

Hi. Is there a player which has all (or most) of the attributes of the J3, that includes Wifi access?

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by alstein

Hi. Is there a player which has all (or most) of the attributes of the J3, that includes Wifi access?

The Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 & 5.0 both have wifi and both sound great.

[steinburger1109]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

The Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 & 5.0 both have wifi and both sound great.

The biggest difference are no BBE sound enhancements or SAMOLED screen.

However, there are lots of great equalizers on it and the screen is still very good.

[alstein]

Originally Posted by steinburger1109

The biggest difference are no BBE sound enhancements or SAMOLED screen.

However, there are lots of great equalizers on it and the screen is still very good.

Not yet available in Canada. Also, I notice that they only come in 8GB versions. I'm OK with 32gb, which is a step down from my previous Zune 120. But 8Gb is tough. I noticed that there is a Cowan Z2 model not yet available in North America which looks interesting.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by alstein

Not yet available in Canada. ...

At this point I doubt the J3 ever will be, because it's been discontinued. Although there's always importing a product that's not available in Canada, but yea I know that's much more expensive :/

Edit: same holds true for the Samsung Galaxy Player, although afaik it's not discontinued yet

[alstein]

Originally Posted by WalkGood

At this point I doubt the J3 ever will be, because it's been discontinued. Although there's always importing a product that's not available in Canada, but yea I know that's much more expensive :/

Edit: same holds true for the Samsung Galaxy Player, although afaik it's not discontinued yet

I was referring to the Samsung not being available. The J3 is available in Canada through two online sources.

[steinburger1109]

1. There are "online sources" to get the SGP in Canada. It used to be available in a few brick and mortars up there, but no longer. So I wouldn't hold my breath on it returning, though it hasn't been discontinued yet.

2. Yea, 8 gigs sucks, but I threw a 32GB card into it which makes it much more bearable.

[The DarkSide]

The SGP's all work with a 64gb SDXC card as well,...

[alstein]

Originally Posted by Lagoo56

I used to have a Cowon O2 and it worked fine with my Windows 7 64 bit laptop. All Cowon players work as flash drives so theres no reason for them to have problems with any version of Windows to be honest,they all require no software and no nothing,just plug in and load the player like a flash drive.

Hi. I am getting closer to making a decison of purchasing the J3. I've read that the player does not handle Podcasts well. Would I be able to copy podcasts to the player from my PC?

[steinburger1109]

Originally Posted by alstein

Hi. I am getting closer to making a decison of purchasing the J3. I've read that the player does not handle Podcasts well. Would I be able to copy podcasts to the player from my PC?

Podcasts generally just come in mp3 files, so yes.

[Keeper]

hmmm - So regarding flat SQ only - how would the J3 compare to the SONY NWZ A865? I am trying to decide between those two. As far as my sound stage tastes go, I prefer in order: Sansa Clip, Sony NWZ A729 (recently sold), Samsung Q1, ... I have never listened to a Cowon.

Thanks