Cowons portable music players

J3 is actually newer than S9 btw

I vote Cowon J3, as it does the gapless, has all the great BBE+ effects & great Cowon SQ, and it can use a microSD card up to 32gb.

vote for J3

Is the iAudio 7 still being sold? I thought that the iAudio 9 would replace it. You could replace the iAudio 7 with the D2(+) which seems to be a well liked DAP.

That would make your options J3, iAudio 9 and D2(+). If you are planning on using the device for only music, the J3 might be a bit of a overkill since it is a great video player as well. The iAudio 9 and to a lesser extent the D2(+) have got smaller screens and are more focused on the music playing part.

The J3 has got a MicroSD card expansion slot and the D2(+) has got a SD card expansion slot. The iAudio 9 has not got an expansion slot.

If you're not planning on watching any videos on it the D2+ is a better deal.  The smaller screen, fewer video playback options, and just being an older player make it a good deal cheaper than the J3.  If you want the most storage capacity though you'll have to pay a premium for the 32gb version (the D2+ only goes to 16gb built in) and a 32gb SD card.

you need to include the D2+ also as an option.   the iaudio7 is more portable than the D2 and sounds great,the battery NEVER DIES!  it was my first serious audiophile player and i was totally overwhelmed by it the first time i heard it (coming from the bad sounding sansa express). 

I currently have the D2 (with D2+ firmware) which i bought not long after the i7,and i would rate it in the same leage only a little less portable because of the touch screen.  but it is still very small and fit very nicely into my pocket.  soundwise they are the same,and the D2's battery life is second best after the i7 in all cowon players line.

I don't know if the new iaudio9 sound better in any way from the i7.  I read on iaudiophile forums that the i9 sounds similar to the S9.  i would consider them also as a good option,but the i9 is not as small as the i7 and if i am not wrong it doesn't have the same long life battery as the i7.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schultz 

The only thing that concerns me about the D2+ is that I hear it doesnt have the latest JetEffects. Is this really a big deal, or would I be better off with a D2+ (longer lasting battery, memory cards) than an i9?

If I were to have to pick between an i7, and an i9, it would be a i9. The shorter battery is made up by the player having even better audio quality over the i7.

it depends.  for me,battery life and memory is important because i use lossless.   you need to think if the battery life of the i9 will be enough for you and that you won't need more than 16 gb of space.  in this case,go for the i9.   

the old jeteffect is really not bad either.  except for the viva effect which is highly praised in the iaudiophile comunity,the old setting got pretty much everything you need. 

i personally use only the mach3bass in order to compensate for the little bass roll off with my pk2 earphones.  I also equalise a bit in order to get more balanced sound.  I must say that i am very very satisfied with my D2,

i think that the i9 and D2+ are you best choises. now you only need to decide between them 

Voted for the J3. It is truly one sexy player.

EDIT: Hahaha! Just looked at the results, 100% say the J3. Sums it up really. ;)

I decided that i will not get a new cowon player until they will show an improvement in sound.

I currently use the d2,and i wonder if the S9/i9 got some SQ improvement.  i am not using any EQ or enhancements, so i  don't care so much about jeteffect.

I won't get another Cowon DAP until they add 1 feature I require, and that's "Replay Gain/Volume Normalization". I tend to shuffle my tunes to keep it fresh, and the difference in volume can be quite startling,.......

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter 

I decided that i will not get a new cowon player until they will show an improvement in sound.

I currently use the d2,and i wonder if the S9/i9 got some SQ improvement.  i am not using any EQ or enhancements, so i  don't care so much about jeteffect.

Well, if you do not use EQing, Cowons are not a good choice. I think that my S9 sounds very good with EQ on, but without any EQ it sounds very flat to my ears. Cowon has got one of the best EQ onthe market, but they do not seem to be able to get their DAP:s to sound good when they are not using EQ.