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Alternative to ZUNE HD

post #1 of 33
6/21/10 at 8:43pm
Thread Starter 

So I've decided that I want to buy CD's and convert them to FLAC myself. This is a bit ambitious and expensive, who knows if I'll actually do it.

 

Anyways, I absolutely love the ZuneHD interface and would hate to part with it. Doesn't play FLAC files though so I kinda have to.

 

Any alternatives out there that offer a sleek intuitive interface that supports FLAC files? Decent power output wouldn't hurt either.

 

All suggestions are welcome.

 

Thanks in advance.

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

CD Player
Zune HD 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
Zune HD 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Platinum)
post #2 of 33
6/21/10 at 8:49pm

Cowon J3 sounds up your alley.  Not sure if it plays 24 bit FLAC though if you don't feel 16 bit will cut it for you.

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post #3 of 33
6/21/10 at 8:50pm

How about the Cowon J3?

 

http://product.cowon.com/product/COWONJ3/product_page_1.php

 

Also has Micro SD card slot for expansion

 

 

I personally cannot part with my Zune HD even if it means I won't be able to listen to FLAC, but that's me.

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post #4 of 33
6/21/10 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by kite7 View Post

I personally cannot part with my Zune HD even if it means I won't be able to listen to FLAC, but that's me.


I've fallen in love with the clarity and depth of .flac

 

I just can't compromise sound quality.

 

The J3 looks like a nice compromise between sound quality and aesthetics ;)

 

Thanks to the both of you for the recommendation.

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post #5 of 33
6/21/10 at 9:15pm

+3 for cowon J3

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post #6 of 33
6/22/10 at 9:27pm
Thread Starter 

Bump. Still accepting recommendations. All I've gotten so far is the Cowon J3.

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post #7 of 33
6/22/10 at 10:34pm

Why not just convert your CDs into WMA lossless?

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post #8 of 33
6/23/10 at 7:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_tumiwa View Post

+3 for cowon J3



+4 for the Cowon J3 - it's quite the looker w/the SQ to match.

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post #9 of 33
6/23/10 at 7:42am

Why not just convert your CD's to WMA lossless which the ZuneHD can play? I did that on my collection and even though I'm using a new player now that cannot play wma lossless I just convert the wma lossless files to .flac to put on the player.

 

Or you can convert everything to .flac and just convert what you want to wma lossless to put on the player?

 

As long as it is a lossless format you can convert it to any other lossless format you want to.

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post #10 of 33
6/23/10 at 9:06am

+ 1 more for the J3. 

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post #11 of 33
6/23/10 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by goober-george View Post

Why not just convert your CDs into WMA lossless?


Depending on the size of his music collection, this might not be feasible since WMA lossless is uncompressed. He would have to cut down his collection on his Zune to 1/3 the size or less, since he can't expand the onboard memory. Just my thoughts...

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post #12 of 33
6/23/10 at 12:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KnightK View Post




Depending on the size of his music collection, this might not be feasible since WMA lossless is uncompressed. He would have to cut down his collection on his Zune to 1/3 the size or less, since he can't expand the onboard memory. Just my thoughts...


.flac files and wma lossless files are usually the same size.

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post #13 of 33
6/24/10 at 2:56pm

If you can reach across the sea, the Samsung M1 is in the same league as the Cowon J3, and brings along the added features the P3 and P2 were famous for.  Same screens on both.  The M1 is heavier and feels more solid/substantial. It can pair with most bluetooth enabled phones and serve as both your phone and media player.  I've put a short review with photos up on my blog.  Still evaluating the deeper features, and may add more info later.

 

4D

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post #14 of 33
6/24/10 at 11:33pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks to all who replied.

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post #15 of 33
7/1/10 at 12:34pm

I have a Cowon S9... the interface has matured a lot since the time it was released... I would say the Custom UCI's for the S9 are far superior to the J3 interface, which has not had enough time to mature (AKA time for developers to do their magic) In the long run, yes, the J3 is your best bet, but currently, the S9 offers great .FLAC support, as well as a better custom interfaces.

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

CD Player
Zune HD 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
Zune HD 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Platinum)
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