I've been an iPod Touch 64gb (3rd Gen) fan for a while now, and still am. I buy about 5-6 CD's per month, so my procedure to get music onto my iPod is a pain in the rear. I rip a new CD with DBPowerAmp to FLAC. Then I back up that rip to an external drive. Then I run the DBPowerAmp batch converter and create the ALACS. Next I open iTunes and refresh it so it picks up the new CD. Then I plug in my iPod and drag the new CD onto it to add the new music. This is tedious!!
This past weekend, I have been doing a LOT of reading. (Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper) Sitting in my very-expensively-furnished-hardly-ever-used living room with my iPod, my Grado SR325's, and my Kindle is an addictive thing. I can say that the battery life on the Touch leaves a lot to be desired. (8-9 hours) And if I have EQu turned on, it is way worse. (4-5 hours) And no, I am not going to go to AAC - with the Grados, there *is* a difference in SQ.
In previous posts, I've touted the iPod Touch, and even sent back a new Cowon D2+ because the Touch sounded better. But now I think I may be making a change. I would think that either the Cowon J3 or the X7 sound better than the D2+. They have solid output power and may drive my Grados (or my Yuin PK1's) even better than the Touch. If the SQ is at least as good as the Touch, I am going to make the switch. While I used to care that the comparisons had to be flat eq on both, my next comparisons are going to be to set up the player to produce the best sound possible, regardless. With that said, the BBE/JET etc, may tip the scale. Add to that the super easy loading of music, no more iTunes, and absolutely killer battery life, and Cowon moves ahead. Some may say that at the end of the day, it's all about the SQ, especially here. I do agree, but if either the J3 or X7 can match my Touch's SQ, then I'm jumping ship for all the *other* reasons. (battery, loading, native FLAC)
