Looking to get some thoughts and advice from the community here on what you would do in my situation with my source gear.
I have a Cowon J3 and an iPhone 4S as my sources. My primary IEMs are Westone 4. I've also got a FiiO E11 as an amp. If I'm going portable, and using the Cowon, its straight from the HO > W4, if its the iPhone, its the iPhone > LOD > FiiO E11 > W4. I only use the FiiO when I'm using the iPhone.
I prefer to EQ, and I like a good thump of bass in the stuff I listen to, which is mostly rock, techno and some hip-hop stuff. I find with EQ tweaks and settings on the Cowon J3 I can get a sound I really like. I have EQu and Equaliser for the iPhone and to be honest, I can achieve a sound I'm looking for on both setups, although I do prefer the Cowon J3 sound overall to the iPhone's - love that BBE on the Cowon.
What I want is to do some sort of consolidation here. If I'm taking the Cowon, I still carry the iPhone anyway. If I'm taking the iPhone, most times I'll take the amp. So its not like I'm saving anything less to carry.
I am a Mac user, and I suppose if I was Windows orientated or Android based, my choice would be a lot easier, I'd take the Cowon hands down. As it is, I'm now managing two libraries, with iTunes on the Mac for the iPhone and either manually dragging tracks to the Cowon or firing up a VM with Windows and MediaMonkey. With iOS 5 now doing wireless syncing, getting stuff onto and off of the iPhone is a doodle, whereas with the Cowon its a bit more of a hassle. And the UI on the Cowon I find a bit annoying, for me anyway its not as straightforward as the iPhones.
If my tracks are ripped from CD, then they are in flac and apple lossless, (which is another thing to convert to have on both devices).
So my question is - would you continue with my setup and manage two devices or dump the Cowon and just have the iPhone and use whatever takes my fancy that particular day? Or any other recommendation?
