Need Help: iPod, Cowon or Sansa

I would say Clip+ or Fuze v2. They have the same sound quality. You can install Rockbox on them instead of original firmware. Cowons have some nice sound effects so that might be worth considering. I wouldn't recommend Ipod touch unless you need a big screen for watching videos... I mean, if you're only interested in music you should get one of these two Sansas or Cowon... If OTOH you want to have all in one, don't get Ipod touch, get Iphone 4 because it has the same sound quality I think.
 

I'd lean towards the Cowon C2 from a pure music perspective, I've read very good things about their SQ and BBE+ features. There's some 4GB going on ebay at the moment for $111. You'll know where the extra money went over one of the Sansa products. I have an S9 which I almost sold several times, actually more than several, but there's something that makes me keep it, and that is, better soundstage width, detailing and less fatiguing signature over Sansa. Plus Cowon enhancement features are top of the line for audio.

Just be warned that because Cowon players hold such high expectations don't expect a miracle straight out of the box. Like I said I almost sold mine many times. Treat it like any other player and the rewards are sure to pay off. I don't use my Clip+ as much in comparison recently.
Edited by H20Fidelity - 7/20/12 at 5:43am

i'd rather get the Z2 if i were you. D3's hardware doesn't cope up with android's features. it's too laggy you won't appreciate it.

you might consider the cowon j3 as well. i have it, and i can say, it's gonna stay for the next 5 years or so. :)

i would get the ipod touch. cowon ui is known to be slow and laggy.

sansa is not a bad choice but the itouch has more functionality.

 

anyther plus point for itouch is that the apple store have some good eq software.
 

Can you put a bigger microSD card in the Cowon D2 like a 64GB?

Edited by reload - 7/21/12 at 1:47pm

I'm still using my Clip+ and haven't made a decision to wait for the next generation ipod, the current Classic, or just stay with the Clip. 

 

My understanding is the J3 UI is not intuitive and can be challenging. If that has any truth, it's not for me.

Wait around a month or so and see if Sandisk releases a great new player.

Edited by JK1 - 7/23/12 at 11:44am

I wouldn't say that J3 UI is not intuitive and challenging. Only drawback I can mention is its performance - it could operate a little bit faster. There are also some good themes for music player and browser from Kizune, that significantly improves the UI functionality and usability. I also have a sansa clip+ and in terms of UI I would definitely prefer j3.

Edited by StalkerRus - 7/24/12 at 4:28am

I thought I'd reply to this thread even though it's almost a year old, in case anyone finds my response helpful. I've been considering the same question. The BIGGEST question to consider is - how/where will you be using the player? I have a Cowon D2+ that has served me well for almost 5 years (!). It has all the features I wanted, sounds great, and yes was a little expensive. I use my D2+ for commuting and working out. Using it for commuting is just fine, but for working out it's not so great because it has no way to secure it to your arm, belt, etc. (I like to keep my players in "random play" mode and just press the next button if I don't want to hear a particular song.) As a result it's been dropped on the floor of my YMCA many times, and this last time did it in and cracked the screen. I'm planning to buy a Sansa Clip Zip in the next week or two because SanDisks's players seem to be much easier to clip on. Bottom line: The best-sounding player in the world is worthless if you break it easily because it's hard to secure.