[doublea71]

Quote:

 


Let's entertain this notion of the DAC chip a second.... http://www.wolfsonmicro.com/products/codecs/WM8960/ that is the chip used. Considering that this is the case, testing for leakage in circuit leakage should be theoretically very easy. If it is true I can think of two places where it would occur based on the schematics (I'm just basing this on what little I know of digital circuitry)... 1) is in the Digital Audio Interface, and 2) the digital filters. If it is the former, its an issue with the DAC. I do NOT think this is the case. Why? Wolfson is well known for quality in their chips. They wouldn't screw up something so simple. If it is the latter it could be the software that is doing the digital filtering. Even if filtering is off, that is software dictated and if the software is screwing up the channel separation, then it is not the fault of the DAC but Cowon and should theoretically be fixable. Either way it is testable. Just determining the problem and creating a theory on why it is happening without proving it through testing is idiotic. That is not how it works, its the basic principles of the scientific method. If I write a journal article about a phenomenon, go up to a review board and present a known phenomenon and my theory on why it happens, and then proceed to say why I'm right without having created a reproducible experiment that demonstrates the phenomenon and its cause... I'll be thrown out within 5 minutes. They'll probably laugh too. 
 
If anyone knows more, please feel free to chime in and correct me. I probably have no idea what I'm talking about. 

^This.

 

[bmiamihk]

If you do not like the sound coming out of the equipment you have in your hand you either adjust something, buy a better earphone and or buy another equipment. No need to go on a crusade in finding why.

 

[lostid]

Got the J3 today.   Here are my initial impression.....
 
1. Smaller than what I expected, especially in my big hands. Wish it could be a little bigger. Very finely built piece though.
 
2. Not very easy to uncover the usb port and card slot with my finger, and I am wondering how long the cover can keep intact without being broken. Did it break to any one of yours?
 
3. The three playback buttons should be located at the top instead on the right side. They can be easily and unintentionally pressed.
 
4. The J3 was received without any manual or CD. But no problem to quickly open the cover and find the usb port. Plug it into my Dell Precision laptop and the drive is instantly recognized. Quickly copied a few GB's of FLAC's and APE's to the music folder and started listening.
 
5. The UI design is pretty straight forward and simple. No trouble to get it going. Navigation is pretty smooth and well designed.
 
6. It doesn't seem to support the cue files for both flac and ape. Disappointed.
 
7. All EQ's and BBE are turned off, it sounds about the same as my RB'd ipod video, maybe slightly warmer. My RB'd ipod video seems sounding more neutral (which I like).
 
8. No problem to play around with the EQ's and BBE settings. Can't say I am a fan yet.
 
9. yes more watts for power. No idea how high it can go but 35 db seems to be the max I can take. Why no vol bar showing the sound level?
 
10. I like the radio and set my favorite 10 channels quickly.
 
11. Why it keeps playing after unplugging the phones? Why can't it resume playing upon plugging the phones?
 
12. Value: overpriced compared to my $30 RB'd ipod video for playing music only. Sorry.

 
13. What I appreciate the RB'd ipod video in comparison: the size just felt right and good in my hands; the brilliant wheel adjustment for sound vol; the cue file support for FLAC's; music is on/off when the phones plugged/unplugged.
 
 
Edit:
 
1. How to lock it when in play mode?
2. The J3 came with some videos loaded. I played some and must say the video quality is pretty impressive. It supports the popular avi's which is really nice.
3. The hiss noises seem pretty bad when playing around with the EQ's and BBE.
 

 

[doublea71]

 
Quote:

Got the J3 today.   Here are my initial impression.....
 
1. Smaller than what I expected, especially in my big hands. Wish it could be a little bigger. Very finely built piece though.
 
2. Not very easy to uncover the usb port and card slot with my finger, and I am wondering how long the cover can keep intact without being broken. Did it break to any one of yours?
 
3. The three playback buttons should be located at the top instead on the right side. They can be easily and unintentionally pressed.
 
4. The J3 was received without any manual or CD. But no problem to quickly open the cover and find the usb port. Plug it into my Dell Precision laptop and the drive is instantly recognized. Quickly copied a few GB's of FLAC's and APE's to the music folder and started listening.
 
5. The UI design is pretty straight forward and simple. No trouble to get it going. Navigation is pretty smooth and well designed.
 
6. It doesn't seem to support the cue files for both flac and ape. Disappointed.
 
7. All EQ's and BBE are turned off, it sounds about the same as my RB'd ipod video, maybe slightly warmer. My RB'd ipod video seems sounding more neutral (which I like).
 
8. No problem to play around with the EQ's and BBE settings. Can't say I am a fan yet.
 
9. yes more watts for power. No idea how high it can go but 35 db seems to be the max I can take. Why no vol bar showing the sound level?
 
10. I like the radio and set my favorite 10 channels quickly.
 
11. Why it keeps playing after unplugging the phones? Why can't it resume playing upon plugging the phones?
 
12. Value: overpriced compared to my $30 RB'd ipod video for playing music only. Sorry.

 
13. What I appreciate the RB'd ipod video in comparison: the size just felt right and good in my hands; the brilliant wheel adjustment for sound vol; the cue file support for FLAC's; music is on/off when the phones plugged/unplugged.
 
 
Edit:
 
1. How to lock it when in play mode?
2. The J3 came with some videos loaded. I played some and must say the video quality is pretty impressive. It supports the popular avi's which is really nice.
3. The hiss noises seem pretty bad when playing around with the EQ's and BBE.
 

 
I'll have one in early June when my folks visit from the States - I'll keep your observations in mind and pitch in my two cents, too. I think you'll appreciate the battery life fairly soon. Thanks for the critique.

 

[Kizune]

2. Not very easy to uncover the usb port and card slot with my finger, and I am wondering how long the cover can keep intact without being broken. Did it break to any one of yours?

I agree. It broke after a year for me.

4. The J3 was received without any manual or CD. But no problem to quickly open the cover and find the usb port. Plug it into my Dell Precision laptop and the drive is instantly recognized. Quickly copied a few GB's of FLAC's and APE's to the music folder and started listening.

That seems strange to me. Mine came with a CD, it was located at the cover of the package under the brown round piece of paper showing some symbols.

5. The UI design is pretty straight forward and simple. No trouble to get it going. Navigation is pretty smooth and well designed.

You should definitely take a look at some UCIs, though (= third-party UIs for your player). It's absolutely impossible to brick your player using UCIs so there's no risk.
http://www.iaudiophile.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=111

9. yes more watts for power. No idea how high it can go but 35 db seems to be the max I can take. Why no vol bar showing the sound level?

See answer above. UCIs can add such an indicator.

11. Why it keeps playing after unplugging the phones? Why can't it resume playing upon plugging the phones?

That would have been a nice feature. Sadly, Cowon doesn't listen to their non-Korean costumers...

12. Value: overpriced compared to my $30 RB'd ipod video for playing music only. Sorry. :wink_face:

You should have bought another player if you only wanted to listen to music.

1. How to lock it when in play mode?

Push the power button once to lock it and once more to switch the screen off. Pushing it a third time will unlock your player.

 

[Angelopsaro]

Allow me to add some info Kizune!
Quote:

That seems strange to me. Mine came with a CD, it was located at the cover of the package under the brown round piece of paper showing some symbols.
 

 
I had the same problem and had doubts if the box was open.Exportprive told me its becausei ts korean version or something. It looked untouched so i didnt bother.
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Kizune /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
See answer above. UCIs can add such an indicator.

 
Yeah? i never heard about it! can you tell me a custom UCI that does that?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Kizune /img/forum/go_quote.gif

That would have been a nice feature. Sadly, Cowon doesn't listen to their non-Korean costumers...
 

 
Hey actually your UCI does something a bit similar!

you can choose through Sense UCI the output. when you unplug the earphones music mutes.
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by lostid 
12. Value: overpriced compared to my $30 RB'd ipod video for playing music only. Sorry.

 
30 dollars for an ipod only? -_^ link pls?
 

 

[fallingreason]

My plastic USB cover has not broken after 1 year and still seems very strong.
 
Don't forget one of the coolest things about the J3 is you can but Rearth Ringke cases for it!! =P

 

[Coq de Combat]

While I was skeptical of the cover at first, I have been reassured by usage, that it holds good enough for my weekly abuse. That's about how often I plug it in to charge it and change the music, if I listen to it daily. I don't always, since I only listen to it while commuting. The J3 is pretty well built as a whole, to be frank. I've dropped it on the floor without breaking it (accidently, of course), quite a few times. Mostly because of leaving it in sight and reach of my kids.
 
Anyway.. it's sturdy enough to survive some abuse, including the USB cover.
 
The EQ, BBE effects along with it's battery life is why I hold it in such high regard though. If you want to compare it to rockbox, be my guest, although you should know this: Rockbox, as a firmware, is probably unparalelled - even by most commercial firmwares. We are definitely up for a change in that though, with more and more players being based on Android. As far as I know, Rockbox is being developed for Android as well. However, the J3 is imo one of the better players out there at the moment, but who knows what the future is bringing us. I do like Android quite a bit, and as Android is being developed, batteries and DACs and amps and everything else are being developed for better results as well.

 

[Migou67]

My favorite UCI is ASUCI V2 : http://vasurada.egloos.com/5553217

 

[Angelopsaro]

 
Quote:

My favorite UCI is ASUCI V2 : http://vasurada.egloos.com/555321
 

 
Does it offer anything useful instead of the clever semi rotated oriantation? Does allow you to make playlists on the go like Sense?

 

[lostid]

 
Quote:

30 dollars for an ipod only? -_^ link pls?
 

 
Sorry no link. Recently I bought one as a backup off craiglist, then bought another one ($15) with a sad face off ebay. Replaced the HDD with my spare one and it now has a happy face. My hobby now turns to collecting ipod videos. LOL.
 
Quote:

That seems strange to me. Mine came with a CD, it was located at the cover of the package under the brown round piece of paper showing some symbols.

Push the power button once to lock it and once more to switch the screen off. Pushing it a third time will unlock your player.

 
Forgot to mention my J3 was used and bought off ebay. The seller had no manual or CD but the J3 came with lots of songs and videos loaded.
 
Thanks for the tip on the lock but that seems complicated to a simple guy like me.
 
 
Quote:

Don't forget one of the coolest things about the J3 is you can but Rearth Ringke cases for it!! =P

 
The case almost costs as much as my rockboxed ipod video. LOL.
 

 

[Kizune]

Yeah? i never heard about it! can you tell me a custom UCI that does that?

In Cheetah XT there is a circular volume indicator shown when you change the volume. It even lets you change the volume using the touch screen.

Hey actually your UCI does something a bit similar! :rolleyes: you can choose through Sense UCI the output. when you unplug the earphones music mutes.

Read his post again:

"11. Why it keeps playing after unplugging the phones? Why can't it resume playing upon plugging the phones?"

This isn't similar IMO because the music keeps playing.

 

[kyuuketsuki]

 
Quote:

If you do not like the sound coming out of the equipment you have in your hand you either adjust something, buy a better earphone and or buy another equipment. No need to go on a crusade in finding why.

 
Here is the problem though. It isn't that he does not like the sound, he is affixing a reason to it without evidence of it. It is just supposition which can easily be misinformation. It wasn't that he stated the issue without reason, he gave reason without evidence, stating that "professional" friends said it was the case and thus must be true. That is just not stating an observable phenomenon, but affixing an reason without a reproducible experiment CONFIRMING the source. I'm sorry, but that perpetuates misinformation which I cannot agree with. Either determine the source with a reproducible experiment or don't theorize about the source of the problem. It's that simple. It isn't EVEN the DAC conversion, because the DAC is channel independent. So he was straight up WRONG, either he or his "professional" friends were at least. That was easily provable from just looking at the schematics. The source of the mixing was elsewhere. And as I said, considering that is the case, it is very likely a software problem rather than a hardware problem, because Wolfson is WELL KNOWN for creating high quality DACs, so Cowon can probably fix the issue with a bit of work. The fact that he fixed it to a DAC conversion problem was misinformation and that should not be the case here on Head-fi, either you know the source of the issue or you don't. Never should there be a case where someone gives an educated guess about something with a piece of equipment and passes it off as unequivocal fact. If it was opinion or supposition he should have stated it as thus or linked to the proof. He did neither. That is a very serious issue with me. Its the same as people recommending headphones without ever hearing them (I'm looking at you ATH-M50). All it does is give people wrong information which lessens the quality of this forum. I joined this forum because it was a source of very good and accurate information about headphones, sources and the like, but now, it seems that people are more increasingly talking BS to gain a better reputation within the community. 
 
Quote:

Got the J3 today.   Here are my initial impression.....
 
1. Smaller than what I expected, especially in my big hands. Wish it could be a little bigger. Very finely built piece though.
 
2. Not very easy to uncover the usb port and card slot with my finger, and I am wondering how long the cover can keep intact without being broken. Did it break to any one of yours?
 
3. The three playback buttons should be located at the top instead on the right side. They can be easily and unintentionally pressed.
 
4. The J3 was received without any manual or CD. But no problem to quickly open the cover and find the usb port. Plug it into my Dell Precision laptop and the drive is instantly recognized. Quickly copied a few GB's of FLAC's and APE's to the music folder and started listening.
 
5. The UI design is pretty straight forward and simple. No trouble to get it going. Navigation is pretty smooth and well designed.
 
6. It doesn't seem to support the cue files for both flac and ape. Disappointed.
 
7. All EQ's and BBE are turned off, it sounds about the same as my RB'd ipod video, maybe slightly warmer. My RB'd ipod video seems sounding more neutral (which I like).
 
8. No problem to play around with the EQ's and BBE settings. Can't say I am a fan yet.
 
9. yes more watts for power. No idea how high it can go but 35 db seems to be the max I can take. Why no vol bar showing the sound level?
 
10. I like the radio and set my favorite 10 channels quickly.
 
11. Why it keeps playing after unplugging the phones? Why can't it resume playing upon plugging the phones?
 
12. Value: overpriced compared to my $30 RB'd ipod video for playing music only. Sorry.

 
13. What I appreciate the RB'd ipod video in comparison: the size just felt right and good in my hands; the brilliant wheel adjustment for sound vol; the cue file support for FLAC's; music is on/off when the phones plugged/unplugged.
 
 
Edit:
 
1. How to lock it when in play mode?
2. The J3 came with some videos loaded. I played some and must say the video quality is pretty impressive. It supports the popular avi's which is really nice.
3. The hiss noises seem pretty bad when playing around with the EQ's and BBE.
 

 
OK... So a few things... Rockboxed iPod 5.5 sounds *very* good. However, I don't think the two can be compared due to power and chip differences. I actually agree that the Rockboxed iPod 5.5 sounds more neutral, just a bit. But its not that bad, and easily fixable with the hardware based EQ of the Cowon. Once you get used to using the EQ of the Cowon there is no going back. I've always said, that Cowon is for the music enthusiast whom loves to EQ, but there are other players that are better for pure audio enjoyment at neutral settings. 
 
The flap over the port... It is not the best built, but it does last. Mine is starting to come off a bit, but I could easily fix that with a drop of super glue. I've had the player for a while (I don't even remember since when to be honest, but more than a year certainly, probably close to two)
 
The CD.... Really? Mine came with one... it was at the bottom of the box that the player came in. I'd look again and take EVERYTHING OUT. Its a small mini Disc. 
 
UI can be changed. I personally like Kizune's work which also has playlist support, but no Cue files unfortunately. But it doesn't take that much effort to make new playlists within Kizune's UIs. 
 
The playback buttons are perfect for me since I have the player almost always in my pocket. I've never accidentally pressed anything. However if that is an issue, you can set up a playlist in Kizune's UI and lock everything which should fix the issue. 
 
The reason why it keeps playing when headphones are unplugged is due to limitations in the firmware. It was designed to switch to speaker. It isn't a more advanced OS like iOS or Android. So it will keep playing as if it was going to switch even if you have it set not to. Its a small annoyance though, and not a big deal, at least I haven't found reason to take issue yet. 
 
Locking it is simply a matter of hitting the power button 3 times. 
 
Hiss noises? Depends on the settings. If you play around  a bit you'll find that it is quite differential depending on your settings. Though doing certain things does make some static, but its not across the board. 
 
Honestly, I'll pay a bit more for hardware based EQ than software based, it just works better IMO. But that is me. I like that feature. 
 
I do hope your impressions improve over time, because it is a fantastic little player. 
 
The battery life is what really sold it for me though. Not having to charge it every 2-4 days is big. I basically charge it every week to 2 weeks. And that is why I love it so. 
 
PS: yes, for my big hands it is a bit small, but again pocket + buttons = works. 
 
I hope I helped a bit.

 

[Migou67]

No no this is not the most functional but it's oriented ergonomic and design ...
Quote:

 
 
Does it offer anything useful instead of the clever semi rotated oriantation? Does allow you to make playlists on the go like Sense?

 
 

 

[arn]

 
Quote:

I haven't heard of this problem before. I have Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, there hasn't been a problem in the year i've had the J3.

 
 
 
Quote:

 


I have had Win 7 Proffessional 64-bit since before it was even officially released (through Dreamspark, though it was named MSDN at the time), and I have had no problems at all. None, what so ever.

 
Well, ****. I agonized for a long time between a Sony A867 and a Cowon J3. Got the Sony A867 and I'm dissapointed as hell with the bass output of it. My A828 produces way more and better bass than it. So I guess I have to get a J3 and try that too. Thanks to both.