[jrazmar]

I have started another thread with this same question but this one I think is a more active thread so i am hoping that someone kind would enlighten me.
How does the J3 perform with high impedance phones like the Yuins particularly PK1 & OK1? Can it handle without any amp? How's the sound with this pairing? Any comments is highly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[dfkt]

I've used it with the OK1. For me it was loud enough without an amp. And of course with a 150 Ohm impedance you get a perfectly flat frequency response and very low crosstalk.

 

[jrazmar]

Thanks Martin. You're a very good reviewer and your anythingbutipod review made me convinced. I just have doubts if the J3 will sound as good as it is with PK1 as the co-star. I'm assuming the OK1 is almost identical with PK1, what's your take with J3+OK1 against J3+Rockboxed Sansa (Fuze/Clip+? Which one sounds better unamped if those are the only choices? I'm also thinking of the Hippo VB which you also reviewed well as a potential purchase but I'm not sure I could afford that with the J3 so I might stick with PK1 then buy a new DAP.

 

[macrocheesium]

Quote:

I don't remember the D2 plays the same song twice (or in a row)..when the player is on all the time ofcourse.  it is just that it liked some genres and albums more than others.   I also had a bug with my D2 that after 100+ songs in shuddle mode it got stuck and i needed to reboot the player and the whole shuffle playlist was ruined,but i think that it was just my D2
anyway..the shuffle in the i9 has totally improved and don't have bugs and the j3 is even better imo,much more random.  also,even if you turn the player off it still continues the shuffle list it made the last time and don't repeat songs..if that what you meant.

I meant 2 different songs, by 1 artist. Like if there are 2 songs in the same album, will it play them next to each other?

 

[Golden Monkey]

Quote:

Quote:

I don't remember the D2 plays the same song twice (or in a row)..when the player is on all the time ofcourse.  it is just that it liked some genres and albums more than others.   I also had a bug with my D2 that after 100+ songs in shuddle mode it got stuck and i needed to reboot the player and the whole shuffle playlist was ruined,but i think that it was just my D2
anyway..the shuffle in the i9 has totally improved and don't have bugs and the j3 is even better imo,much more random.  also,even if you turn the player off it still continues the shuffle list it made the last time and don't repeat songs..if that what you meant.

I meant 2 different songs, by 1 artist. Like if there are 2 songs in the same album, will it play them next to each other?

No, Shuffle is shuffle...unless it's sheer coincidence.  Never had it happen for me though.

 

[Kizune]

Quote:

I would have to agree that the shuffle is better... It doesn't repeat nearly as much as the D2... Though I wish cowon would do the same thing as iPod... Make a ghost playlist from the shuffle so that nothing would repeat ever. It is so simple and it would result in a perfect shuffle...

 
Then the S9, J3 and X7 have a perfect shuffle, because that's what they do when you turn shuffle on.
I don't know how other players by Cowon behave.

 

[kyuuketsuki]

Meaning I need to experiment more...

 

[dfkt]

Quote:

Thanks Martin. You're a very good reviewer and your anythingbutipod review made me convinced. I just have doubts if the J3 will sound as good as it is with PK1 as the co-star. I'm assuming the OK1 is almost identical with PK1, what's your take with J3+OK1 against J3+Rockboxed Sansa (Fuze/Clip+? Which one sounds better unamped if those are the only choices? I'm also thinking of the Hippo VB which you also reviewed well as a potential purchase but I'm not sure I could afford that with the J3 so I might stick with PK1 then buy a new DAP.

The Clip+ might be a bit too quiet for those 150 Ohm phones without an amp, the J3 can drive them louder. Other than that, there's no audible difference.
 
The VB might have a nice alternative/opposite sound signature to your PK1 (and they're much easier to drive).

 

[Dobrescu George]

Shortest review:
cowon j3 is the greatest invention ever made....
and yes, it can drive even very high impedance headphones.... tested!...

 

[kingice10]

I got my Cowon J3 and I compared the SQ to my Iphone with my SM3s and I preffered the SQ of My Iphone if not EQd.
 
Right now, I got some EQs from some J3 Forums here in Headfi for SM3, but I didn't like it. Maybe you got some Suggestions on how to make it like the Stock Iphone EQ with a better Treble (but still smooth). Please help on EQ Settings. Thanks!

 

[Golden Monkey]

King, sounds like you've looked at the "J3 User EQ settings" thread (http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/531603/cowon-j3-personal-user-eq-settings/45#post_7234113)...if I'm not mistaken, the last entry in it regarding J3/SM3 was mine...lets take this to that thread, and please, tell me what you don't like about those settings, and lets tinker...I'm not entirely satisfied either, but I don't know what your auditory aim is, lol.
 

 

[Dobrescu George]

if you have time to play with the sound eq.... you may get something a LOT better than iphone... but you just need time to experiment.... otherwise you will never fiind nirvana in it....

 

[Griffinhart]

I have a J3 (32GB) and I was using it for the longest time without an amp (although as of about a month now I've had it mated to a Practical Devices XM5 any time I have to step out). It plays perfectly fine with my BeyerDynamic DT770/600 ohms (though it sounds much, much better with the amp, of course). I typically had the volume around 25. (With my amp, I leave the volume at 40 and just use the XM5's volume knob.)
 
I haven't played around with custom EQs at all (I'm the kind of guy that leaves that stuff alone); I did test out several settings (mostly the bass stuff, since DT770s are closed, bassy phones) and pretty much have chosen the Crystal Clear setting as my default. It (or maybe it's just the J3 in-and-of itself?) really brings out a lot of my music, and not just the bass. The mids feel clearer and the treble feels cleaner. As one of my friends put it: "that's the Cowon sound: it isn't neutral, but it sure as hell is beautiful."
 
Probably my only complaint is that there's not enough space on it. I upgraded to it from an iPod Classic 80GB and I'm used to having so much more space. I need to buy a 32GB MicroSDHC card at some point...
 
-- Griffinhart

 

[kyuuketsuki]

BTW, unless I have a double of a song I only have one of (no really, my friend sent me a song and it is not even in a folder) the shuffle is NOT perfect. I heard it within 20 songs. This isn't bad though as it was an isolated incident. It could have just been a minor bug from a recent library update. But regardless, it is making me wonder about a ghost playlist. iPod had it plain, you could even see what number you are in within the ghost playlist. J3 doesn't have that... Regardless of that though... I love my 16gb J3 and I don't think I'd trade it for anything. Screen is amazing, sound is amazing, presets are amazing, most of all... the buttons are a huge upgrade from my D2. The hardware buttons make a WORLD of difference to me. I think, just for that, the J3 trumps the D2 in a big way. Otherwise... I notice only nominal increase in SQ from my D2, but that can be the result of 1 of 2 things... 1) placebo effect. very possible. 2) ability to actually adjust the EQ to my liking now (after my D2's screen broke, I could not change anything...) this is the far more likely reason. 
 
BTW... as a testament to Cowon's build quality... I have had my D2 for 3 years... Battery still last... well I never figured that out... I always forgot when I charged it last... What actually forced me to let it go was a -resists urge to curse- coworker at my former hellhole of a job who pushed me over while in the stock room causing an edge of a shelf to impact my D2 which was in my pocket at the time causing the screen to crack, slightly in the top right hand corner. EVEN after that, it was still fully functional for at least a month until the crack spread to the other corners of the screen. I can still use it as a shuffle player though! Hell, I'd rather have that than an iPod shuffle! On the plus side of that story, I can now enjoy the lovely J3! I hope Cowon realizes its failure with the D3 and gives us a superior Flash PMP without Android when I need a new player in another few years. (I'm hoping for at least 5, unless Cowon makes an offer I cannot refuse)

 

[kingice10]

I already got my EQ Settings right...Thanks from BennyBoy and Golden Monkey!
 
80Hz  - +2
220Hz - +1
780Hz - +1
4.1KHz - +2
13KHZ - +4
 
BBE 10
Mach3Bass 4
3DS 3
MpEnhance On
SE 6, No reverb
 
Sounds more like my Iphone, better clarity than my Iphone.
 
However, I still am puzzled why the battery doesn't last long. Why does it only take me 11 hrs or less playing music files instead of the 72 hrs playback accd to the specs?