[floeezy]

Always here to help

.
 
I was just wondering ... what is holding you back from purchasing your J3? Are you like me and want to make sure that everything is speck-on and just they way you want it, before purchasing? I think this information might help my indecisiveness.
 
Regards

 

[Mediaogre]

Thanks floeezy!! And hold out! I had my finger poised on the hair trigger and the next day, the 32 GB became available stateside.

 

[iPoodz]

Quote:

Always here to help

.
 
I was just wondering ... what is holding you back from purchasing your J3? Are you like me and want to make sure that everything is speck-on and just they way you want it, before purchasing? I think this information might help my indecisiveness.
 
Regards

Floeezy, in a word: yes.
 
Long version:
One thing I really want to make sure is that there are absolutely no better alternatives. I was thinking of waiting for the D3, but I can't honestly think of what I'd want it to have, that the J3 doesn't (except maybe a standard USB connector, but that's no big deal). If the next iPod has hardware comparable to the iPhone 4, it will be alluring, but I remind myself how much of a pain iTunes was, and how much I love MediaMonkey. ZuneHD is so goddamn sexy, I was about to bid on it on eBay on multiple occasions. However, I'm currently using a Zune 30 (I keep stuff forever, which is why I'm always cautious when buying new stuff) and I really don't like the Zune software. The X series doesn't play FLAC and doesn't do lots of video formats either. The YP-M1 definitely looks like it does video better than the J3, but it's battery life is significantly lower.
 
Overall, though, the iPod is still the main competitor in my eyes. I don't care about the Apps or Wifi, but there were certain things that made it super convenient (timer, prominent clock, notepad) as a pocket device.
 
So, I'm basically "selling" the device to myself. A good friend who I talk to over email loves his J3, and didn't really like the S9. This is awesome because it makes the price disparity between the 32GB S9 and J3 understandable.
 
I don't know if that's why you're indecisive, but that's why I'm a little hesitant. Also, since I'm in California right now, it's going to cost me ~330$, so I'm waiting on Amazon, and hope that the tax doesn't kick in. Even if it does, I know from friends'/family's experience that Amazon has an unbeatable no-questions-asked returns system, and if you save the original box, it doesn't cost you postage.
 
Right now, I'm just checking how I would sync/organize my music on the J3 (using MediaMonkey, since I have too much to just drag and drop), and the fact that you can delete stuff on the player itself is awesome (I sometimes want to delete stuff, but forget what it was by the time I'm at my computer). All that's left is investigating whether or not there's a 'Notepad' like there is on an iPod (there seems to be a user-made flash program called Gnotepad), but I could totally use the recorder for recording voice-notes to myself (something I couldn't do without an attachment on the iPod...).
 
Now, the big question is which color to get! Black looks hard to go wrong with, but silver has a certain allure, especially in a lot of the pictures. The white plastic back might get old/reveal blemishes more, but I'm torn! What do you think floeezy/everyone else?

 

[LiveAndLetDie]

go for the white one, it will make you stand out from the thousands who has the black device with a large screen called iPod touch. just go get a leather or any case you prefer, will definitely help your j3 go flawless for the many years to come.

 

[Mediaogre]

@ iPoodz,
 
Well put. You essentially boiled down the pros/cons and criteria in the same manner I've been weighing such sonic device things ever since I bought my Zune 80 thinking it would, someday, support gappless/lossless. Your "big question" is hilarious! I love the white, but I went black. It matches my other gear. Oh well. I'm sure I can find a way to live with my decision. I wish you the same hardship.

 

[floeezy]

I've had an iPod Touch 1st generation for about three years now, and consequently the battery is taking its last breaths. Through the years I owned my iTouch, I've grown to dislike Apple's ways when it comes to iPods: the user is completely tied to Apple's bloated software, the hardware is a joke when compared to similar MP3 players (IMO, Apple can get away with cheap hardware because their products are sold based on their image), iPods have very little support for open source material (FLAC for example), and overall I don`t like the idea that consumers buy iPods just because everyone else does. However, I do agree that iPods have many pros as well: a very friendly and responsive UI, great additional software (e.g. the appstore), and nice aesthetics (another of Apple's strong superficial selling points).
 
The J3 seems to resolve most of the problems I had with my iPod touch and also comes with very neat features. The J3 supports both MSC and MTP, so it can be synced with many programs (even iTunes>heard of the "bad apple" plug-in) and you can drag & drop files onto the player just like a flash drive, which is a huge bonus for me. the J3 having physical buttons is also very nice; being able to change songs/volume or pause without taking the device out of your pocket is something I think all mp3 players should do. I could go on and on, but all the great features of the J3 have already been mentioned numerous times before in this thread. One thing I do want to bring up is responsiveness: I think no other mp3 player currently can rival the speed at which you flick through album cover art than the iPod; however, if someone wants to correct me on this, I will be very thankful because I am still looking for alternatives to the J3.
 
As for the colour (Canadian spelling

), I don't think it really matters that much for me because I am most definitely going to buy the stunning Noreve Leather Case which, according to the owner I  recently e-mailed, will be released in about a week.
 
 
Anythingbutipod, a while back, mentioned that Viliv has plans to release the P3 prime; now that media player (not a phone) looks very attractive: it "appears to be running a dual OS Android and Windows CE combo" (very cool) and has an 800Mhz Arm Cortex CPU, a MicroSDHC card slot, 720p video support, capacitive touch screen, accelerometer, WiFi and comes in capacities up to 32GB. All that is left to know is the sound quality, release date, and the price tag. I do realize that some people might feel bad for buying the J3 before seeing this, but HAVE NO FEAR, the J3 and P3 compete on very different levels (P3 = entertainment device // J3 = music player). Moreover, the Viliv P3 prime is still a prototype and will probably be much more expensive than the Cowon J3
 
By the way, very nice group we have here. Play on J3 owners

!!!!

 

[IDK]

1. What features does the j3 lack compared to the s9?
 
2. Sonically, Does the S9 sound in any way better than the J3? is it neutral sounding? does it suffer from rolloff or hissing?
 
3. Can the j3 read .txt files?
 
4. How does it sound compared to the iphone 3gs and ipod touch?

 

[jj94]

Still holding off a bit to get a white 32GB J3...but man. I just saw the Viliv P3 in the previous two posts and I'm starting to want to wait for a comparison between the two after its release.

 

[4DThinker]

1. Better battery life.  More Codecs supported. Improved UIs. More (my review)
2. About the same to my ears.
3. Yes.  TXT.
4. Far superior to either. I've listened to the same song using the same headphones on all.

 
Quote:

1. What features does the j3 lack compared to the s9?
 
2. Sonically, Does the S9 sound in any way better than the J3? is it neutral sounding? does it suffer from rolloff or hissing?
 
3. Can the j3 read .txt files?
 
4. How does it sound compared to the iphone 3gs and ipod touch?

 

[Mediaogre]

4D, thanks for the thorough review. It helped me kill some time before my 32GB arrives via "brown" in oh... about two hours. 

 
Quote:

1. Better battery life.  More Codecs supported. Improved UIs. More (my review)
2. About the same to my ears.
3. Yes.  TXT.
4. Far superior to either. I've listened to the same song using the same headphones on all.

 

 

 

[iPoodz]

Mediaogre, how exciting!
I'd love to know what the back is like (that is, is it matte plastic or glossy?). The white one looks like it's glossy, and that's the only thing that's deterring me from it.
 

 
Quote:

Still holding off a bit to get a white 32GB J3...but man. I just saw the Viliv P3 in the previous two posts and I'm starting to want to wait for a comparison between the two after its release.

Dude, I know exactly what you're talking about. I was so set on the J3, but it seems a shame not to even consider the P3. The only gripe I had with the J3 is solved in the P3 (mkv in 720p). I really thought that I wouldn't be distracted by any other PMPs, but the P3 seems so decidedly next generation, while the J3 is the best of the current generation. Why oh why is this happening?!

 

[Mediaogre]

I received my J3 32GB via JetMall and UPS about two hours ago. My god. The J3 is stunning. It's light as a feather. Fit and finish are top notch. It's a finger print magnet, but oh well. I'll deal. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and feel of the matte black plastic backing. And not only is there the sexy brushed metal insert at the bottom (that everyone's gushing over) the entire front is ringed in a delicious gun metal bezel.
 
More to come folks. I'm just too smitten to comprehensively spew right now. I will say this. It most definitely rocks the gapless. Three different progressive concept albums, all ruthless in the their complexity and gaplesstisity, ripped with Foobar FLAC 5. Nary a pop, snap, or delay. Just like the CD folks. And yeah, it sounds like eargasm.

 

[floeezy]

Quote:

I received my J3 32GB via JetMall and UPS about two hours ago. My god. The J3 is stunning. It's light as a feather. Fit and finish are top notch. It's a finger print magnet, but oh well. I'll deal. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and feel of the matte black plastic backing. And not only is there the sexy brushed metal insert at the bottom (that everyone's gushing over) the entire front is ringed in a delicious gun metal bezel.
 
More to come folks. I'm just too smitten to comprehensively spew right now. I will say this. It most definitely rocks the gapless. Three different progressive concept albums, all ruthless in the their complexity and gaplesstisity, ripped with Foobar FLAC 5. Nary a pop, snap, or delay. Just like the CD folks. And yeah, it sounds like eargasm.

Congrats! Can't wait to read further impressions; I think anyone would drown in their own drool, if you typed up a comprehensive review of the stunning Cowon J3 (maybe that's just me though

).

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

I received my J3 32GB via JetMall and UPS about two hours ago. My god. The J3 is stunning. It's light as a feather. Fit and finish are top notch. It's a finger print magnet, but oh well. I'll deal. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and feel of the matte black plastic backing. And not only is there the sexy brushed metal insert at the bottom (that everyone's gushing over) the entire front is ringed in a delicious gun metal bezel.
 
More to come folks. I'm just too smitten to comprehensively spew right now. I will say this. It most definitely rocks the gapless. Three different progressive concept albums, all ruthless in the their complexity and gaplesstisity, ripped with Foobar FLAC 5. Nary a pop, snap, or delay. Just like the CD folks. And yeah, it sounds like eargasm.

 
Congrats!  Appreciate calling out the gapless performance.  Would be interested to hear if the gapless playback works just as well with MP3s as it does FLAC.

 

[Xephyr]

Does it matter what program you use to convert to FLAC??  Just curious since I heard the J3 comes with some ripping software...
 
I have been staring at my tracking information from Fedex like a hawk and it still hasn't left CA yet!!! :<