I know that everyone says that the Cowon J3 sounds really good, but I really don't want to use the BBE and all the tweaking and equalizer features. What would have the best sound, using Apple Lossless files, just straight out of the box and straight out the headphone jack. I'll be using Sennheiser IE6, but I will be upgrading to the IE8 soon. Apps, games etc are nice but not that important. Thanks for your help guys.
P.S. How does the Ipod Classic (7 gen) straight out of the box and straight out of the headphone jack sound?
any particular reason why youre against EQing or BBE?
i have had both the j3 and the itouch 4th gen, if youre gonna get an amp, go with the apple since you can use a LOD and in theory, should be better than the double amping in the j3.
personally, i like the j3 but i do EQ it and BBE it. hands down, it sounds better than the apple unamped but EQd. uneq'd sounds rather flat to me.
It's not that I have anything against EQ and BBE, its just that I find myself constantly changing it on my old 3rd gen itouch (which just died) for every other song. Eventually, i just turned it off on my old itouch. Ive been reading alot of reviews on both the J3 and itouch, and some people are saying unEQed, both actually sound identical. The price difference between the J3 (225) and itouch (315) would be kinda big. I already have a 32gb micro sd card. The Ipod Classic would be the cheapest (180) for the max amount of memory.
Sorry for rambling, basic question: Un EQed, and Unamped, do the J3 and 4th gen Itouch sound the same?
i wouldnt say there is that much difference between the 4g and j3. you might as well stick to the j3 so you can upgrade by getting LOD and amp later, one of the advantages of apple players is the ability to have high quality output through the dock
Do you mean "analytical" as in very detailed, or as in non-digital?
Unless you are talking about really crappy digital audio players, nearly all decent players will produce a signal (pre- amping) that is nearly 100% representative of the original signal. That's why many serious users here use an LOD with their player to an amp, bypassing the often inferior built-in amp in the player.
While I haven't heard all players and amps, in 4+ years of experimenting with several players + amps + IEM combos, I have been the most completely satisfied with my current configuration of Cowon J3 + Etymotic ER4P (substitute your fav good IEM/earphone here). The J3 EQ and BBE settings are excellent because they: 1) are subtle (not bombastic) and most importantly, 2) introduce absolutely 0/Zero distortion. It is very hard to appreciate it until you get one and begin to customize the sound the way you want it.
I've enjoyed amping out my J3 for AKG 702 and Matrix combo. You need a strong amp of course, and with sensitive, hard-to-drive head phones like the AKG's, you have to rely upon the amp. Also, chill out on the EQ and BBE stuff. I rely heavily on BBE when it comes to my IEM's but great over-the-ear cans get heavily distorted with too much.
Thanks for all the response. I would definately go with the Cowon J3, but there is one thing standing in the way. I have heard people say that it plays .m4a files (aac) but does it play Apple Lossless files? If it did, it would be a no-brainer.
Thanks for all the response. I would definately go with the Cowon J3, but there is one thing standing in the way. I have heard people say that it plays .m4a files (aac) but does it play Apple Lossless files? If it did, it would be a no-brainer.
Thanks for all the response. I would definately go with the Cowon J3, but there is one thing standing in the way. I have heard people say that it plays .m4a files (aac) but does it play Apple Lossless files? If it did, it would be a no-brainer.
All my Lossless files are in ALAC atm. Ill probably have to re-rip all my CDs, or convert all of them to FLAC. I tried using Freerip, but apparently it rips everything into 24bit flac which can't play on the J3.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
