[haveblue]

I use Foobar to correct the tags, and Audio Transcoder to burn/convert files. Also Medieval CUE Splitter if the album comes as a cue file.
 
When transferring an MP3 to the S9, make sure the ID3V1 tags are enabled, else your album and artist will show in the S9 as "unknown".

 

[Danz03]

Great, I'll go look for one later today. 

 

[budgetboy]

Danz03-
 
You can convert from wav or aiff to FLAC using an audio converter. I use foobar2000, but i dont think it works on macs. The FLAC website lists some software you could use, but if none of those work just google "wav flac converter for mac" or something and i'm sure you'll find one.
http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html
 
I have never used the cowon software, so I couldnt tell you about that. But I use mp3tag to tag my flac files and just copy them onto the player. I dont even need a media player! 

 
Scotty2012 - I'm glad you agree! I love my S9 and my IE8s, my music has never sounded so alive! I just got the ATH-M50s, so I could try out full-sizes without getting an amp, and they are really great too. Especially for the price!
 
And the screen is so awesome too! Its better than watching movies on my laptop!
 
And as for FLAC, I would never go back to mp3s. I tried, once. I converted all my music into 320kbps mp3s, listened through my S9 and IE8s, and immediately felt like i was missing a lot of the music. Put the FLAC back on and everything was back. Its amazing how much of the music is lost in compression. DOWN WITH THE IPOD! 

 

[Danz03]

Thanks for the info, budgetboy, so how large are the FLAC files? In comparison to mp3s or aiffs?

 

[MKang25]

Flacs are usually 20 - 30 MB, so about 2 - 3 x your average 320 MP3.

 

[Danz03]

Thanks, so they are not that small, uncompressed aiff at 44.1kHz/16bit is about 10 MB/min, so FLAC is about half that, similar to WM lossless I guess.

Flacs are usually 20 - 30 MB, so about 2 - 3 x your average 320 MP3.

 

[scotty2012]

My music collection is quite small at the moment.
I have 14 albums in FLAC @ 9GB
 
I've tried 320kbps and I can hear the difference.
FLAC is the way forward!

 

[Danz03]

Cool, and I'm looking forward to trying FLAC. 

 

[scotty2012]

Quote:

Cool, and I'm looking forward to trying FLAC. 

Are you buying the S9? And what IEM's are you going to be using, the IE8's?
 

 

[Danz03]

I'm thinking of getting the iAudio 9 or U5 first, I'd be using it with the UM3X when I'm out and about.
I'd use the IE8 when listening in bed though, because of the not so great sound isolation, and the UE18. 

 

[budgetboy]

good for you! another cowon convert! 

 
and about the flac files, they are definitely worth the file size increase. albums are around 300-500 mb each, so you do the math. And **** the whole getting an ipod, getting cables, getting an amp thing. Flac files off a cowon are all the audiophile i need. plus the equalizers let out my inner sound engineer by letting me have complete control over the sound on-the-go. You can make custom presets with eq and pro bbe enhancements, to complement any mood or headphone. Also, you can easily isolate certain frequencies and therefore instruments or vocalists, even mess with the playback speed and pitch correction. It's really awesome.
 
And i love the screen. 16 million color active matrix OLED - movies look better than on my laptop! And you can mess with the eq while watching movies too, so more bass? more soundstage? yours. Oh, the POWER!!!
 
Seriously though the S9 is a great player and Cowon as a company has got me as a customer for life. I havent tried the iAudio 9 but I heard that it was basically the S9 without the screen, so it should be pretty great. 

 

[budgetboy]

Oh I almost forgot.
 
1. No media player needed
2. Plays the majority of p2p audio and video files without conversion
 
This player was basically made for torrents. Now that internet speeds and drive space have increased so much, there are a whole lot of FLAC albums and HD quality movies available for free on sites like thepiratebay.org, which now has a FLAC section =D
 
Demonoid.com is a private torrent site, which means its safer and has exclusive content (loads of FLAC) that other sites dont have. From my experience on Head-Fi, you guys are a trustworthy bunch, so if anyone wants a demonoid membership, just PM me and tell me you will seed, and its yours. Its really amazing how easy it is to get really high quality cd, and even vinyl, rips off p2p now. No more are you limited to 128kbps mp3s! Its a new age for music, and Cowon, recognizing this, has adapted. The Ipod, on the other hand, is a relic of a dying age.
 
PS. If anyone would like to have a discussion about the moral implications of peer to peer, feel free to reply to this. I can post links to numerous articles that demonstrate the positive impact filesharing is having on the music industry. For example, record companies are going under, but musicians are actually making more than ever. Don't be deceived by the owners on this one guys, torrents are the future. And the sooner companies like cowon realize this fact, the sooner we can create a world in which music is free to all and musicians can feed their families.
 

 

[Danz03]

I got my iAudio 9 yesterday, was using FLAC files too. The biggest difference I noticed was the amp, it was able to drive my SA5000 with no problem at all, not that I'm going to use them with the i9, but it's much more powerful than the iPod's. Listening to it with my UM3Xs, I could definitely hear a lot more details, it was like the difference between watching Blu-Ray and DVD on Play Station 3, but I'm not sure if it was because to the lossless FLAC or the i9, have to upload some MP3s into the Cowon to find out I guess. The interface seems a bit clumsy but I can't really complain when it sounds this good. 

 

[budgetboy]

Damnit I was just about to post the longest comparison of FLAC and mp3 in the history of mankind but I closed my browser. damn
I guess I'll have to summarize.
 
Check this out
http://iaudiophile.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=99
 
Look for custom UIs, theres a bunch in the S9 forum, dont know if they'll work but there are probably a few for the i9 as well.
Also I think the interface is unintuitive because its Korean and there are technologicultural differences.
 
So yeah basically I think mp3s sound really good with the bbe/eq presets. But FLAC is something really special.
 
To my ears, from comparing soundtracks, electronic, and alternative music, FLAC has 100% of the music, as the artist intended, while mp3s are missing soundstage, depth, dynamic range, a full frequency range, and especially, background instrument resolution. I believe that this makes mp3s more fatiguing, as your brain and ears have to work to hear alll of the music, while FLAC presents all of the music to you in a very satisfying way. FLAC always makes me smile, while mp3s make me frown while trying to figure out exactly what is "missing" from the music. FLAC all the way.
 
Mp3s take up less space and are universally compatible. But FLAC sounds much better to my ears and can be both burned to make exact copies of cds, and converted into any format without a loss in quality.
 
I say try it for yourself.
 
1. read this if you still believe the propaganda about filesharing
http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-132.pdf
 
2. download utorrent
http://www.utorrent.com/
 
3.download a Soundtrack in FLAC (or whatever else you desire, just search for the artist name and FLAC and there will usually be something)
http://btjunkie.org/torrent/FLAC-Soundtrack-Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-The-Curse-of-the-Black-
Pearl/395281df5aaa8e167e2f76762f76e0dd80eadf04261b
 
http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Gladiator-OST-FLAC/3779b7b5b5940ad61e85f41a7d6ae9c0321159f4e2d4
 
4. get lamexp
http://mulder.dummwiedeutsch.de/home/?page=projects#lamexp
 
5. When you are done downloading the album, use Lamexp to convert the files, choose quality-based, set all settings to highest quality, convert the files
 
6. Put the FLAC and MP3 files in the same folder on your i9
 
7. turn on shuffle, listen for a while, do not look.
CHALLENGE MODE: turn on a very flattering EQ, such as BBE Headphone or Maestro and listen. 
 
8. If you are just loving the music, look at whats playing. if its mp3, good for you, you should use mp3s.
if its flac, then use flac. If you feel that something is missing, look down. if its an mp3, you should use flac. if its flac, change the eq or download another album lol
 
 
Tell me how it turns out! I'l check back in an hour and see how its going 

 

[cRodz]

i got the j3 and i love it
 
S9 and J3 share Jet Effect 3.0.
my current earbuds broke and i think i need a new one.
 
i think these ie8 will be for me but they are so damn expensive :O
 
damn it i really need new ones