[jodokus]

Hi everybody,
I'm from The Netherlands so don't mind my english. My Cowon Iaudio U3 4gb disappeared two weeks ago so I started looking around for a worthy substitute. This is how I found the Sony NWZ-A818. I played around with it and fell in love with the screen and looks but could not check the sq. Today I found my Iaudio U3 again, but the Sony is still in my head, so I'm thinking of selling the U3. SQ and useabillity are my main points. Do you guys think this step will be an upgrade? Or is there anybody who compared the two players? Hope to hear from you.

 

[Cowon_1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jodokus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi everybody, I'm from The Netherlands so don't mind my english. My Cowon Iaudio U3 4gb disappeared two weeks ago so I started looking around for a worthy substitute. This is how I found the Sony NWZ-A818. I played around with it and fell in love with the screen and looks but could not check the sq. Today I found my Iaudio U3 again, but the Sony is still in my head, so I'm thinking of selling the U3. SQ and useabillity are my main points. Do you guys think this step will be an upgrade? Or is there anybody who compared the two players? Hope to hear from you.

I have the Cowon U3 and the Sony NWZ-S616 which is the same as the 818.

The Sony has a more "in your face" sound...kinda like the EQ is turned all the way up on every frequency...people say it has a warm sound...well it has tons of bass but it's far from warm....I'd call it more like "aggressive", now the U3 is warm.
To me the U3 sounds way better than my Sony.
BTW going from a Cowon to a Sony is not an upgrade no matter how you look at it....You have a beautiful piece of equipment in the U3. If you want the Sony please keep the U3.

 

[faichiu]

I switch from U3 to Teclast T39(They calll it V39 in Europe).

I found it is a huge upgrade on SQ.
1) Better output power.
2) Wider soundstage
3) Much more detail on high.

This is comparing Flac format.

 

[montell]

faichiu I cant find the v39 or t39 anywhere in Europe. Except for Poland..

where did you get yours

 

[faichiu]

I got mine from ebay...........

Quote:

Originally Posted by montell /img/forum/go_quote.gif faichiu I cant find the v39 or t39 anywhere in Europe. Except for Poland.. where did you get yours

 

[Shauntell47]

teclast t39 is only better than the iaudio u3 when playing flac....
actually 320 mp3s are better on iAudios in general than flac... so unless you're using flac, i would just keep your iaudio u3... get an amp or good headphones...

 

[faichiu]

He said he lost his U3........

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shauntell47 /img/forum/go_quote.gif teclast t39 is only better than the iaudio u3 when playing flac.... actually 320 mp3s are better on iAudios in general than flac... so unless you're using flac, i would just keep your iaudio u3... get an amp or good headphones...

 

[jodokus]

Thnx a lot guys for clearing my mind! I think I'll just stick to the U3 and be happy with it. Sometimes the "cool new gadget factor" tricks your mind

 

[jodokus]

ps My headphones are the Koss 75's and the Creative EP-630. Was thinking of the senns 400cx though.....

 

[Shauntell47]

Quote:

Originally Posted by faichiu /img/forum/go_quote.gif He said he lost his U3........

read the 1st post again...

 

[faichiu]

my bad........

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shauntell47 /img/forum/go_quote.gif read the 1st post again...

 

[michaelJ]

I have both the U3 and the Sony 808 and to my ears the sony is way better. No competition at all. So I strongly disagree with cowon_1 on this matter. I still have the U3 for working out.

Note I'm not at all dissatisfied with the U3. It's a very good player. It's just that I think the 808 is so much better.

 

[montell]

I never listened to the u3 before but I did listen to the sony 81x and iriver clix2 and I liked the clix2 better.

Its another player you might want to consider. If i had to chose between a sony a81x or the clix I would chose to clix. Looks much better too

 

[Shauntell47]

sony has a more coloured and bassy sound sig.... some people like that...

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have both the U3 and the Sony 808 and to my ears the sony is way better. No competition at all. So I strongly disagree with cowon_1 on this matter.

cowon_1 compared the U3 with the 616, and assumed the 616 sounded exactly the same as the 80x/81x.
He didn't make it clear if he'd actually heard the 818, so it's possible it sounds better than the 616 and that's why you felt it sounded better than the U3.