Should I get rid of my J3 for an iPod?
Oct 21, 2010 at 11:56 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 50

clarinetman

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This last weekend I had the pleasure of going to RMAF with a friend of mine. I went to Ray Samuels' table, and started listening to some of his portable amps. He asked me if I was using the HO or and LO, and I told him the HO--Then he told me not to waste my time buying a portable amp because the HO quality is poor to begin with, and that having an amplifier does nothing for the sound unless using an LO. So my question is, should I just abandon my J3? I honestly love it to death, but the issue is more so that I have a Headstage Arrow on order, and it would suck if I wasted my money on something that did nothing. I've also been confused by the statements made about how the LO on an iPod is basically a glorified HO. Is this true? Some say it's only on select models of iPods that there is a "true" LO...
 
Thanks and let me know.
 
Oct 21, 2010 at 12:57 PM Post #5 of 50


Quote:
So why do u want to get an Ipod instead, isnt the Cowon a better SQ player ?



Yes, better SQ via HO. But Cowon players don't have a LO function, so according to Ray Samuels I would be wasting my time with a portable amp if I was just using the HO. 
 
Oct 21, 2010 at 1:04 PM Post #6 of 50
 Sounds to me like he is saying that you dont need an amp. That isnt a bad thing, just less money spent. IPOD + AMP = Cowon no amp? you'd be crazy to get rid of the j3
 
Oct 21, 2010 at 1:25 PM Post #8 of 50
I have not heard an amp yet that improved an iPod enough to bring above my Cowon S9. I have tried several setups at CanJam, none of which where cheap, and also none of which seemed to help do anything but increase volume... If it was a tube amp I think I would be able to hear the difference, but I thik the HO of my S9 is so good that it won't improve with an amp, and from what I have actually heard, the iPod LO is not a game changer.
 
If you enjoy using the amazing EQ on your J3, I don't think you will ever really be satisfied with an iPod, LO+AMP or not... not even mentioning format compatibility, drag and drop, interface inferioity of the ipod, hardware controls only on Cowon players, beautiful oled (Cowon) vs. washed out  lcd (iPod)screen, ect.
 
Oct 21, 2010 at 4:13 PM Post #10 of 50
I've always wondered about the ipod line out. What does it really do? I know an imod makes it so you can bypass the amp and a wadia dock has it so you can bypass the dac. So where does that leave a regular line out? Is it just a fancy way of a volume control or am I missing something?
 
Oct 21, 2010 at 5:45 PM Post #14 of 50


Quote:
I've always wondered about the ipod line out. What does it really do? I know an imod makes it so you can bypass the amp and a wadia dock has it so you can bypass the dac. So where does that leave a regular line out? Is it just a fancy way of a volume control or am I missing something?


I always thought the idea of a line out was to bypass the chips inside, that way you get the pure, uncolored digital signal. From what I'm hearing though, it's kind of a joke. As someone else said, I would definitely miss the awesome EQ settings on the J3.
 

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