Friday, May 14, 2010

Cowon J3 Review

Cowon takes a new look at the Personal Media Player market. A year after they introduced the gorgeous S9 they brought out it's better looking better working younger brother. The Cowon J3 is a more typical looking touchscreen device, yet it has a refined user interface, apparently faster processor, and a sturdier build than the S9.

This is part one of my J3 review. The second part can be found HERE.
Cowon now sells an Android-based D3.  You can find my review of it HERE.

Included in the box you get the J3, a typical Cowon>USB cable, a CD with the owner's manual and MyPodder software on it, some inexpensive earbuds, coupons for free songs and an audiobook, and a paper quick guide.
·
Once the J3 is on you'll see a tab on the lower right of the screen. Slide it left to reveal 3 UI choices. The default is an icon array (above). Second is a vertical graphic list shown here,and 3rd is an option with three screen views using both icons and widgets you can place wherever you want. Using the icon array the icons cutely turn when you change the J3's orientation. A few features the J3 has over the S9:
- It includes a microSD expansion slot under a tab on the bottom edge. Up to 16gb microSD HC cards accepted. The new 32gb card from Sandisk may work as well. - includes a built-in speaker (on the back).
- features two-finger pinch/spread zooming in the photo application.
- 3mm thinner than the S9 (12.9mm) at 2.2 x 4.19 x 0.39 in ( 56.0 x 106.5 x 9.9 mm )
- weighs 1 gram less at 76g.
- 64 hours music playback vs 55 for the S9.
- Recharge time using a USB port on your PC: 3.5hrs vs 5hrs for the S9.
Music: The J3 will play MP3/2, WMA, FLAC, OGG, APE, M4A, and WAV formats. It has a 95db Signal/Noise ratio (very good). The music application is very complete. You get:
- full screen album art display,
- A position slider bar,
- quick access to the music play options,
- Song file info with a tap on the art
- large play/pause and track buttons to tap on.
- play mode,
- A-B marking,
- JetEffect equalizer choices.
- a toggle to lock the screen rotation, allow the album array in landscape view, or turn on shake to shuffle.
- You get gapless playback by default.
- You can change the speed of playback, with the pitch changing or not.
- move the audio balance left or right.
- and even have it fade in at the beginning of each song.
·How the music sounds will depend on the headphones you use and the compression ratio used to create the files. I give music playback an A.
· Videos: The J3 will play AVI, WMV, ASF (and the occasional MP4) files at 480 x 272 pixels or slightly larger. Shown above is a shot from UP, an MP4 file playing on my J3. The video player is almost complete and has the most extensive list of settings I've seen. You can change nearly every aspect of how video plays on the J3. You can tweak subtitle syncing, expand the video to fill the screen or not, bookmark more than one position in any video, or even pause the video from your bluetooth headphones. Video can be output to a TV using an optional cable. Movies look fantastic on the 3.3" capacitive screen. I give video play an A. Just be sure and read the manual. You'll find it on the included CD.
·
Bluetooth: I'm a fan of wireless headphones, and the J3 has a good implementation of bluetooth for that purpose, with both A2DP (2-channel stereo) and AVRCP (remote control) profiles. You can listen to audio over bluetooth from the music and video apps, but not the FM radio. There is no file transfer or network sharing, so bluetooth gets a B.
Photos: The J3 will display JPG files. There is no resolution limit, although larger images take longer to load. I transferred some photos directly from my 12mp camera (above) and they did display on the J3. I strongly recommend reducing photo sizes to something closer to the screen resolution though. My 12mp images were very slow to load, but sample photos that came with the J3 displayed quickly. You can easily rotate photos to best fill the screen. Zooming in on a detail is easy with a two-finger spread. I give the photo app an A.
· Text: Simple TXT can be displayed on the J3 (above). You have a few options to improve how they appear, including color of text/background and size of the text. No fancy flipping of pages though. Text gets a B.
·
FM Radio: The FM radio relies on the headphone cable for an antenna, so the quality, position, and length of that cable will effect reception. You can record from the radio app. You can toggle between fine tuning and stepping through auto-tuned stations. The radio app is simple, but worked reliably on my J3. I'll give FM Radio a B.

Flash: The J3, like the S9, can play flash games and apps (SWF files) found on the web and copied to it's memory. Not all games play. Some that play don't play well. You can find FLASH files to test in the Cowon S9 and J3 forums around the web. While this capability has great potential, the difficulty in finding flash programs created specifically for 480 x 272 touchscreen devices makes this a token capability at best. That may change in the future. For now I give the J3's FLASH capabilities an average C.
·
Games: The J3 comes with one Hunter game that is a good demonstration of the graphic and g-sensor features. It's a decent distraction. Look for Hunter in the Utilities section along with a simple calculator, graphic notepad, and typist app. These utilities are token distractions, and worth no more than an average C.
·
Summary: At $190 and $220 respectively for the 8gb and 16gb versions, the J3 is more expensive than comparable touchscreen players. The very comparable Cowon S9 is $30 to $40 cheaper for the same memory configuration. The added speaker is a nice touch, but hardly worth the premium up charge. The J3 is very new to the market though, so expect the prices to come down in a few months. I like the J3. It has a smoother UI than the S9. Media capabilities are just a little better. The flat body should be easier to find an assortment of cases for, but only time will tell if case manufacturers decide to support it. Video and photo display is stunning. Music sounds great (with decent headphones). The media apps are thorough. If you don't mind being an early adopter and paying that early adopter fee then the J3 is a worthwhile purchase.
·
4D

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150 comments:

  1. Concise and straight review. Very nice. Thanks!

    Just a comment on the FM radio: according to you the headphones cable works as an antenna, however another user mentions that's not the case. In fact, his youtube UI walkthrough video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfYPx9q-2PM) could be showing that. He listens to the radio around min. 5 and, when he turns the player sideways in some other sections of the video, it seems no headphones are plugged in at all.

    I would be grateful if you could give it a try too.

    Cheers!
    Adrian

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  2. Thanks, Adrian.

    The radio will work without headphones plugged in, but won't get anywhere the number of stations to tune in as it will with the headphone cable there. My local stations would tune, but nothing that was out-of-town would come in with no headphone cable plugged in.

    4D

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  3. "Early adopter" here.

    I remember your thorough S9 review, too. Thanks very much for this this one as well!

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  4. You are welcome, Perri. I noticed the 16gb S9 was also $240 on release. I guess everyone else has come down in price but Cowon.

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  5. Hey 4D great review! In the video section you said it can play some mp4 videos, have you tried playing downloaded youtube videos in mp4 format?

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  6. Newegg has the J3 for $229 + 2.99 shipping. the 16 gig version.

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  7. Hello Sir,

    Thanks for the review.
    I have 2 questions:

    1. Is J3's stock earbud is better than S9's stock earbud?

    2. Can you please post some more pic of VIDEO UI,as it have many feature,and i know nothing about it,can you please tell me what are they used for?

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  8. nice review, but im not agree with the "A" for picture viewer. since the picture viewer is based on flash im sure it still showing small "artifacts" on the images, just like the s9

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  9. Nujabez: Youtube MP4s are the ones I have that don't play. Those I have that do play I converted myself from DVDs. There must be a codec difference that matters.

    Sameer: The earbuds are the the same as those that came with my S9. I didn't even try them. I'll do what I can for photos. The user manual may be more help for understanding the video app though. I got the manaul as a PDF on the CD that came with it, but can't find a link at Cowon or I'd post it.

    Newegg's price is a good one. Thanks for that tip.

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  10. What about the WiFi and browser it was supposed to have?

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  11. Where did Cowon claim the J3 was going to have WiFi and a browser? I'd have loved WiFi but don't need a pocket browser. I'd much prefer a Youtube app and an email client. I'll guess the Korean manufacturers don't want to bother going one-on-one against the Apple Touch. The Zune folks won't go there either, despite the HD's potential to.

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  12. Does the J3 play apple lossless music files?

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  13. Just for you, I ripped a CD into Apple lossless. The M4A files created would NOT play on the J3. I can play lossless WMA files though.

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  14. 4DThinker, thanks for the review.

    I'm new to Cowon--had never heard of this brand until just last week. Anyhow, I'd like to understand how one goes about scrolling through their large list of files? Say one has 5000 mp3s in one's collection. How does one scroll through the 5000 files? On Apple's, the scroll wheel makes it pretty easy to quickly scroll through the 5000 files to get to the end, but it seems like it would take forever to do so on a Cowon player. Could you enlighten the uninitiated. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The click wheel was a great advancement as player capacity increased. Even it proves slow compared to the easy of simply tapping or sliding on a touchscreen. Not every touchscreen player gets it right, but most of the top tier do. To start with, music can be sorted several ways. My J3's music list screen starts with:
    Folders
    Artist
    Albums
    Songs
    Genres
    Years
    New Music
    Playlists
    Audible
    Recordings

    So picking a category helps speed the search for a specific song. If you pick Songs, every song does appear in a very long list. You have a seach option though, so using it will get you VERY close to the song if you know it's name. There is a small slider bar on the right. It scales for the length of the list. Sliding it to the middle of the screen takes you to the middle of the list and so on. It takes me only a few taps or slides and I've found my song. I'd still be spinning that click-wheel though. The Archos 3 touchscreen player suffers greatly from having stuck with a clickwheel analogy for it's song lists. You might want to read my review of it: http://4dthinker.blogspot.com/2009/10/archos-3-review-inexpensive-pocketable.html

    4D

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  16. 4D, thanks for your comments regarding the clickwheel vs. slider scroll. I appreciate it.

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  17. Nice review and always heard good about Cowon players.

    You mentioned

    "The very comparable Cowon S9 is $30 to $40 cheaper for the same memory configuration. The added speaker is a nice touch, but hardly worth the premium up charge."

    Sorry to disagree but find a SDHC slot worth the price difference alone. Not including increased battery life,quicker charge time.

    And in your audio playback you listed hrs. play.
    But gave nothing on Video playback battery life.

    Thanks for the review. Extremely tempted and hate you for it :-)
    .

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  18. Sorry for that oversite, orb. The J3 is rated for 11 hours of video play. The S9 is rated the same 11 hours for video.

    4D

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  19. Thanks 4D for the review, I have a couple of specific questions to help decide if I should upgrade (other than just cos it's a shiny new toy... :) )

    - Is the picture viewer better than the S9?
    - Can you view the text viewer in landscape?
    - Is there any kind of dynamic playlist / add to queue feature from the music browser?

    ReplyDelete
  20. The Document app does not rotate to landscape. Photo apps are about the same for features, but the J3 is faster.

    All you've got is a favorites option you can add to. It supports playlists from Windows Media player though.

    4D

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  21. You mentioned:

    "You can listen to audio over bluetooth from the music and video apps, but not the FM radio."

    Is the radio limitation because of the lack of an antenna? In such a case, is it possible to plug headphones in and listen to the radio through the bluetooth-paired headphones (weird setup!)?

    Thank you in advance.

    Adrian

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  22. No, the radio won't work over bluetooth even if the headphone cable is plugged in. I've only had one player in all these I've reviewed that would allow FM over bluetooth and that was a Philips model. It may be the radio chip everyone uses that is the limiting factor, allowing only one "radio" frequency to be in use at a time for example. Philips may have used two discrete chips back then.

    4D

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  23. So does the radio not work at all with the external speaker? That is a bit of a disappointment but not a killer of course.

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  24. You didn't mention the external controls, at least I don't see a mention. I have the Sony X and will sell it if the J3 has good external controls. I can get more for a used X than the J3 costs, and I never liked the way Sony forced me to pay for their craptastic wifi/browser. Even though the J3 is 16GB, it has the slot and plays flac.

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  25. Thanks for the great review. I have one question for J3. Does J3 has better sound quality than S9 or they are same?

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  26. The radio plays fine over headphones plugged into the headphone jack, speakers plugged into the headphone jack, or the on-board speaker. The radio just doesn't play over bluetooth.

    4D

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  27. External controls: All the same as the S9, but on the right side instead of the top edge. You have seperat volume rocker, track fwd/back rocker, and standalone play/pause button. The power/hold button is on the left.

    Sound quality is essentially the same as the S9's. Better gapless playback throughout. The J3 plays AAC and M4A the S9 won't. Full screen cover art by default on the J3. It's all the little things that make the J3 a better player then the S9. The S9 sounded great. The J3 is the same.

    4D

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  28. Great, thanks (about external controls). And I am now very psyched to get my J3 from Amazon. I had the S9 but chose the Sony X over it (for a few reasons, but SQ was not one of them). Now, the J3 is the machine I need for on the go listening, and as I said, selling the Sony X will be very easy to do. And it plays AAC too. Excellent.

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  29. nice review :)
    just wanna ask...

    have u update the firmware to 1.2??
    if yes what the different

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  30. No, I haven't updated my firmware to 1.2 yet.

    4D

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  31. Great review :D

    I noticed that you're 2nd UI choice (the vertical zune-like one) is left-aligned; found some pictures on the net that it's right-aligned. I am wondering if this is part of the setting or not. Thanks :)

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  32. It's a feature. The text slides left or right with the g-sensor.

    4D

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  33. Jetaudio Live Chat says the J3 comes with the headphones and USB cable but no manual. Would you say where you purchased yours that it came with a CD?

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  34. Mine came with a CD. It had the owner's manual and MyPodder software on it.

    4D

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  35. hey....
    i had an iaudio7 for about 2 years before it died last year. ive FinaLLy got my mom to buy me a new pmp and just wanted to ask if theres anthing new coming from cowon in the next few months which i should look out for..... i loved the way my i7 sounded with flac. my mom has an ipod nano 4g which, in my opinion doesnt sound anywhere near my i7, EVEN wih monster 'phones...
    Basically i want your help buying a great sounding pmp under 200 dollars......
    right now i cant decide whether to go for an s9 or wait for the j3's price to drop....
    thanks

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  36. I have no inside info about Cowon. The iAudio 9 is a great player though. The S9 is a year old now, and the J3 is it's replacement. If you're going for a touch screen player, the J3 is worth waiting a bit for. You might see it's price lower when the 32gb model shows up in the U.S.. There will be a new iPod Touch soon that may set new pricepoints for the competition as well.

    4D

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  37. do you think the ipod touch playing alac will sound better than the j3 doing flac on similar hphones?

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  38. hi,
    youve said on headfi ( http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/484334/cowon-j3-impressions-thread/75 )
    that u have the spinn as well. which one out of the two do u like more?
    and do u know any website from where i could download flac files LEGALLY? i mean its really expensive to keep buying cds.

    and does the j3 do gapless well? coz my i7 didnt do it too well and i could never really enjoy the wall that much...

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  39. Got the J3 and I love it. Going to sell the X ASAP. The fact is plays AAC files is great, though I only had a few. I may even return it for the 32GB model when it comes out in mid-June. I have 30 days with Amazon.

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  40. The 32gb J3 is available now at Jetmall.net.

    The J3 does a great job of playing songs with no gaps between.

    The J3 is far better than the SPINN.

    I have no sources for free music.

    My iPod Touch doesn't come close to how good my J3 sounds. I rarely use the Touch for music listening.

    4D

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  41. Nice review. You indicated that you can vary the playback speed (as I can do with my D2); however you did not indicate the increments (my D2 is in 10% increments). The J3? (I keep emailing Cowon about reducing increments to 1% ala Tascam, but no response to any emails, perhaps they just made the change [this would be a great help to dancers and musicians])

    Thanks again for the great review

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  42. V. Dancer,

    The speed adjusts in 10% increments, from 50% to 150%.

    4D

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  43. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I may still consider getting the J3, but I do not understand Cowon's reluctance to change the variable speed increment. There is an entire market of dancers and musicians that look for variable speed playback MP3 players and right now the Tascam trainers are the only ones out there and they are significantly limited by having only 1 GB of memory!! (and the Cowon players are far superior.)

    Again, thanks for a great review (actually all of your reviews are quite good)and a quick response.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Thanks for your help!!!!!! now im definitely gonna buy the 16 gig version when the prices drop a teeny bit :D

    BTW this is the first time ive ever got a reply on any query ive asked on any blog or website.....

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  45. All I want is some sort of lyric support for FLAC. Why, oh why, is that so hard?

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  46. Hi there, please, what means that comix icon i see on your photo? is that some comics viewer? If yes, do you know which types of files are supported? Thanks a lot....

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  47. I don't know. The comix app came with the Korean firmware release. I suppose it is for comics, but I have no interest in them.

    4D

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  48. does it support FLV flash video?

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  49. No, the J3 doesn't play FLV files.

    4D

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  50. Hello, 4D Thinker!

    I've been following your blog for a while, it's a great read, and I love to see gadgets being covered that you don't normally see covered by larger sources.

    I am deciding between two players since my Creative Zen Vision M kicked the bucket, and I'm wondering if you had some input. I'm going back and forth between the Zune HD 32GB and the Cowon J3.

    What I like about the Zune is the slick interface, playlists on the go, the fact its now open to modders, and Wifi...but I'm leery of being tied to the Zune software, and the fact that I'm stuck to 32GB (my music collection is right around that size). However, I can get the 32GB from a friend for 160 bucks.

    The J3 looks good, I like the openness, the SD slot, the external buttons, and wide code support, but it's more expensive than the Zune offer for a 16 or 32GB, plus getting a 16/32gb card will add to it. Plus, never had a Cowon before, and I've heard mixed things about the menu system, plus Wifi would be nice to have but not essential.

    I primarily will be using the player for music and day-to-day traveling.

    Thank you very much for any input and great blog!

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  51. Hi Jeff.

    If money is an issue, then go with the Zune HD. They are being discounted alot, and I'm expecting something new from MS before Christmas though. I love the J3. It is pricey though. You get three choices of UIs, and one is sort of Zunish. You don't get the paid Zune market pass option, but the music capability is excellent. There are custom alternatives for every app too. Check Anythingbutipod's Cowon S9 and J3 forums. The J3 costs more because it is newer, has broader codec support, plays songs gaplessly, has a speaker and microphone, as well as those external control. Don't forget bluetooth. I'm a big fan of wireless headphones.

    4D

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  52. Hello 4D,

    I have been enjoying reading your posts and reviews here about the J3. I had an iriver700 for years and loved how it recorded off fm, although navigating was a little difficult and the tiny screen was awful. Sound was good. Well, its quickly dying and I haven't found many players that have all three of these needed features:

    FM Recording
    Voice Recording
    Line-in Recording

    Can the J3 do all of these?

    I want mainly to record off FM Radio at conventions. Talks are about 20 - 40 minutes each. I like to record each talk as a new file so it will be a separate talk, rather than record all day and try to split it up later.

    Would the J3 be a good candidate for me, or can you suggest something I could buy that has all three of those features and can easily record as I described?

    I thought if I am upgrading I may as well get something that does video and pictures too, since my iriver only did music.

    I need to purchase ASAP as the convention is July 2-4, 2010 and need shipping time.

    Thank you so much!

    seemeflyhi

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  53. SeeMeFlyHi,

    Yes, the J3 will record from FM, it's mic, and the optional line-in cable. So will the earlier Cowon S9.

    4D

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  54. Thank you for your help, 4D! My J3 just arrived and I can hardly wait til its done charging so I can explore it. Thanks again for your wonderful reviews, and the clear, detailed pictures and explainations. I am bookmarking your site so I can use it for future use.
    SeeMeFlyHi

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  55. I have a cowon s9 and I love it but my question about the j3 is will it playback videos in random or shuffle mode because the s9 wont do it only in music will it play in a shuffle order thanks for your help

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  56. As far as I can tell, the J3 doesn't shuffle videos either. In fact I don't think I've seen any player that will do that.

    4D

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  57. the first pmp i own is an insignia ns-8v24 will shuffle videos but it is a discontinued model that has record fm radio bluetooth with 2 ports for earphones, an excellent player, the only drawback to it was the lousy battery life and again thanks for the info

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  58. I was asking about the j3 because i have an s9 and I love it and that is my only complaint with it not shuffling videos, other than that I absolutely love it and if the j3 would shuffle videos I would order it today and I would love to have the option to use an sd card

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  59. i dont like the fact that the internal mic is on the BOTTOM of the unit. this means that when I bring this unit to my music lessons, i would have to hand hold this unit for an hour. this is a silly idea. i thought about buying an external mic to plug in so that i can lie this unit down flat on a table, but it requires you to have a special usb connection instead of the standard 3.5mm jack. this means that i would have a floppy mic all over the place which is annoying as well. is there some sort of way around this?

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  60. Hey 4D,
    Thanks for the article. I'm pretty interested in the J3, Can you tell me about the touch screen at all? I don't like most touch screen devices because of the unresponsiveness. The only one I've ever easily used is an ipod touch.
    Is the J3 fiddly? or hard to use?

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  61. Is the J3 bigger than the S9 or smaller?

    Also, how responsive is the touch screen?

    Thanks 4D
    Cheers

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  62. The J3's screen is the same as on the S9. Of the outer dimensions the J3 is thinner.

    The touch screen is very reactive, and quicker to respond that the screen on the S9. Quick enough to appear fluid.

    4D

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  63. hi 4d thinker
    i am gaurav
    very nice and usefull work done over j3

    could u plz help me its urgent plz
    i wanted to buy a player with 32 gb capacity but i am confused between cowon j3 and samsung yp p3 but there is some thing ,i want is a player with awesome sound,
    bluetooth ,
    wi-fi,[as i know both of my favorite doesn't have]
    great playtime,
    good picture quality and widgets,
    3.5mm jack and a small speaker built in and a reliable one
    stylish build and durability will be add ons
    but strongly non apple
    hope you will help me out plz suggest me

    ReplyDelete
  64. Gaurav,

    The device you want doesn't exist unless you move to Android on something like the Archos 5 Internet Tablet. Search this blog (October 31st) for my review.

    4D

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  65. 4D,
    Thanks for all the helpful info!
    I have several needs in an MP3 Player that are not as widely discussed as music and video.
    My prime uses are for audiobook listening (from my local library which is free, not Audible) - this is a topic that gets little play in most MP3 forums as far as I can tell; and FM radio listening/recording. My Creative Zen Vision M does both pretty well but my first Zen lost FM capability recently and the second one is a bit quirky (resets time back ~ 4 hrs if off for s few hours).
    I am also starting to look into wireless headphones as my headphone wires get tangled and caught on things way too often. The Bluetooth sounds good though I am disappointed it will not work for radio (but how about for the playback of recorded radio segments)?

    Can you offer any advice/info on these topics?
    Thanks very much!
    BookLover

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  66. Booklover,

    I have only ever found one device that will play FM radio over bluetooth headphones. That was an old Philips player they don't make anymore. Audiobooks and long podcasts certainly need bookmarking or at least an auto-resume that works perfectly. The Cowon S9 and J3 have great bookmarking for audio files. I don't know if they auto-resume in any file you've ever listened to though.

    You'll love bluetooth headphones though. I've also snagged cables dangerously on things more than once.

    4D

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  67. I am using S9 since they released it. Love the sound. I did not use my iTouch since then. Sound quality 1-10 iTouch 3, Cowon S9 9. One big disadvantage on S9 is lack of wired remote control. I am using it on the bike and snowboard and also tried many bluetooth remotes, but it doesn't work 100%, there is the delay in the response and eats the battery of S9 (only five hours with the bluetooth on). So is the J3 step ahead of S9 and finally allow use of wired remote control?

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  68. The J3 doesn't support wired remotes either. The only devices I know of that do are iPods.

    The J3's battery life is better than the S9's, so bluetooth may also last longer with the J3.

    4D

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  69. 4D,
    First of all, Thanks for the excellent Review.
    Can you help me,

    1. what list J3 displays when a Genre is selected ? list of albums ? list of artists?
    In zune120 I get list of albums. But i really like to see list of artists, then albums.

    2. How long does it take to boot? (and for how many files)
    I found in forums, that some people find it annoyingly slow boot up in J3 for a large number of files

    3. What battery life you get out of the J3?
    The specs says a spectacular 64hours, but its too good to be true for general use :P

    ZubaiR

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  70. ZubaiR,

    When you Pick genres to sort by, you simply get a list of genres to choose from. Pick a Genre and you'll see a list of artists with songs in that genre. Pick an artist and you'll see a list of the albums from that artist with songs in that genre.

    Boot time on mine averaged 12 seconds with a microSD card inserted. The J3 does a scan of the external memory to update it's database. There is also a sleep mode, which starts back up within one or two seconds. Much preferred.

    I have yet to test the J3 for continuous play time. Compared to every other player I have my J3 goes longer between charges though. You'll only get the longest time with low bitrate MP3 files and never touching the screen once started though. I play FLAC and high bitrate MP3s and am happy with the battery life as is.

    4D

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  71. Great sound, improved in definition compared to S9 (lossless, wav 1536kbps, 48Hz, Grado PS 1000).
    Works with 32Gb microSD.

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  72. Great review! Does the J3 plav DivX video files? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Hey! I was wondering whether the J3 was scratch resistant. Also, can you jump to a point in a video and not have to scroll through it endlessly trying to search for a certain part?

    ReplyDelete
  74. The J3 is pretty durable, with good glass. I won't claim any player is scratch resistant though as there are too many variable involved. A single grain of sand in the same pocket as a J3 could do horrible damage, for example.

    Video has bookmarking, and it works very well. You can also tap on a slider bar to jump to a relative position in any video. The bar is only so long though, and a 2-hour movie would be hard to tap to a minute precise point within. I highly recommend getting to know the bookmarking features of the J3.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  75. Hey 4DThinker,

    You've done a great job with answering questions and doing reviews. I'm currently using an 8GB Zune player(my first and only player). It's starting to wear out and I'm beginning to look for a replacement. I would be lying if I didn't say I didn't like the Zune software and how it works.

    Many people seem to really like the J3 player...and it does look really awesome. So my question is really about music organization.

    Is it done with software like the Zune or iPod? Or is it softwareless, and your mp3's are just in folders on the computer? Also, how does it assign an image to particular albums? The Zune software always took care of that sort of thing. Also, does it get its genre, album title, song title, etc from the meta-data that's associated with each mp3 song?

    Sorry if these questions seem a little noobish. I just want to know as much as I can before making a relatively expensive purchase.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Great review and follow up to questions. I have two questions.

    Above you say: "When you Pick genres to sort by, you simply get a list of genres to choose from. Pick a Genre and you'll see a list of artists with songs in that genre. Pick an artist and you'll see a list of the albums from that artist with songs in that genre"

    I like to search using album art. After you pick a Genre, can you get album art rather than a list of artists? Or is there any other way to get an album art screen that just shows the albums within a certain genre?

    Also, how does the sound quality when using blue tooth compare to wired.

    Thanks, gm1

    ReplyDelete
  77. Music can be dragged and dropped, synced with windows media player, and there are a few apps that can also sycn music to the J3. No special software required though. And yes, it gets it's sorting info from meta-data.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  78. GM1-

    No, the only way album art shows up is after you are in the player and turn the J3 to landscape position. Every album shows up, regardless of how you sorted the music to get to the player.

    Bluetooth quality depends on the quality of the bluetooth headphones or speakers used. I've got a few decents sets and they sound better then both the on-board speaker and the OEM earbuds the J3 came with.

    Hope that helps.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  79. In the review is mentioned that the J3 has gapless playback. I also read that in the comments. But...I'm playing flac's and don't have gapless playback. Is that because I play flac's, or is it something else. Gapless playback was the big reason for me to buy the J3, so at this moment I'm very dissapointed it doesn't work the way expected. Does anyone has a solution?

    ReplyDelete
  80. Flac files are much larger than MP3s, and to do gapless the upcoming file has to be loaded into memory while the current song is already playing. For many long songs there isn't enough internal memory to do that, and so the J3 won't be able to eliminate the loading gap between songs. I can get FLACs to work occasionally, but it is probably because they aren't long songs (large files).

    Sadly there isn't much else out there that even does gapless with MP3s. You might consider making 320kbps MP3 versions of your FLACs for use on the J3. I personally can't hear the difference between them and the FLAC version, but that may be thanks to my old ears.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  81. Hey 4D,
    As you know the j3 is a little pricey, so I was wondering if you would consider it the best player you've owned. Also, if the j3 came out a year after the s9, does that mean there's a chance another will come out in the near future?
    ---dan.

    ReplyDelete
  82. As a pure media player, yes the J3 is the closest I've seen to the perfect device. It adds all the missing parts to the previous S9, which is still a great player on its own.

    And yes, there is always a chance there will be a newer model in the future. About all they could do to improve the J3 is move it up into iPod Touch territory with WiFi and apps, probably using Android for an OS.

    ReplyDelete
  83. WOW. A massive THANK YOU to you for your incredibly detailed review, as well as your dedication to answering all these questions!!

    Thanks 4DThinker!

    ReplyDelete
  84. OK. I got my J3 today. Gotta say---***really disappointed ***.

    NONE of my innumberable WMV files play at all.

    I have no idea why. I thought they played natively.

    They play fine on my laptop and any PC.

    I'm feeling really screwed over.

    ReplyDelete
  85. (Oh, and yes, re: that last comment on my WMVs not working, firmware is completely upgraded, btw...)

    ReplyDelete
  86. WMVs are supported, but checking Cowon's site it states "Some files may not be played properly depending on the video resolution, frame, bit rate and encoding option." Any I have that are at 480 x 272 or less, and not using an odd audio codec in them play fine. Contact Cowon support for more info. Tech info is here:

    http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_wide/COWONJ3/product_page_4.php

    ReplyDelete
  87. I renew my assertion that 4Dthinker is awesome for providing all this information and these great answers.

    If I ever have to hire someone, I will consider you just on proven merit alone.

    Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  88. Hi 4D,

    Have been reseaching/hunting for a replacement for my vision:m for what seems like an age now and am now on the brink of buying a 16GB J3 and was wondering if you could recommend any in ear headphones that would compliment the player for under £100. I have been looking at the phonak audeo pfe 012 and the Etymotic hf5 as they have had impressive reviews across the web. I have a varied taste of music but mainly classic rock/indie. Also would you consider the J3 a worthy upgrade from the vision:M, a player I hold in very high regard. Also, would a portable amp improve the J3's SQ any further?

    Keep up the good work!

    Cheers
    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  89. Mike: The J3 is a great player. Easily the best I've had a chance to evaluate so far. I never had a Vision-M so can't compare for you. No amp is needed with the J3.

    My fav IEMs at the moment are my Panasonic RP-HJE900-K's. About $80 at amazon.com.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  90. 4D,
    Thanks for the speedy reply, nice to feel noticed for once, unlike other sites. will continue to view and recommend your site for advice and inspiration.
    I will look up the Panasonic's! Also, is the j3 your personal media player of choice? How does it compare with say, the ipod 4? Are there any other rivals? In terms of audio of corse. Silly apps and games do not interest me :)

    Thanks again!
    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  91. which one sounds better sound quality wise, S9 or J3 ? thanks in advance :)

    ReplyDelete
  92. Which Sounds better? The J3 has a little more oomph under the hood, and does a better job of playing songs with no audible gap in between. Other than that I rate then a tie. My ears aren't young anymore, so don't consider me an expert.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  93. I need to upgrade from an ipod 5th gen(hate it because all the encoding/ third party programs)
    Does the J3 support .mkv files with soft subtitles[1280x720]? (typical encoding of the Anime I dl)

    ReplyDelete
  94. I don't see MKV in the specs so I doubt it. You can find out all the supported formats at Cowon.com. Click on the J3, then look for a Tech Specs tab.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  95. I am really upset with the J3. I charged it carefully when I bought it, to optimize battery life. Bluetooth is off. I've had it for 3 weeks.

    Whenever I charge it fully, the battery is DEAD within about 30 hours of SLEEP MODE---after NO USE OF THE UNIT AT ALL. It isn't even good for one day OF NOT BEING USED!!! The drain in sleep mode is crazy.

    Did I get a complete dud? The return policy is pathetic. I have read a lot of complaints online about battery problems, but this is just appalling.

    I feel cheated. And I can't even get a replacement easily.

    ReplyDelete
  96. Sorry if you have already answered this, but could you please advise? I want to copy images from my camera to a Cowon device. I am leaning towards the J3, but it only has a MicroSD card slot, and my camera only takes SD or SDHC. Shall I go with the O2 which takes SD cards, or would the J3 work with a card reader connecting the two devices, and if so, do you have a recommendation for the card reader? Also, of the O2 and J3, which is the better music player--that is vital but I don't want to set my self up for long-term grief. Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
  97. Most people copy photos to their PC, then copy them to their devices. I haven't tried the O2, so can't comment on its capabilities. The J3's screen is 480 x 272, and your camera no doubt shoots far larger images than that. I use irfanview (free download) to crop and resize images before putting them on my devices. Saves space. Normally I shoot for 4x the size of the screen, or 960 x 544. The Zoom capability of most devices then still is useful of you want to be able to zoom in on details within a photo.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  98. hey 4D,
    i have a few questions (because im pretty bad at this stuff.)
    1) i downloaded two albums from two different bands (led zeppelin and the clash). for some reason the folder for the band (the clash) and their album (the essential clash) only shows up as "unknown" but the songs show up and play fine. i renamed the folders to their proper names on jetaudio, but it doesnt show up on the j3.
    2) the album art doesnt show up and i would love for it to do so.
    3) everytime i press the music button, the last song played shows up, but i want the list of tags to show up (artists, songs, years ETC.)
    thank you o much for taking the time to read this!
    ---Dan.

    ReplyDelete
  99. Dan,

    If you have a JPG copy of the album art for each album, make a copy of it, place it in the respective album folder on the J3, and rename it "Cover.JPG". Otherwise you'll need to add it to each file by editing the "tags". Other info can also be added, but since I don't know which OS you're using I can't be more specific. In windows 7 the tag info appears (on the bottom edge of the open window) and is editable when any music files is highlighted in windows explorer.

    You might also want to find MP3Tag, a free download. Once files are updated, you'll need to copy them again to your J3. The files on the J3 won't update automatically.

    Good luck with your J3. There is much to learn. ;)

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  100. How long does it take to update the internal database after you've slot in a 32GB-SDHC full with music?

    ReplyDelete
  101. I've only just received my first 32gb microSD-HC card, and I don't own enough music to fill it. If you can wait another 5 years or so I'll try and answer. Until then, you'll have to figure it out on your own. I suggest math. Time how long it takes to update the database when an full 8gb card is put in, then multiply by 4. You'll be close.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  102. Read both of your reviews on the J3 and i have a couple of questions:
    Does the J3 support replay gain? if not how do you level track/album volume
    I have a standard usb connection in my truck can i hook up the J3 to this port or do i need an adapter cable.

    ReplyDelete
  103. There is no replay gain setting or volume normalization setting on the J3. I haven't had a need for it, so can't answer your question.

    As for the USB port, the J3 looks like a USB storage device, and it depends on your head unit if it will work. The included cable should work though, assuming the head unit can read the files off the J3.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  104. Hi 4D

    Just found this blog... It's great! Good work!
    I have a question for you... I'm thinking about buying the J3, but I am a little worried about the lack of creating a playlist... Is this a huuge issue with the J3 or have you found a way around it?

    Thanks

    Regards Michael

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  105. I agree, Michael. No easy on-the go playlist support is a shame, although it does support an on-the-go favorites list. Figuring out how to get to that list is cryptic though. The menu icon (top left) on the now-playing screen is a three-way toggle. It will toggle from songs to favorites (if any) to bookmarks and back to songs. You add a song to the favorites list by using the + icon at the bottom of a music list. Tap it once to turn it green, then tap any song in the list to add it to favorites. Tap the + again to turn it off.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  106. Hi 4D

    Thanks for the quick answer. Think I'll buy the J3 even though creating a playlist is a little tricky.

    I was just thinking... Is it possible to create a folder on the pc and just put all your favorites in it and then drag the folder to the J3?

    I don't have any experience with cowon, so bear with me if this is a stupid question. :-)

    Regards

    Michael

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  107. Yes, you sure can Michael. From the Now Playing screen tap the list icon upper left corner. Then tap the left most up arrow on the bottom row. At the top of the new list will be [Folders]. Tap that to find your favorites folder.

    4D

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  108. Thanks again 4D... :-)

    So that way you can create a playlist that works with the J3... You just can't do it by using the J3 alone.

    Michael

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  109. would you rec. the 16gb over the 32gb given that there is expandable memory support on the device? I am still trying to decide. I know I can fill up 16gb in music alone, but am trying to decide if the convenience of having an extra internal 16gbs or memory @ + $50.00 is better or not than just adding a 16gb card for + $18-20.00

    ReplyDelete
  110. At Amazon.com, Cowon asks $57 more for a 32gb J3 than a 16gb J3, but 16gb microSD cards are $20-$30.

    So yes, you'll save money buying the 16gb version. You'll never be able to put more than a 32gb card in either though, so get the 32gb J3 if your needs will exceed 48gb.

    4D

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  111. Thanks, I do not really anticipate that I will actually need more than 48gb of storage. I have a 32gb iphone that still has 17gb free on it since I do not use it for personal listening nor have many apps on it. I do have other 16gb DAPs that I have filled up with just music alone. I might want to actually put some movies on the J3 though - still trying to figure out if on-board 32gbs are worth the extra few books over the combined internal and external 32gbs. This is my first Cowon - I do not want to drop all of this money on something that I might not like then have to pay that restocking fee to return it. Thanks for your help.

    ReplyDelete
  112. Hey - on flat settings - how would you compare the J3's SQ to the Sansa Clip's?

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  113. I prefer the J3. Better channel seperation. Less distortion with low bass notes. Details could be heard that I completely missed listening to my Clip+ with the same songs and headphones.

    That said, the Clip+ does a great job for its price.

    4D

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  114. Hey 4D - Great work - What is it about the raised glass problem I have been reading on several sites? Thanks

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  115. Can't report on raised glass. My J3 looks perfect still.

    4D

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  116. Dear 4D, great review. I have two questions:

    1. Does J3 support mp3pro and aacPlus?
    2. Will it read metadata tag of both format properly?

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  117. mp3pro: 1) It should. 2) It should.
    aac Plus: 1)Yes. 2)Not on my J3.

    Please note; I have no MP3pro samples and only a couple aac samples to test.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  118. Thanks for the reviews and all the answers so rapidly given. As a classical music fan, I am wondering if it is easy to change from gapless playback.
    I am hoping to expand with a 32GB card, and wonder if I need to use certain brands?

    ReplyDelete
  119. Gapless is a feature and not a setting. No turning it off or on. It simply eliminates any delay between when a song ends and the next one starts.

    As far as I know, Sandisk is the maker of all the 32gb chips. All brands use them internally. Look out for fakes though. If the price seems too good to be true it probably is.

    4D

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  120. I see. So am I right in assuming that if there is a 5 second silence between songs or movements, this will still be there on playback? Pretty desirable on classical.
    Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete
  121. If the silence is part of the file then yes.

    4D

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  122. Has the J3 really abandoned the commands the D2+ had for the outside mechanical switches to raise/lower volume, advance track/retreat to previous track, etc when the unit is on Hold? These are almost essential and are not responding on the J3 so far, and nothing in the manual.

    If so, a major major gap.

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  123. @Anthony: Under Settings, then System, there is an option for Hold Mode. It can be set for ALL or Touchscreen Only. Make sure it is set for Touchscreen only if you want to use the external buttons when on hold.

    4D

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  124. Do you know if the J3 works with a 32GB card or will it only accept a smaller one? I'm really interested in the J3 but I have a lot of music to put on it so I'm hoping I can get 64GB total space.

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  125. Yes, the J3 supports up to 32gb MicroSD-HD cards. There are many fakes out there, so buyer beware. If the price looks too good to be true, ...

    4D

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  126. Hi, I'm looking for a player with excellent sound for music, but also features to help with language learning.

    This means I'm very interested in being able to do things like:
    · easily a-b repeat within one file
    · repeat file N times or continuously
    · repeat folder
    · easily rewind back a few seconds (ideally without having to take the player out of my pocket).

    How does the J3 fair with respect to these kinds of needs?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  127. @Phil:
    - a-b repeat: yes
    - Repeat N times: no. No way to set "N".
    - Repeat continuously: yes
    - Repeat folder: yes
    - While in pocket: No. It's a touchscreen device. Easy to do when able to look at and touch the screen.

    4D

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  128. Hi there,4D.
    I hope you take time to read this.
    I really want to buy the J3,but I'm torn between the 32 GB version and the 64GB verison of the Sony NWZ-A847.I'm going to explain why:the J3 is maybe too technical and too tricky [e.g. playlists].Some even talked here and somewhere else about the "faux"battery lasting time.I don't know,maybe they are right,maybe not:others said that they last at least 55 hrs.But I can live with a lesser time on battery power,or the tricky playlists,if the player is really worth it.But I read from user's and specialist's reviews alike that audio is not that good with Jazz and Classical music,even with personalized equalizer.I have a lot of classical music,so I would be disappointed if that rumor would eventually prove to be true.What can you say about that?Can you confirm this?And now the Sony: it's way too simple compared to Cowon,for everything[I don't really care about the fact that it supports less audio codecs format]and it has a shorter power battery:30 hrs.The fact is that I live in Europe,so the player is capped by an absurd EU law.Some say it's badly capped,others say that it's jus 3 or 4 bars more on volume to turn up,compared to previuos Sony models,even european ones.Can you give me an advice?I would pay the Cowon 240€ and the Sony 300€.I'm sorry for time taken to you,for my bad english,and for tediousness to explain my doubts.I hope to read an answer as soon as possible.Kind Regards and thank you for your very good review.

    ReplyDelete
  129. I recently transfered all of my music contained on cassette tapes, cd's and vinyl records to my computer and converted them to MP3 files. I discovered that the music can be played on a home stereo by downloading the files to an MP3 player and connecting with an A/V cable to the stereo input jacks. I purchased an MP3 player and was able to accomplish this task, however, the player proved to be defective, and had to be returned. I also had 7GB of family and vacation photos loaded on the player, and was able to view them on TV, when the player wanted to work. Can anyone tell me, with a certainty, whether, or not, the Cowon J3 will work, for this purpose. I've sifted through scores of reviews, but have not found a definitive answer. One reviewer did say that the proprietary A/V cable worked well enough to view videos on TV, but did not work to listen to music. I appreciate 4DThinker's extensive and useful review of this product.
    Thanks for your help

    ReplyDelete
  130. I can't buy the A847 in the U.S. so can't comment on it.

    The J3, to my ears, is the best sounding player I own. I hear no difference between genres of music, and enjoy my own classical and jazz albums with no EQ at all, but though a very good set of headphones.

    4D

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  131. I can't answer about the J3 and photos on TV as I don't have the necessary cable to test it with.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  132. Thank you very much for kind reply...Thought,I'm still in doubts:you said that you listen to those genres with non EQ at all;others say the need it...Plus,and I didn't remembere this,USA don't have the A847...But about the price?Can you telle me something?It's230€ for J3 32GB and 300€ for Sony 64GB.
    Thanks Again.

    ReplyDelete
  133. just making sure:
    1. Does the COWON J3 have a line in recording?
    2. During playback, is there an 'AB' switch to playback certain segment repeatedly ?

    I am into music recording. Thanks and more power

    ReplyDelete
  134. 1. Yes it does line-in recording. You need their specific Line-in cable though.
    2. Yes it has the A>B function.

    Enjoy!
    4D

    ReplyDelete
  135. Hi there, impressive reviews. Music-wise (I only care about that), how does the D3 compare to the J3? If they are similar, I may go for the D3 due to the added bt, wifi, etc. But again, my main interest on cowon is music. Thanks for your help!

    ReplyDelete
  136. @guitolives: Sound quality is the same or better, depending on who you ask. The J3 does gapless playback, but you'll need another music app (like rockbox for android) to get that feature from the D3.

    ReplyDelete
  137. Hi, I am happy by knowing lot of information about Cowon J3 and would like to buy immediately. But before that few clarifications,
    1. which would be best Samsung DNSe or COWON BBE+ with Jetaudio 3.0?
    2. DNSe not supporting equalizer settings while playing through bluetooth, will cowon do?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  138. IMO the J3 is better. Mainly for amazing audio quality without any EQ presets, and gapless playback.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  139. Hi 4D!

    Thanks for the excellent review. Atm. I've got a S9. But it's not enough loud for my headphones (Ultrasone HFI-680), so I was hoping this one would be louder. Can you confirm this?

    And further I found it a bit a pain (and still havent figuerd out) to make playlists with the S9. Is it easier with this one?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  140. @Unknown: The J3's loudness and playlist capabilities are essentially the same as the S9. You might want to look at the Samsung 4.0.

    4D

    ReplyDelete
  141. Hi,

    I know it's a little late but I want your opinion. I'm seeking a MP4 player which can play youtube downloaded videos, need not have any apps (no use for them anyway) and the video usage must last more than 5hrs. Any mp4 players in the market now that have this specs of mine? Thanks.

    Alan

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  142. @Alan: Youtube videos came come as MP4, Flash, and no doubt a few other formats with mixed audio and video codecs. In my experience some devices play some videos from Youtube but not all, and what plays usually depends on the audio codec used within the video file. For that reason I'm recommending any modern player that has WiFi and an available YouTube app. The Cowon D3, Archos 32 and 43, Creative Touch-2, Latte Ice Smart, Samsung Galaxy 4.0 and 5.0 players all should meet that requirement, and give you the choice to not buy any apps or even use WiFi, but yet have support for most YouTube videos you might download and copy to them.

    Hope that helps.
    4D

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  143. Then compare with Samsung YP-M1 and Cowon J3 or any other similar models, in terms of playing youtube downloads, which is better? It's better if the mp4 player got speaker.

    Sorry if I ask too much but I want to get more info before I plunge into buying a new mp4. My old Samsung YP-T9B, the screen has gone white but the sound system is still going strong.

    Thanks.

    Alan

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  144. 4D,
    I've read many reviews and love yours. All the reviews state that the J3 is exactly what i'm looking for, but I have one major concern: when reading user reviews, I get a mix between perfection and durability horror stories. You always have some malcontents in user reviews, but there seem to be a lot of them, so.....
    What can you say on the durability of the J3? I'm not hard on my players, an I always use a case, but I want to make sure that it won't break if it hits the ground.

    ReplyDelete
  145. My entire house is carpeted, and I don't test the survival rate of dropped devices, so the best I can tell you is that my J3 seems as well built as any other player I've tested. Touchscreen players in general are more likely to suffer broken glass, but only because they have more of it than clickwheel-based players.

    4D

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  146. Wow! What dedication, 4D. I just read the entire blog, from your May 2010 review to the last Q/A a couple weeks ago. I'm pretty amazed that the thread is still active after all this time. And thanks for all the useful information.

    My 6G 160gb iPod just died after 5 years of fairly heavy use. I've reverted to my 5G 60gb iPod, but it was on its last legs 5 years ago when I bought the 6g. I'm amazed that it works at all, having sat in a drawer for years.

    I guess I was assuming I would either get another Classic or a Touch. But I'm not thrilled reading how the current Classic is not as good as my old one, that Apple cut corners with the build quality to improve profit margin? Oh please!

    There were a couple things that always bugged me about that 2007 Classic. Sound quality could be better. The display did not show enough info. Much of the metadata is not viewable on the iPod at all. And I had to edit to shorten many album titles, since the display truncates them. As hard disks have gotten bigger, so has the likelihood that you might not be intimately acquainted with all your music. Pretty embarrassing when someone asks about a song, and you can't tell them who it is, because of the truncated display. And search? Forgetaboutit!

    So I'm interested in trying something new, going outside the Apple box.

    How does the display do on the J3? Is it better than the Classic?

    And my big question...wait for the drum roll please....You have had the J3 for almost two years, has your fancy moved on to any newer players? Would you still buy a J3 today, or maybe something else??? Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Kenji

    ReplyDelete
  147. Kenji: While I still enjoy listening to my Cowon J3 from time to time, my main interests now are android devices. Why? Wifi, and Google Music. Cowon's android-based D3 was a bit of a disappointment, but the Samsung 4" and 5" android media players are excellent. Get the 5" if you can afford it as the battery in it is pretty amazing. the 5" screen space is also a joy.

    Thanks for visiting!
    4D

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  148. 4D,
    Impressive blog and review of J3 Cowan. I use this mostly to record courses I teach so that I can transcribe them later. I see mention of an external microphone for the J3 but can't find one. Any suggestions for where to shop?
    Mark J.

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  149. Thanks, Anonymous. Sorry, but I don't have a microphone to recommend. Some players support headset mics through the headphone jack, but I'm not sure the J3 does.

    4D

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