Cowon J3 vs Cowon D2 vs Others

[Phoenix Wright]

So my second Creative Zen is close to dying. It has somehow become read-only, I can't update the firmware, and my only way of getting new songs in is via an SD card, of which I only have a 256mb variant right now. The first one went the same way, so I'm never getting something by Creative again. f**k them.

 

- I'm leaning heavily towards the J3 right now because of FLAC support and the superior SQ, but the D2 supports that too. The 16GB variants are priced 4.5k apart, with the J3 being priced higher at 14.5k, so I'm a bit undecided on this.

 

- The Zune HD.. well, there's a lot of issues with having one outside of the US, is it really worth it?

 

- iPod, meh.

 

I've been out of the loop regarding these things for a while now, so I'd appreciate some help. What do you guys think?

 

Also, apologies if this is in the wrong section, feel free to move it if it is.

[Superfrag]

Strictly as a PMP, Cowon is really nice thanks to its FLAC and lots of format support. Its SQ is also above average.

 

The previous gens iPod have nothing much going for them, EXCEPT for the appstore. If you really like the appstore and the abundance of apps of all kinds, wait for the new iPod. If the new iPod has the same screen and chip as the iPhone 4 and iPad, its a killer PMP despites its shortcomings in the format region. The SQ of the iPad and iPhone 4 is a HUGE improvement over the previous gens, easily competing with the top PMP's. I feel the new iPod will definitely have the same DSP(digital sound processor), so the SQ will be top notch.

 

Other options are the Sanse Clip + and the Fuze, for music listening.

 

Another great PMP is the Nationite S:Flo 2

 

http://mp4nation.net/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_36_58&products_id=377

 

Cons are no apps and WiFi (browsing) and such, but strictly as a PMP its awesome, great format support and screen as well.

[Bird Bird Bird]

It's simple:

If you need great sound with the ability to play anything you throw at the PMP, get a Cowon. Would prefer J3 over D2.

If you need apps and games and WiFi over SQ and format support, iPod it is.

Also check out www.anythingbutipod.com .. Great reviews there..!!

[Death Stryke]

What superfrag said. If u want something more than audio and video, then go for the ipod touch. Though yes, Cowon is unbeatable in SQ provided u you use high end headphones and listen to FLACs

[theneurotoxin]

- I'm leaning heavily towards the J3 right now because of FLAC support and the superior SQ, but the D2 supports that too. The 16GB variants are priced 4.5k apart, with the J3 being priced higher at 14.5k, so I'm a bit undecided on this.

- The Zune HD.. well, there's a lot of issues with having one outside of the US, is it really worth it?

I would say give the Zune HD a serious look.I got the 32GB variant very recently for 14.2k and the 16GB one should be around 10k.

 

There are no issues of having one outside the U.S. except that you cannot purchase movies from the Zune marketplace.Provided you have a credit card or a friend in the USA,you will be able to make music/music video purchases(using US region MS points) and you can subscribe to the Zune Pass as well.The workarounds to access the marketplace are quite simple too like changing the region of your computer in the control panel;VPNs are not necessary.

 

Coming to the feature set:

->It has the best screen right now among all the PMPs and if you invest in a dock you will be able to use it as a portable HD video player.In any case if you are going to be watching videos you should definitely go for the Zune as it supports most of the codecs out of the box.

 

->Not sure how it compares to the Cowon players in SQ but word is that it sports a much better DAC than the iPod.I find it a bit better sounding than the nano I had earlier but it could be a placebo effect.No FLAC support though,so be wary of this.

 

->You can sync your player to your computer wirelessly.

 

->A limited selection of apps(all free),HD radio and Wifi with a decent browser.I find it good enough to search for lyrics anyway.

 

->It has a much better version of Apple's Genius feature which works well and also has some really good social features for music discovery and sharing music with friends.

 

->It has an awesome UI(the J3 supposedly has a clunky interface BTW) and IMO the best music management software for Windows.

 

So if you don't need the apps and aren't an audiophile I would recommend the Zune HD.Do checkout the apple thread;there was a discussion about PMPs in that thread a couple of days ago.

 

EDIT:Best looking PMP too.

[Aftrunner]

It's simple:

If you need great sound with the ability to play anything you throw at the PMP, get a Cowon. Would prefer J3 over D2.

If you need apps and games and WiFi over SQ and format support, iPod it is.

Also check out www.anythingbutipod.com .. Great reviews there..!!

 

Pretty much this. Had a Cowon D2 for well over a year. Absolutely loved it. Purely as a music player its vastly superior to the Ipod.

 

Had an Ipod touch for close to two years loved that too. But for totally different reasons.