Get S9 or wait for J3? And: Cowon Products in Germany?

Kaschmir · 06-02-2010, 09:14

Hello guys,
I guess i've become a kind of a Cowon fanboy over the last years.
I mostly loved the mp3 players for their sound and their incredible battery life.
Well, i first had a X5L, then a D2 (8gb). The latter one got stolen a few weeks ago, and i desperately need replacement.

Now there are two choices: the s9 and the j3. i don't want the iaudio9 due to it's miniscule battery life (20 hours just aint enough).

There are no tests on the J3 around yet (at least none that i could find), so i wonder how good it is. The stats seem just awesome, esp the battery life/SD card compability. I wonder how heavy he is, i used to run with my D2 as well, and it would have driven me nuts if it weighted just a few grams more.

What do you guys think? Should i grab the S9 with 32 gb (which is fairly light and hence may be good for running as well), or wait (maybe a few month) for the J3?

Now i wonder how long it takes until i can get the j3 here in germany... the s9 is available (via amazon), priced at about 320$ for the 32 gb version, but the j3 isn't yet.
I don't want to import it, because that would cost me at least 425$ after adding taxes, and that is just off limits. do you guys have any information on when the j3 is gonna hit germany?
or, even better, does anyone have information on where i could order one now, without having to pay duty fees (im not requesting anything illegal, the shop just would have to pay the taxes in germany, and until now i couldnt find one doing that).

It's a pity it's that hard to get the Cowon players around here. They are amongst the best, regularly win the reviews in many magazines here, but not available in any of the bigger stores. Consumer idiocracy gotta be mended.

Peace and Thank you, Kaschmir

SwedishChef · 06-04-2010, 18:14

It is not heavy at all and I don't know the specs but I'm sure the J3 is lighter than the D2. I've jogged with mine a couple of times and it was smooth sailing all the way, taken that you have it in a confined pocket or in your hand. Otherwise it is likely to bounce around when you move.

The J3 is more bang for the buck would you ask me, the SD-card expandability and the speaker (not too brilliant a speaker but it is nice to have) are just two examples of what makes the J3 better, they cost about the same anyway, at least here in Sweden. My friend bought a 16GB S9 for $235 a few months ago and I imported a J3 for $280 (shipping included!) and oh boy did he regret that he didn't wait for the J3 when I showed him it and told him the price.

I say wait for it, you have your old mp3 player which probably will let you go another month and by then the J3 will probably be available in Germany.

paulr · 06-05-2010, 02:06

If it's battery life you want, and you don't care about video, you should probably grab an i7 while they are still available. They have crazy long battery life. But they are not expandable and I think the largest configuration is 16gb.

If you want more capacity and liked the d2, buy another d2. They use standard usb cables and have a full sized sdhc slot and pretty good battery life.

S9 and J3 are for video in my opinion. They have proprietary cables which is a big minus.

If you want to spend less you can get a Sansa Fuze. I just bought a refurb 4gb Fuze for $25 USD. They have a micro sdhc slot so you can put in a 16gb card for about $40 or a (for now) very expensive 32gb card. I expect the 32gb cards will get cheaper of course. It also uses a proprietary cable, sigh.

The Sansa Clip is tiny and uses a standard cable, but battery life is rather short, so you have to keep charging it. These are available extremely cheap as refurbs. I got several for $10-15 each.

You could even look for an old Cowon G3 for running. It ran for about 40 hours on a standard AA cell.

Kaschmir · 06-05-2010, 13:06

thx for the answers. the weight thing is important to me, and cancelled out the d2. it just was too heavy- 91 gramms is badass.

videos ain't really important to me (but welcome), but the battery life is, which strongly biases me towards the j3.

i hate AA cells. i am the person who constantly mixes up getting replacement.

the sansa fuze players are a good hint for sport, in case my "main player" is too heavy, i will try them (although being way more expensive here, around 65$ for 4gb). but mobility is important to me, and battery life makes up the biggest share on that. im a student and visiting people/my parents back home quite often, and i hate taking 5 different charging cables (camera/mobile/mp3 player/etc) with me just for a weekend.

plus i shoot a lot of photos, would love to carry them on a player viewing them does make some sence.
thx for the answers. i think im gonna wait for the j3 to be available, or myself travelling to switzerland.

Andy G · 06-09-2010, 10:51

j3 has 64 hour battery life on music and is just awesome - wait till you try the latest rendition of BBE+.

There are certainly units in the Uk, and we've got 32GB due in the next 10 days according to a few sites.

You'll love it and expandable by micro SD.

Genuis - the S9 just got a lot better, and it looks nicer too!

It was even featured in the Gadget Show Lives Top 5 products

06-02-2010, 09:14	#1
Kaschmir Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 17	Get S9 or wait for J3? And: Cowon Products in Germany? Hello guys, I guess i've become a kind of a Cowon fanboy over the last years. I mostly loved the mp3 players for their sound and their incredible battery life. Well, i first had a X5L, then a D2 (8gb). The latter one got stolen a few weeks ago, and i desperately need replacement. Now there are two choices: the s9 and the j3. i don't want the iaudio9 due to it's miniscule battery life (20 hours just aint enough). There are no tests on the J3 around yet (at least none that i could find), so i wonder how good it is. The stats seem just awesome, esp the battery life/SD card compability. I wonder how heavy he is, i used to run with my D2 as well, and it would have driven me nuts if it weighted just a few grams more. What do you guys think? Should i grab the S9 with 32 gb (which is fairly light and hence may be good for running as well), or wait (maybe a few month) for the J3? Now i wonder how long it takes until i can get the j3 here in germany... the s9 is available (via amazon), priced at about 320$ for the 32 gb version, but the j3 isn't yet. I don't want to import it, because that would cost me at least 425$ after adding taxes, and that is just off limits. do you guys have any information on when the j3 is gonna hit germany? or, even better, does anyone have information on where i could order one now, without having to pay duty fees (im not requesting anything illegal, the shop just would have to pay the taxes in germany, and until now i couldnt find one doing that). It's a pity it's that hard to get the Cowon players around here. They are amongst the best, regularly win the reviews in many magazines here, but not available in any of the bigger stores. Consumer idiocracy gotta be mended. Peace and Thank you, Kaschmir

06-05-2010, 13:06	#4
Kaschmir Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 17	thx for the answers. the weight thing is important to me, and cancelled out the d2. it just was too heavy- 91 gramms is badass. videos ain't really important to me (but welcome), but the battery life is, which strongly biases me towards the j3. i hate AA cells. i am the person who constantly mixes up getting replacement. the sansa fuze players are a good hint for sport, in case my "main player" is too heavy, i will try them (although being way more expensive here, around 65$ for 4gb). but mobility is important to me, and battery life makes up the biggest share on that. im a student and visiting people/my parents back home quite often, and i hate taking 5 different charging cables (camera/mobile/mp3 player/etc) with me just for a weekend. plus i shoot a lot of photos, would love to carry them on a player viewing them does make some sence. thx for the answers. i think im gonna wait for the j3 to be available, or myself travelling to switzerland. Last edited by Kaschmir; 06-05-2010 at 13:08..

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06-04-2010, 18:14	#2
SwedishChef Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sweden Posts: 35	It is not heavy at all and I don't know the specs but I'm sure the J3 is lighter than the D2. I've jogged with mine a couple of times and it was smooth sailing all the way, taken that you have it in a confined pocket or in your hand. Otherwise it is likely to bounce around when you move. The J3 is more bang for the buck would you ask me, the SD-card expandability and the speaker (not too brilliant a speaker but it is nice to have) are just two examples of what makes the J3 better, they cost about the same anyway, at least here in Sweden. My friend bought a 16GB S9 for $235 a few months ago and I imported a J3 for $280 (shipping included!) and oh boy did he regret that he didn't wait for the J3 when I showed him it and told him the price. I say wait for it, you have your old mp3 player which probably will let you go another month and by then the J3 will probably be available in Germany.

06-05-2010, 02:06	#3
paulr Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 379	If it's battery life you want, and you don't care about video, you should probably grab an i7 while they are still available. They have crazy long battery life. But they are not expandable and I think the largest configuration is 16gb. If you want more capacity and liked the d2, buy another d2. They use standard usb cables and have a full sized sdhc slot and pretty good battery life. S9 and J3 are for video in my opinion. They have proprietary cables which is a big minus. If you want to spend less you can get a Sansa Fuze. I just bought a refurb 4gb Fuze for $25 USD. They have a micro sdhc slot so you can put in a 16gb card for about $40 or a (for now) very expensive 32gb card. I expect the 32gb cards will get cheaper of course. It also uses a proprietary cable, sigh. The Sansa Clip is tiny and uses a standard cable, but battery life is rather short, so you have to keep charging it. These are available extremely cheap as refurbs. I got several for $10-15 each. You could even look for an old Cowon G3 for running. It ran for about 40 hours on a standard AA cell.

06-09-2010, 10:51	#5
Andy G Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 4	j3 has 64 hour battery life on music and is just awesome - wait till you try the latest rendition of BBE+. There are certainly units in the Uk, and we've got 32GB due in the next 10 days according to a few sites. You'll love it and expandable by micro SD. Genuis - the S9 just got a lot better, and it looks nicer too! It was even featured in the Gadget Show Lives Top 5 products