OT: Finally...A Worthwhile MP3 Player (really long)

[Rodster]

Can any of you guys recommend a music service you've tried or like? Zune is nice but the MP3 quality is average. I tried Spotify and Mog and they rely on Facebook which I hate.

Spotify and MOG don't "rely" on Facebook. You don't need to participate in social media to get the most out of either. I never use social playlists with my MOG account.

If you're worried about the world seeing what you're listening to on Facebook, that social share function can easily be turned off.

You certainly did use the facebook integration at one time because all I saw was your updates about what you're listening to. I blocked that sh*t. LOL. Don't know if you've turned it off since.

Who you referring to me or pk? I just fired up Spotify today for the first time and I couldn't get around Facebook.

[dbdynsty25]

Who you referring to me or pk? I just fired up Spotify today for the first time and I couldn't get around Facebook.

The last person that was quoted.

[bdunn13]

I have a fake facebook account just for Spotify with friends I don't even know... once you get one friend, you can easily get others.

Just be careful, FB will shut down your account if they find out it is fake.

[Rodster]

DB are you still rocking with the Z2? I just ordered one from Amazon. The price came down to $235 for the White 16GB.

[dbdynsty25]

DB are you still rocking with the Z2? I just ordered one from Amazon. The price came down to $235 for the White 16GB.

That's a damn nice price. Pair it with a 20 dollar 32gb microsd card from amazon and you've got yourself some serious storage. I still use mine and the j3 for different things. Both are good in their own ways. Cowon for life. Lol.

[Rodster]

That's a damn nice price. Pair it with a 20 dollar 32gb microsd card from amazon and you've got yourself some serious storage. I still use mine and the j3 for different things. Both are good in their own ways. Cowon for life. Lol.

Ha that's exactly what I did. I was going to get the Class 10's Amazon had on their lightning deal sale but got nervous with several reviews stating they quit working after several months. Anyways I got the Class 3's for $19.35 from Amazon.

Does the Z2 sound any different to the J3 from what you can tell? Is Jet Effect 5.0 any better than 4.0? One thing I like is the Z2 can find your album info from the player, no need to drag and drop album covers.

Oh do you have any Android games on it?

[dbdynsty25]

That's a damn nice price. Pair it with a 20 dollar 32gb microsd card from amazon and you've got yourself some serious storage. I still use mine and the j3 for different things. Both are good in their own ways. Cowon for life. Lol.

Ha that's exactly what I did. I was going to get the Class 10's Amazon had on their lightning deal sale but got nervous with several reviews stating they quit working after several months. Anyways I got the Class 3's for $19.35 from Amazon.

Does the Z2 sound any different to the J3 from what you can tell? Is Jet Effect 5.0 any better than 4.0? One thing I like is the Z2 can find your album info from the player, no need to drag and drop album covers.

Oh do you have any Android games on it?

Sound nearly identical to me so that update really isn't much of a big deal. As for gaming I put a few games and the android market on it but don't use it for that at all really. I've got a workout program on it and music and movies. That's all.

[dbdynsty25]

Rod...not sure if you saw but if you order direct from jet audio you can get a case an extra cable and a body armor skin for the device. There are two listings for the white one on amazon. One with just the device and one w the accessories included. Might check that.

[Rodster]

Rod...not sure if you saw but if you order direct from jet audio you can get a case an extra cable and a body armor skin for the device. There are two listings for the white one on amazon. One with just the device and one w the accessories included. Might check that.

Too late mine just showed up 5 minutes ago. Yeah unfortunately I bought the 16GB White and the official case for $18 from Amazon, oh well.

The battery is charging right now but I gotta say this is the best looking Cowon I have owned (this is my 6th Cowon, lol and YOU say Cowon for life, HA !).

The sucker feels mega heavy for a PMP.

[dbdynsty25]

Rod...not sure if you saw but if you order direct from jet audio you can get a case an extra cable and a body armor skin for the device. There are two listings for the white one on amazon. One with just the device and one w the accessories included. Might check that.

Too late mine just showed up 5 minutes ago. Yeah unfortunately I bought the 16GB White and the official case for $18 from Amazon, oh well.

The battery is charging right now but I gotta say this is the best looking Cowon I have owned (this is my 6th Cowon, lol and YOU say Cowon for life, HA !).

The sucker feels mega heavy for a PMP.

Yeah it's a bit bigger than I'd like, which is why it's not my everyday for everything MP3 player. It's a little too much for the gym unless I'm just doin cardio on a machine and watching a movie or something. Plus the buttons on the sides are a bit too small for my liking. The J3s are more pronounced and further apart so they are easier to hit through a pair of shorts.

[Rodster]

How many hours of audio are you getting from yours? Do you know if the Z2 uses gorilla glass? It feels pretty smooth like it could be.

One thing I noticed is it's not nearly as loud out of the box. Also if you are making changes in Jeteffect 5 while it's playing the music skips. No biggie but I dig the Z2 a lot. It feels quality for sure.

One thing I don't like is Cowon putting the pause button between the volume buttons, It drove me nuts until I figured out. I also upgrade the FW to 4.35 international. So far no issues.

[dbdynsty25]

Your complaints aren't complaints. Lol. Don't listen continuously so no idea how much time I get on it.

[Rodster]

Stupid me, well remove one of my complaints. The max volume has changed from 40 to 50.

Another thing I like is setting the haptic vibration to it's lowest setting gives you a slight bump which is perfect for me. I hate the over done vibration.

[Rodster]

DB how do you get the Google Play apps on the Z2? I did a search and nothing came up other than rooting the Z2 which i'm scared to do.

[dbdynsty25]

DB how do you get the Google Play apps on the Z2? I did a search and nothing came up other than rooting the Z2 which i'm scared to do.

You better get over it...because that's what you've gotta do.

http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=40423

[Rodster]

Damn you, I just came to post this very same thing. Beat me by 5 minutes.

Got Google Play to work, no modding required.

EDIT: DB nevermind, just read your post. It's much easier than that. All it takes is 3 files copied into the APK folder, then follow the install prompt and viola you have Google Play working !

Download this file and extract it into your APK folder !!!
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/sh ... hp?t=69250

[dbdynsty25]

Couple tips Rod...one thing that's missing is playlist support. Yes, can you believe that? Well, to rectify it, you can download the JetAudio app from the market. Free and paid versions...it supports the playlists. It also allows you to get rid of the lock screen when you're using the app...so you don't have to press the power button and then swipe to unlock the device. It's much handier. And since you are already in the google play store, might as well get a launcher replacement. Something like Go Launcher or ADW...the default one from Cowon is just bad.

[Rodster]

Thanks for the tip, but I just listen to a CD rather than building a playlist.

[Rodster]

DB which UI are you using for the J3? I'm using Lynx 2.0 and it looks really nice and is a lot more functional than the stock UI.

[dbdynsty25]

I'm still back in the 1.x Lynx editions. Not sure of the exact version as I installed it when I got my J3 and haven't touched it since.

[vader29]

Saw that amazon has the new iPods up for preorder so I ordered a 32GB black iPod touch. This will be my first apple product ever, looking forward to it!

[dbdynsty25]

Yup, ordered a 64gb White/Silver through Amazon as well...just because.

It really looks to be a badass player. I'll use it at the gym for watching tv shows and stuff on the treadmill/elliptical and some music when lifting, so I'm not expecting the best sound ever (that's reserved for my Cowon players)...but it's more than serviceable coming out of some decent headphones. If anyone is looking for affordable, badass headphones, Soundmagic e30. You can get them on Amazon for around 30-40 bucks.

[Rodster]

I was seriously considering the Cowon P1 and for some dumb reason Cowon doesn't let you replace the battery on a $1200 DAP especially when the battery is rated at 9hrs, pretty stupid. Last year I bought a Fiio X3 and was impressed for it's low price, SQ and ability to play 24 bit files. It's been awhile since I got another 24 bit DAP and I just ordered the iBasso DX90 from mp4nation for $379 and they threw in a pair of Brainwave R3's. The DX90 has gotten solid reviews so can't wait to check it out and drop some 24 bit music on it.

[wco81]

I heard at CES Sony showed a $1200 Net Walkman of some type, probably supporting a new format.

Then Neil Young's little project might also be in the market?

I upgraded to iPhone 6 Plus and decided to keep my 5S for use at the gym and elsewhere. Like the playback options more than my old iPods, especially the 15 second skip and the 1.5x podcast playback.

The 1.5x and 2x also work okay for longer formats like radio show downloads. When they put music on, then it sounds almost chipmunky but for voice it's okay.

Supposedly the Overcast app for podcasts does a great job of compressing the silent moments, to reduce playback time. But I don't want to deal with resubscribing to all the podcasts in another app.

[pk500]

Supposedly the Overcast app for podcasts does a great job of compressing the silent moments, to reduce playback time. But I don't want to deal with resubscribing to all the podcasts in another app.

Overcast allows you to import an XML file so you don't need to resubscribe. I have tried most of the major podcast apps, and I'm sticking with Castro. Simple, efficient, clean. I don't use or care about many of the playlist and other advanced features on other apps.

I have tried Overcast. It's very good. Clean interface, but the design features a major flaw in which it's too easy to delete a subscription instead of individual podcasts from that subscription.

The Smart Speed feature in Overcast slices a bit of time. But I don't mind silences in podcasts. I'd rather keep the natural cadence of a pod than save a minute or two. The volume boost feature on Overcast is very nice, especially when listening to pods while flying.