Samsung P3 vs Cowon S9

[ValiantVenality]

Okay. I had just bought an iPod Touch off of a member here on benheck. And I'm going to keep it just in case I dont like what I will get next, but most likely I will. So heres the deal. I have pretty much gotten over all of the games and crap on my iPod Touch. I realized theres no real need to check your email, or weather, or play chess, or any of the other crap that it does. I am more interested in the most important aspect of an MP3 player. Which is music!!! I still want a nice player, but that has great sound quality. And those two that I have picked are perfect for what I am looking for. Plus, I am going to buy these REALLY nice Bose in Ear headphones, for about 40 bucks from my friend to make it sound even better. Have any of you had any experience with either of the players? I know the P3 hasn't come out in the states yet, but there are many places you can get the player off of. Suggestions? Comments? Speak your mind here people!

VV

[palmertech]

I have so many MP3 players, I do not know where to start. Will you be using it for video at all? And are you gonna sell your ipod touch?

[samjc3]

my samsung p2 had the best sound quality ive ever seen in a portable device. (its fried )
the dnse (dynamic natural sound enhancement) feature worked beautifully. great battery life too!

the p3 has an "improved" sound card, so it should be even better.

the s9, i have not used, but i have heard wonderful things about the sound quality, and the sexiness of the device in general. plus, it supports more file formats, none of the samsung .svi video bs that doesnt work

check the cnet reviews for both of em, im sure they will have good info

[Black Six]

If you really want some good headphones, get these. I love my pair, you can hear so much more, even with just a high quality MP3. And they block out a lot of noise, so you don't have to turn the volume up as much, so you get better battery life.

[samjc3]

for headphones, sure ec2's are the way to go! i can mow the lawn with the volume at 1 and not hear the mower at all! plus the sound quality is amazing, it lets me hear things i didnt know my music had!

[jjhammerstein]

REALLY nice - earbuds
REALLY nice - $40

Earbuds
REALLY nice


I think you're missing something here.

1- Earbuds FTL
2- Bose's earbuds are overrated.
3- Listen to Black Six, he obviously knows his stuff.

My headphones:
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
Grado SR80i

If you really want earbuds, go with the Etymotics. Good stuff.

[palmertech]

In my opinion, the best sound you will get for your money in a portable pair if headphones comes from Koss PortaPros. I love my pair so, so much.

And the Grado SR series as a whole is awesome to the max, if size is not an issue.

Oh, and those Bose earbuds? If they are those new ones they have been parading around at Best Buy and such, avoid. The fall into pieces over time (I have a few friends that have them). And the sound quality is not all that great, either.

For your MP3 player, get one with a Wolfson DAC, they are the industry leaders. If you REALLY want good sound, get a player that supports linout (Or mod it with a jack straight off the DAC) and use an external headphone amp.

[eurddrue]

What are you guys opinions on skullcandy headphones? All my friends have them, but I'm wary to follow the trend blindly.

[ValiantVenality]

so many good suggestions! thanks everybody!

@palmertech: I will most likely be using them for video too. Oh and did you want to buy your iPod back or something? Oh and those Koss PortaPros are sick! I might get those, since you said the bose ones aren't that good, and they break easily.

@jjhammerstein: Those headphones are pretty awesome too. The only problem is that they are a little big. I think I might get ridiculed if I go out in public with those baby's on.

Oh and for the headphone situation, I love the suggestions But do any of you know any good headphones that go like on your ear and go behind your head? I would love a pair of those!

VV

[samjc3]

What are you guys opinions on skullcandy headphones? All my friends have them, but I'm wary to follow the trend blindly.

they are pretty good. good sound, they block outside noise well, but the cable conducts every bump right up into the ear thingy. for that matter, the cords suck more than chinese mp7 players!
i have had three pairs, and on every one the sound mysteriously died out. i just pulled all three apart, and the wires where all ripped. they arent worth it. get some of the good ones we ahve mentioned

[eurddrue]

XD ty! I think I might go with the first ones jj linked to.

[Black Six]

REALLY nice - earbuds
REALLY nice - $40

Earbuds
REALLY nice


I think you're missing something here.

1- Earbuds FTL
2- Bose's earbuds are overrated.
3- Listen to Black Six, he obviously knows his stuff.

My headphones:
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
Grado SR80i

If you really want earbuds, go with the Etymotics. Good stuff.

I agree that earbuds will not give you the best quality, but then again I'm listening to MP3s anyway. But if you want something with a small form factor, they're the way to go. I also have a pair of Sennheisers (PC166s) that I use at home, which are great.

[bicostp]

Earbuds that fit well + those hearing protectors from Home Depot = the best sound-canceling headphones you'll ever have! (Seriously. This setup almost completely blocks out the sound of the lawn mower running.)

Look at the impedance and frequency response on the headphone package, rather than the brand. You want it to go down to at least 20 hz for decent bass. (If you can find a set that goes even lower, that's even better.) A lot of <$20 earbuds I've seen drop off around 30 or 40, which isn't enough to adequately fill the low end in, in my opinion.

Be careful what you get as far as cheap MP3 players go; some of them have horrible signal-to-noise ratios and wont' get the most out of your fancy headphones. Sort of like my old knockoff Walkman*; it sounds basically the same whether you plug it into a Bose wave radio or cheap 80s Panasonic headphones. iPods and Zunes are both pretty good as far as audio quality goes.

I certainly don't have any problem with my 2nd gen Nano's sound quality.

* Ca. 1982 no-name portable cassette player with no rewind. Miss the song, flip the tape, fast forward, flip again, find out you didn't go far enough, flip again, fast forward, flip again... And it takes 3 AAs.

[jjhammerstein]

@jjhammerstein: Those headphones are pretty awesome too. The only problem is that they are a little big. I think I might get ridiculed if I go out in public with those baby's on.
VV

Sealed Headphones, you can't hear them anyway. XD
Buy from Headphone.com, super cheap, awesome, user-friendly, 30 guarantee, no questions asked.

Also, they don't look too bad. They're just big. If people make fun of you, have them listen in. They won't say anything again.

[ValiantVenality]

Well this has become more of a headphone topic than an MP3 player topic. I was lookin at the P2's on ebay and theyre lookin pretty cheap. Plus good sound quality and bluetooth. Would it be a smarter idea to just get a yp p2 instead of more expensive stuff?

VV