[Woof]

Audelic Norm,

Newbee's 1st post here. Great review, the first I've seen that gives me hope for the Q5's audio abilities.

I've been looking for a source for my particular needs and the Cowon seems to come the closest. I appriciate any comments or direction that anyone has to offer.

1. Lossless audio mass storage for both portable and home theater use. As it stands, the Q5W 60gb is ok to start out with and the DIY 120gb HD upgrade will help in the future.

Portable to me means a digital connection (s/pdif) to A/V receivers located in various rooms/buildings, a vehicle connection (line-out is ok), and an occasional headset (wired or bluetooth...but only if BT audio quality is half decent?).

The home theater app is trickier: a fully dedicated, acouticly treated room with theater seating, projection system and a half-decent audio system (pre/pro, dedicated amps, VMPS RM-40 main speakers, subs, floor shakers, etc..). A very "clean" digital output signal is needed for this application. In this situation it's job #1. Can anyone compare the Cowon's digitial out with say a good quality standalone CD/DVD player's s/pdif or hdmi audio output?

2. Display. I need some sort of display at the HT "sweet seat" chair with easy power & digital audio connection. A docking station (aka Archos 605) doesn't seem like it would work well with the theater seating and I don't want to run the projector to navigate a menu. Media servers and the like would certainly do the job but I would have to have some sort of video monitor at the sweet seat plus it doesn't solve the portability problem without duplicating efforts.

3. Does anyone know if the equalizer and/or audio effects are only on the analog outputs or do they also affect the digital out?

4. I have concerns about the UI. Not so much over the use of an older WinCE OS as I am the Cowon app. It just doesn't seem as refined, user friendly and pleasing to view as some of Cowon's other products. Anyone think that they will issue upgrades to the UI with larger finger button options, launch buttons across the screen (aka D2, A3, 605 style) instead of itty red bitty ones down the sides, bigger window(s) for album art, Playlists, Coverflow equivilant, etc.?

It seems the Q5W comes a little closer to my needs than the Archos 605. I'm not finding any particularly warm/fuzzy comments regarding the 605 analog outs and no comments on the "cleanliness" of the digital out.

Any assistance will be greatly appricated.

Woof