The best Cowon D2/iAudio 7 settings!

[chinesekiwi]

Well, after some self-experimentation and reading a bit on what others have tried, I feel the following setup is the best setup for the D2 to get the most out of it soundwise.
I have some Denon c700's, which are quite balanced all-round so it makes it good for experimenting with the settings.
Remember, the Cowon D2 IMO is meant to be tweaked and I feel is deliberately not set to sound it's best on stock default settings.
The following settings can also be easily applied to the iAudio 7 as both have the same JetEffect settings.

Firstly

Equaliser

As well stated on Head-fi and other sites, the Cowon D2 does seem to suffer from a bass rolloff from 80Hz down.
Going from Punisher's suggestion in this thread of tweaking the EQ to -5 flat, the bass has better response and is deeper but however with this setting I felt that the mids and treble were recessed as a result. I bumped up band 3 to band 5 (left to right) by 2 to counter this so my final EQ is:

-5, -5, -3, -3, -3

Take into mind though although it helps the bass response significantly, it does not solve the rolloff problem. It merely patchworks it.

If you are going to use the Mach3Bass (M3B) setting, do not set it higher than 6.

Why?

Because any higher will clip the bass response of the D2.

Evidence of this is from KromaXamorK's post here in the 'Wow! Sansa Fuze- color me impressed- Fuze appreciation thread' in which he did posted some frequency response tests of the D2.

RightMark Audio Analyzer test : Cowon D2 - FW 3.53 - BBE1 - M3B8

As you can see if you click on that link, with the Mach3Bass setting at 8, it severely clips at around 80 Hz. With a bit of subjective experimentation with some DnB, I worked out that with the Mass3Bass setting at 6, it will not clip.
If you still feel you are not getting enough bass, the problem would be in the earphones you are using and not the D2.

As the D2 is also reported to have a small soundstage, I also feel it is essential to do this.

Tweak the 3DS setting in JetEffect to '2'

3DS on 1 = no significant difference while any higher than 2 results in an unrealistic soundstage and lowers the impact of the instruments, it just sounds fake. This helps the soundstage significantly. As the Denon c700's reportedly have a small soundstage compared to other earphones, it's good for noticing these changes better.

The Cowon D2 has also been reported to be a 'cold' sounding player compared to other DAP's so these settings both help in that regard and make the Cowon D2 sound slightly warmer.

Set 'BBE' to 1 and MPE to 'ON'

Also remember the Cowon D2 is one of the most tweakable and skinable players out there!
Head over the iaudiophile.net, a Cowon fansite where they have heaps of skins and even Flash games for your D2.
You can tweak everything right down to the actual GUI!
Important: If you are getting a package which will change the GUI interface, make sure it is made for the same firmware as your D2! Always backup your songs/data before you change it!

http://www.iaudiophile.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=62

So to recap:

Equaliser: -5, -5, -3, -3, -3
* If using Mach3Bass, don't set it any higher than 6
3DS: 2
BBE: 1
MPE: 1
Every other JetEffect setting off
If you want to personalise your D2, go ahead and tweak it with skins and packages galore!

Enjoy your even better sounding Cowon D2!
Comments are appreciated

[Xena]

Well, a lot of this is going to depend on your phones and source files.

At this time with SE530s and mostly FLAC, I have BBE at 1 and Mach3Bass at 1. Needed the BBE to restore some zing, and I suspect I'm not getting the SE530s deep enough for their full bass performance, hence the slight boost on the D2.

[RAQemUP]

With both my Klipsch X10s and Yuin OK1s, I just use BBE 1 and Mach3Bass 1 and it sounds great to me.

[dipnorge]

I am interested in music only.

1. I am concerned that the D2's touch screen is too tiny for my fat fingers and the stylus will get lost or is a pain to use.

2. I have UM1's + HD580's and want the most power.

3. I hear the that the iAudio 7's controls are finicky.

Please help me decide.

[Barry]

Well, I really like mine. And regarding the settings, by jove, I think he's got it.

[chinesekiwi]

Well, please use these settings. It results in a more detailed player with better bass!

It's silly to leave the Cowon D2 on flat!!

At least try it!
You'll thank me!

[Artmuzz]

I tried those settings but my Sony S639F still sounds superior to my Cowon D2 and I am using the same phones.


Art

[Xena]

Dipnorge, I have tiny fingers so tapping isn't a problem for me, and I never use the stylus.

However, if your finger is too fat, just use your fingernail. Turn your hand 180 degrees and tap with your fingernail with the top of your hand parallel to the screen, not like you're poking the screen with your fingertip.

[Chri5peed]

Originally Posted by dipnorge

I am interested in music only.

1. I am concerned that the D2's touch screen is too tiny for my fat fingers and the stylus will get lost or is a pain to use.

Firmware 3.57 can incorporate Flash Skins[on the 'now playing' screen] which can have buttons of any size. Virtually fullscreen albumart and tapping middle is usually pause/play.

The stylus can be attached with a cord.

[Crikey]

Chinesekiwi if I understand correctly, your saying that these settings should on the whole make the D2 sound better, no matter the iem/headphone? If you have other headphones/iems, could you also try whether they sound better as well? Thanks

[chinesekiwi]

Originally Posted by Crikey

Chinesekiwi if I understand correctly, your saying that these settings should on the whole make the D2 sound better, no matter the iem/headphone? If you have other headphones/iems, could you also try whether they sound better as well? Thanks

Yeah sure. The settings should be fine with any IEM.
The settings make the D2 more detailed and have better bass response.

[Crikey]

Another question. For M3Bass, your not recommending a value but saying that anything under 6 should be alright according to your preference/phones? Sorry for asking so many questions but I won't to get things crystal clear. Cheers

Edit: Since it was mentioned by the OP (which I don't think makes it to off topic ), what themes/skins are you using if any? I'm using one made by a chap called Soar949. I'm a sucker for minimalist/simplistic themes. Here's a pic of it http://cpawdq.bay.livefilestore.com/.../D2screen1.png

[chinesekiwi]

Originally Posted by Crikey

Another question. For M3Bass, your not recommending a value but saying that anything under 6 should be alright according to your preference/phones?

Nono, that's according to the frequency response graph I linked. Any higher than 6 = you'll clip the bass.