If not the Cowon D2, then what???

[malkekoen]

Hi!

I'm about to make a drastic move..... that is, replacing my Creative Muvo N200 with something else .

I've been looking into the Cowon D2 and Creative Zen. Both has its pros and cons. I'm leaning towards Cowon, but........ If

- Money isn't an issue (within reasonable limits)
- Audio quality is a priority
- Design is a minor priority (but still a priority)
- Video playback is a must
- Size matters - smaller is better (in this case )
- My IEM are the UE super.fi 5 pro

Is there any other players I should take a look at? What I don't like about the Cowon is its menus and navigation.

All inputs are appreciated!
Malke

[HipHopScribe]

I'd throw the Zen out of the comparison entirely, the only real reason to get it instead of the D2 is if you want something cheaper, but the cheapness shows, the D2 is superior in nearly every way, you'll get used to the navigation. You might consider Sony though, the a72x series, some people prefer its sound to the D2, of course it's not expandable, so you'd be stuck with 16GB max (which would be the a729).

[shigzeo]

with your phones which should whistle with the d2, would how with the sony. you will need either an imp adapter or an amp. still the amp would be loud.

you could also choose the ipod nano 3g - small, good sound and hiss as low as d2. i would recommend meizu m6 also which sounds great but hisses a bit. sl version supposed to not hiss as much

[faichiu]

Get the kenwood player if money is not an issue.

[nywytboy68]

i7/D2 or Sony A72X/A82X - these are best choices - the Zen is a dead issue. I had the Zen - got a D2 back and now I use my A829 99% of the time. My D2 is mostly for hooking up in the car.

[Barry]

I hope that my response does not confuse things, but I recently had an extended audition of both the D2 and A829 and ended up returning the A829. I just found the Cowon more natural and musical compared to the Sony. The comparison is with OGG file at 225 or so on the Cowon and with ACC files at the same bitrate on the Sony. My impression of the Sony is that the sound was more processed and artificial and less musical. The Sony did have better bass though. I know that others have had other experiences so the best suggestion I can offer is to listen to both if you can (and both have appropriate return policies, considering how hard they are to find in real life) and draw your own conclusions.

I also used to own the Super.fi 5 pro - rid myself of them because of comfort issues, loved the sound. I can imagine them being a very good match for the D2, though I have not heard them together.

Good luck.

[malkekoen]

Ok.... So........ The Zen is out for now...... I'll try to get to listen to Sony sometime soon.

Isn't there any other players, that I should listen to?

[Ozric]

If you don't mind only 8 GB, the Zune is a great choice. I have the 80 GB, and its ease of navigation (touch pad), great video, and SQ makes it one of the best. Too bad it doesn't get enough mention here as some of the FOTM players.

[nywytboy68]

The Zen X-Fi is out and seems to be a viable upgrade to the Zen flash models. This is the link to the Amazon.com page in the US: Amazon.com: The Sound of Perfection--Introducing the New Creative Zen X-Fi Video MP3 Players

[aliquis]

Originally Posted by malkekoen

Hi!

I'm about to make a drastic move..... that is, replacing my Creative Muvo N200 with something else .

I've been looking into the Cowon D2 and Creative Zen. Both has its pros and cons. I'm leaning towards Cowon, but........ If

- Money isn't an issue (within reasonable limits)
- Audio quality is a priority
- Design is a minor priority (but still a priority)
- Video playback is a must
- Size matters - smaller is better (in this case )
- My IEM are the UE super.fi 5 pro

Is there any other players I should take a look at? What I don't like about the Cowon is its menus and navigation.

All inputs are appreciated!
Malke

I'm thinking about:

Cowon/iAudio D2
Sony NWZ-A829
Samsung YP-P2

and yes, I guess Sandisk Fuze is on the list aswell.

And finally waiting for iRiver Spinn, Zen X:Fi might had been an alternative aswell.

I don't remember the difference of P2 and A829, I think it's the P2 isn't supposed to sound that great but looks awesome, the A829 sounds good but have a weak amp and limited support of files, the Zen are Windows only but I liked the support for video, but then again it seems like it mentions all the format it can CONVERT to it's native format. D2 is awesome except bass rolloff.
Neither of P2 or A829 got a memory card slot, both Fuze and D2 does, and it's a huge selling point for me since I can get twice as much memory in the player now for less than double the price, and later even more for less money than a new player.

No matter what I get I could complement with Fuze, I guess if I only wanted audio and Fuze user interface seemed good I'd stick with that.

Anyway, the Spinn is supposed to come out in august, iRiver products used to be well regarded in sound quality, they have often support for atleast ogg, they don't use to require Windows. So I'm waiting and will see if it gets better sound reviews than the D2 or not. One thing I like about it is the 480x272 LCD vs 320x240 for movies and video clips, one do have to convert them though it seems.


Size counts out amp? I don't know if the A829 will sound the same with one or if the P2 may sound better with one, or if it makes bass rolloff of the D2 a non-issue anyway.

Video playback are similair on all except the P2 and Spinn which has 420x272 (I think the P2 does aswell.)

In design I can't say I really like touch screen interface only, but then again one could use a fuze for in-the-pocket-use. Low capacity fuze + Low capacity player with microsd-slot + huge card?

I guess a final alternative may be to wait for Generation 6 of Archos players?

If I don't get the Clip/Fuze now to have something and a memory card for it while waiting for the Spinn release I'll just wait and see if it's something to have:

[BigDave]

well....I have the 5pro's and the p2. And I think they sound fantastic. Their is a slight amount of hiss...barely noticeable to me...and gone when music is playing. The video playback is awesome and is converted easily with mediacoder. Could not ask for a better machine...well, more memory would be nice. 8gb will have to do.

[RedSky0]

I just picked up a 4GB Sandisk Fuze for $49 US minus shipping, have yet to receive it so can't comment on SQ. I know you said money isn't an issue, but that's seriously a bargain price compared to what D2 or Sony Walkmans sell for at 4GB capacity. I'm thinking if the iRiver Spinn does end up being good I can just buy it later down the track. Both use microSDs, so even if I purchase more memory now, it'll be compatiable.

Either way I'm a bit skeptical about iRiver delivering, the LPlayer (last player they released, announced around the same time as the Spinn) was reputedly plagued by firmware bugs on launch and of the review I read I got the impression the SQ wasn't improved from the Clix2 and if anything was lacking in the highs/lows compared to the former.

Also at least in my experience I found that a 2.5" screen for watching movies just isn't feasible/enjoyable (granted the fact I was trying to watch anime with subtitles didn't help this ^_^). Maybe it'd be better on a larger P2/Spinn perhaps, but I have the opinion (and am constantly affirmed in this by reading other people's comments) that video playback is the feature that a great deal of people want on their DAP but never really end up using much, although of course YMMV.

[aliquis]

Originally Posted by BigDave

well....I have the 5pro's and the p2. And I think they sound fantastic. Their is a slight amount of hiss...barely noticeable to me...and gone when music is playing. The video playback is awesome and is converted easily with mediacoder. Could not ask for a better machine...well, more memory would be nice. 8gb will have to do.

I may remember wrong and even if I remember correctly to two sites I read are anythingbutipod and dapreview so it's fairly limited sources =P

One of the have the P2 as their favourite pick if I remember correctly so ..

And 420x272 vs 320x240 for movies probably do make a difference =P, my DS does 256x192 but that works aswell

I've used memory playback for a serie I didn't cared much for before while walking, I think it was ok. Kept you occupied and some sort of company. I wouldn't watch prison break or a movie I really wanted to see on it though. But if I had a mp3 player with easier conversion and bigger memory I'd probably throw in a few pickup guide videos and listen/look thru that crap while moving along outside as well. It's to boring to get any time while at home but out when I have nothing else to do it's better than doing nothing.

[shigzeo]

all players have thier pros and cons. for the amp loving crowd, ipod and cowon d2 are probably best. but for portability i found iem and d2 was problem. the ipod nano and d2 sound similarly with similar dips in the bass but the nano has wider stage. using an impedence adapter, they all sounded great but the d2 was still a bit shy of a great stage.

the sony: hisses even with the impedence adapter, but it is fine and of course, it gets better sound too with the adapter. as for artificial, i found the metallic sound very good indeed as i listen to trance but at the same time, i have not found the sony to be that bad at all. im not sure if it is because i ahve the japanese version or not. in japan, it is considered to be one of the best sounding players.

all have their strengths. for what you want, you just have to decide on features. no player will sound perfect under all situations. i don't like using amps so, i like small and sleek.

problems with sony
firmware rarely updated
no gapless unless you use atrac
hiss

d2
features taken out then written back hastily
stage is for heavy bass music intolerably small
no gapless
bass roll off

ipod nano
not very loud when using impedence adapter
bass roll off

meizu
no gapless
hiss
not the best firmware updates
bass roll off

but they all sound great under the right circumstances. my favs for the koss ksc or porta pro is the meizu. for large phones, the d2. for portable without imp adapter, the nano and for atrac and adapter, the sony.

busy, expensive world we live in

[Styrbjorn]

Originally Posted by shigzeo

meizu
no gapless
hiss
not the best firmware updates
bass roll off

Are you sure Meizu has this problem? Did RMAA measurement or it's your listening experience?