Problem with audio quality on Cowon D2

[s0uthpaw]

Having spent hours in an mp3 player shop in Zurich, I came to the conclusion that the Cowon D2 iAudio was the best sounding player around, beating the socks off the iPod Touch, etc. So I bought one.

However, when using it at home with my JBL OnStage portable speaker, my iPod classic gives a better sound... This is mystifying, as through heaphones the Cowon is significantly better. I have tried playing around with the Equaliser settings, etc, and even invested in a Jack - ipod dock connector lead to use the iPod specific input on the JBL rather than the line-in, but it makes no difference.

The sound I get with the D2 / JBL speaker combination is tinny, with very little low end - almost unlistenable. Why should this be?

Anyone have any ideas what I can do?

[shigzeo]

do you have any sort of eq going on? the powered jbl speakers may react to cowon's amp. cowon do have a more processed sound than ipod but... that should not interfere with with speakers but... if they they are powered, it could be problem for you. the ipod line out gives unamped signal so it cannot give off problems with powered speakers.

as for the headout of the two, they have very similar performing headphone outs but the classic is better for low imp phones and probably better with mid to high imp phones. the cowon is only very good with its headout with high imp phones - it is not a particularly good with headphones really.

if you can set volume to 50 with no effects, it does very well indeed - though i am not sure how it reacts to powered speakers. that is interesting. it could be that powered speakers give off a low imp that makes the cowon fall apart. it is pretty bad with canal phones and iems - losing all soundstage and bass - maybe that is what you are hearing. ipod does not have this problem

edit: sorry, i should mention that i own the ipod touch and the d2 (well i sold it). it is good for a portable and yet not good. i think that if rockbox can ever be ported to it, it will lose man of its problems like heavily processed sound - if we can get rid of those bad non hifi thinking cowon have put into the d2, it could be very good indeed! of course, i keep hoping for an apple sounding cowon player!

[s0uthpaw]

That's very interesting... It may be the fact that the speakers are powered...

If that is the case, would you suspect that a headphone amp in between the Cowon and the speakers might help?

[shigzeo]

i don't know what to think about that... you could always feed the cowon's signal into a home amp. i don't think adding an amp to the cowon would help unless it is a home amp designed to run speakers - then run passive speakers through that.

[Cowon_1]

I think you're better off using the ipod for the jbl speakers...Like shigzeo said the ipod has the unamped output.
I have the D2 and it's not that great using the headphone out to amps...I sometimes hook it up to my home amp and listen to it with my floorstanding speakers...the sound is less then desirerable. When I hook it up that way I put the volumes at 49 or 50 and the EQ flat but I turn up the machBass a little.
My Sony 616 sounds better to my home amp from the Headphone out.
The D2's strength is it's headphone out to headphones...that is where it shines above all.

[shigzeo]

yes, with headphones it sounds good, but not with low imp phones - one of the worst i have heard probably just because its soundstage is very compressed. it must be why they include things like the effects that widen soundstage for instance.

i found that every pair of low imp phones i used with it got very congested in the bass but certainly for proper headphones, it is one of the best i have heard (dt880, hd600 straight from the jack)

[Cowon_1]

Originally Posted by shigzeo

yes, with headphones it sounds good, but not with low imp phones - one of the worst i have heard probably just because its soundstage is very compressed. it must be why they include things like the effects that widen soundstage for instance.

i found that every pair of low imp phones i used with it got very congested in the bass but certainly for proper headphones, it is one of the best i have heard (dt880, hd600 straight from the jack)

I don't know shigzeo, I have the Shure E500's and have everything on flat and all jeteffects off for I think they give it an un-natural sound....but to me it sounds totally awesome with the E500's....I listen mostly to Jazz and Jazz Vocal...and I still haven't found a dap that sounds as good as my D2 for that. I keep buying new daps and if I don't return them they just sit there and never get used...maybe for the first week or 2.

[Punnisher]

With low impedance phones, if you don't add resistance, there is a ton of rolled off bass, not to mention HISS. Mp3 players are not designed to power highly sensitive iems in my experience.

Adding 50 ohms of resistance seems to be the sweet spot for my SF3's, all the hiss is gone, and I can run them at volume level 20/50 instead of 6/50.

Anyway, on the topic of speakers: I have used a small set of powered speakers at work with great success. I guess those just don't have synergy with your D2.

[shigzeo]

yes, i would be very happy if iem and bud/canalphone manufacturers would just start to make phones that are not adapted to only work with amplifiers - there is still this stigma that comes from when it was only md and cd units: they cannot play loud enough. i know no portables now that are not way too loud with even rather power hungry phones - dt770 even. i will fault evenly the iem manufacturer and the dap manufacturer for not offering top quality for the consumer but mainly just making their product to spec so as to wow consumers.

punnisher: nice avatar by the way. those happen to be one of my favourite phones. very very enjoyable.

[chesterqw]

if only the D2 has a line out....
sign.

well. for now, i think the only mp3 players that has a line out option are ipods.

why can't other manufacturer use their brain for once?

[s0uthpaw]

Thanks for all the input. This forum is very useful! At least now I won't waste more of my time trying to work out why my D2 won't play nice with my speakers.

I'm not sure if the AV line out on the D2 gives audio as well as video. I'll try it out later. If it did, that might be a way around the problem.

[shigzeo]

it does not unfortunately. this has been the work of many searchers. yes, they do hope for such a simple workaround but if you are not viewing video, no audio comes from the line out. good luck and hope you find your spot mate

[Cowon_1]

Originally Posted by chesterqw

if only the D2 has a line out....
sign.

well. for now, i think the only mp3 players that has a line out option are ipods.

why can't other manufacturer use their brain for once?

I agree chesterqw, this drives me crazy, can't understand why ipod does it but no one else....man a Cowon with a line-out, that would be sooo perfect.
Maybe we should all write Cowon and ask for this on there next player.

[Aimless1]

I agree on the line out. Seems so simple yet it's not there.

[s0uthpaw]

As they already have a hardware line out option for AV, I would guess that it would only require a firmware update to power the AV socket during audio playback.