Kenwood HD20GA7 Review - Page 8

hi, i am the user of hd20ga7 too, but honestly i am not really like the Sound, lack of treble frequency.

but yeah, the power output is big 

Quote:

Originally Posted by a_tumiwa 

hi, i am the user of hd20ga7 too, but honestly i am not really like the Sound, lack of treble frequency.

but yeah, the power output is big 

I suppose that you have owned your HD20GA7 a bit longer than I have, but I have found that the "Loudness" preset EQ or in the custom EQ raising 1.8kHz a bit works. Usually, I like a bit of treble along with bass and usually raise these so that mids are less forward, but the mids of the HD20GA7 are not overpowering and abrasive like mids can be on other players. Even if I do raise treble and bass a bit on this DAP too, I do not mind if everything is flat. My other DAP:s always leave me wanting a little bit more treble, a little bit more bass...

i have hd20ga7 for about 1 year, actually i want upgrade to hd30/hd60 series which said has a better internal amp, less noise, has SupremeEX feature.

but the price different is too much :(

Yeah, the Kenwood HD players are too expensive even when they are second hand. I got mine for about 13.000 yen. I bought from Japanese Yahoo auction and I see that HD20GA7 often go for between 10.000-20.000 yen while HD30GB9 go for between 25.000-35.000 yen and the HD60GD9 are usually between 45.000-50.000.

Right now there is a brand new HD60GD9 on Japanese Yahoo auction. Opening price? 128.000 yen!!! That`s crazy!

Even if I am sure that the HD30 and HD60 are better sound wise than the HD20, I am happy with my HD20. I am not searching for the ultimate portable player, I am just looking for different good players. Now with owning 2 Creative, 1 Cowon, 1 iRiver, 1 Sansa and 1 Kenwood I think it is enough for me both space wise and when it comes to getting some variation in sound signatures.
 

I do not use IEM:s, so I have not had any problems with hiss/white noise.

128k yen?? maybe it is special edition like HD60GD9EC??

btw, what audio format are u using with this kenwood? do you convert all your music to KLAC ?

Actually it is just the "ordinary" HD60D9. The auction is here.

I just use MP3-files. That was it is easy to switch music between the different players. MP3-files at a high bit rate is good enough for me.

+1

not sure what went in their mind when they designed that POS ('S' like 'Software', of course... )

Too bad that there's no rockbox port on that player, it would have been a terrific combo.

@ jsr

It is nice that the Kenwood has got folder view, but it is so annoying that the exact same folder tree structure that you have on your computer gets copied to the Kenwood. What's the point of having a folder view if you have to go through 5 or 6 folders to get to the one with a certain album. On my Cowon S9 which also has got folder view, the albums get copied to a "music" folder. That is much more convenient.

Also I deleted an album off the Kenwood using KMA (at least the songs), but the folder is still on the player. However I cannot see them in KMA or Windows Explorer when I plug the player into the computer. So there is an empty folder that I cannot remove, not even on the fly, since you can only remove songs on the fly. Not folders.

If I choose to format the HDD, it would be best to first copy all directories to the computer (sans the music) first and after formating the HDD copying it back onto the HDD, right? I would not want to risk ending up with a $140 brick.

As long as the basic folder structure is intact, there should be no problems, right?

Rockbox for the Kenwood HD DAP:s would have been sweet. BTW, I am still waiting for it for my Sansa View. But I'm not holding my breath...

hi danneq,

I wonder if formatting is the only resort to get rid of that ghost folder. Not sure, but have you tried getting the latest version of the KMA software. (Check on the kenwood japan site; looks like http://www.kenwood.eu/support/download/software/hd20ga7_software has the instructions in english)

Another idea would be to update the firmware, and maybe that will trigger a rebuild of the song/folders database? (see http://www.kenwood.eu/support/download/software/hd20ga7_firmware for the instructions)

May be worth the try.

otherwise, yes, the steps order that you describe should be okay.

$0.02

could be useful if something goes wrong: http://www.fixya.com/support/t216106-no_system_found_hdd
 

@ jsr

Thanks for the links. I have checked them out and apparently the firmware on my HD20GA7 is newer than the one that can be downloaded at the link you posted. Perhaps because it is from the European homepage and my HD20GA7 has got Japanese firmware?

Also my Kenwood Media Application seems to be the same one that is offered for download. How annoying!

Perhaps I could try to update with the same firmware?

But I seldom use folder view and instead go with ID3 tags, so it does not bother me too much. Just that the ghost folders that I have removed are still on the player laughing at me.

Thanks for the link in case the HDD is formatted and no system is found. The information might come in handy some day.

Anyway, Kenwood HDD DAP:s are very nice sound wise, so I guess us owners have to put up with the craptastic KMA...

Cheers!

Danneq

yes , my firmware version is also newer, mine is 1.0.5

anyone know how much is the used-condition price for HD60GD9 or HD60GD9EC?

btw, i just collecting information about all models of kenwood player

http://atumiwa.multiply.com/photos/album/3

any model that i miss?

I think that the prices might be high. I check Japanese Yahoo auction now and then and whenever there has been a used HD60GD9 for sale, the starting price has been over 50.000 yen. You can check here. Right now the only HD60GD9 is the ridiculously priced brand new and never used 128.000 yen one. I doubt that anyone will buy it.

By the way, I cannot see that you have missed any Kenwood players. I am only familiar with the hard drive based ones, though...
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by a_tumiwa 

 

anyone know how much is the used-condition price for HD60GD9 or HD60GD9EC?

 

I have no idea there is still thread regarding Kenwood players

@Danneq, Glad that there is new owner of Kenwood player here.

As far as I know my B9 still easily wins over all unamped player in market by far, even sony X series which I aduition once via Sony style, also cowon S9 which I briefly aduition from friend under non-eq.

The dynamic it provides is stellar, not to mention it brings out micro detail which I never from other players before. Shame it is discontinued and can only be bought from Japan these days. It does not cease to amaze me that vocal stays in right balance of crystal clear and mellow.

UM3X + B9 is best combo I ever heard

Even it sounds great, the drawback are battery life and file system and only wav /mp3 playable.

I think the only real competitor out there will be sony D50/D10.

@gameboy115

After getting my Cowon S9 in May last year, I have gotten an interest in older players. Mostly because I have read about them here and on Anything but iPod. So after getting the S9, I've bought used Creative ZVM, iRiver H120 and most recently a Kenwood HD20GA7. At first I was aiming for a HD30GB9, but here in Japan (where I live this year) used ones start at 25.000 yen. I got my used HD20GA7 for about 14.000 yen, and that is a bit over my budget for a used Kenwood.

The HD30GB9 might be a bit better than the HD20GA7, but still my HD20GA7 can pretty much go head to head with my Cowon S9 with both players using EQ. Cowon S9 sounds really great, but when I compare it to the Kenwood, it sounds a bit like a digital emulation of analogue sound while the Kenwood sounds more analogue. That is no matter how I change the EQ settings on the Cowon.

I agree with the drawbacks that you point out. Have you looked at my earlier posts in this thread? I have found some Japanese web pages and run them though translation into English and posted them here. In the pages I link to, people describe how they have put iPod 3G batteries in a HD20GA7 and it working. The HDD Kenwoods all have the same battery, so it should work for every one. Apparently replacement batteries for Cowon M3/X5 will work too if you solder the wires to the Kenwood connector. Both the iPod and the Cowon batteries are 1100mAh compared to the original 830mAh.

The file system really stinks and I think it is because of KMA.

I decided to dig up an old thread instead of starting a new one. Perhaps it could get someone interested in these great players. Kenwood still releases flash based DAP:s, but I wonder if the SQ is as good as on the HDD based DAP:s. They should have kept the HDD players as an alternative for people who are looking for above average SQ. And perhaps removed the demand for the proprietary KMA pain in the buttocks software so that you could use any media application.

@Danneq

I totally agree with your opinion on Cowon.

I owned Cowon D2 for a few months. At first, I was thrilled about all fancy eq setting, and how a big difference it made when you tried to fiddle eq setting. As time goes by, I started to notice there was something odd about sound signature of cowon, I didn't know what exactly it was, I thought it might be either too bright/cold, then one day I finally understood vocal was too synthetic for my taste with eq setting on which I couldn't fix it no matter how I changed. Without eq, SQ was just so so. It was the time I knew I had to let go of it, to find something new.

I blame the marketing tactics of Kenwood, it makes people from North America went through a lot of trouble to import it, that is why there are not much people here have a chance to listen to it. It is sad to see a good player like this submerged under water, especially we are in a place called" headfier". With all people raving about exceptional SQ Sony X walkman series brings, I really want to say, you have yet to listen to beast called Kenwood.

I am sure Kenwood still have some little flaws, like big bass which Sony clear bass offer, but I think Kenwood still trumps Sony easily in term of overall SQ