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Battle of SQ

post #1 of 20
10/21/07 at 2:51am
Thread Starter 
I'm a bit curious about the Cowon DAPs (D2/X5)and Samsung's YP-P2. I truly appreciate the SQ I get from my MZ-RH1 minidisc but recently it has been getting very twitchy. I was already considering a new DAP anyways so I thought that I might do a bit of research now. So does anyone have experience with a Cowon/Samsung and a MD player? How does the SQ compare? I know the SQ of the Cowon is highly regarded but how does it compare to a minidisc? Also should I even be considering the Samsung just based on the SQ? Any helpful comments would be appreciated. Oh and I almost forgot, I will not be considering the Red Wine iMod, because I wish not to use an amp.
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post #2 of 20
10/21/07 at 3:31am
Sony NW-HD5 is the best sounding DAP to me @ 352kbps ATRAC ripped from CD. I have MiniDisc and NW-HD5 steps all over it. I don't have expirience with Cowon or Samsung but Creative gets the second vote. NW-HD5 sounds 2x better with a good amplifiers.
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post #3 of 20
10/21/07 at 3:41am
Thread Starter 
I have too much Sony around the house, I want to try different brands for once. But yes I already know the HD5 sounds good too, but better than a RH1!? That's great.
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post #4 of 20
10/21/07 at 3:42am
i have had md since 1999 and recently himd unit prior to yours. i use iems exclusively with md and portable daps. my other units have been meizu m6, cowon d2 and ipod shuffle and now touch.

not a single of those sounded poor. for iem however unless maybe you have the er4s, there is hiss from each of them. the worst are the shuffle and the meizu m6 - unlistenable for me with iems.

the cowon d2 and touch are similar though the d2 hisses slightly less. if you have sensitive iems like the um2 or d500, these players will be a no-go. i use atrio m5 and sometimes denon canalphones.

the cowon is a more detailed sounding player than the ipod but at the same time more coloured. if you are used to the sony md dac and amp, then you will probably find the cowon to be 'coloured' or exciting. the ipod touch is much more like the sony except that it has a powerful amp and instrument separation seems to be better.

as for soundstage, both the d2 and ipod are great - in the end, i basically find that it is up to a more neutral presentation in the ipod and a more detail/coloured presentation in the d2.

no md player i ever had hissed with any iem, so be prepared for a change in listening habits if you use iem (i do not mean canalphones).
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post #5 of 20
10/21/07 at 4:12am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the reply. I guess lucky for me I don't have IEMs but I have considered getting some, but thats a different topic. I really like the expansion slot on the D2 and its support for a bunch of codecs but I do not like their implementation of the touch screen. My friend has an iPod touch so I wouldn't really get one and never really liked iPods. The Samsung YP-P2 really interests me but I have no idea what the sound is like. Also I don't mind a coloured sound I just want to enjoy my music not analyze it.
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post #6 of 20
10/21/07 at 9:07am
i found that samsung players sounded fun but were way too boomy. if you enjoyed the sound of your md player (esp sony), you will find samsung very different. the cowon is a bit more similar as it is not boomy and has a more precise sound.

any portable pretty much unless it is the kenwood players and panasonics that use md sort of amps will have powerful outputs and you won't get a weakly sound. have fun choosing - it has taken me years to somehow get over md... but with ipod and lod, yeah, im there!
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post #7 of 20
10/21/07 at 12:21pm
didn't the HD5 have a non flat "flat" eq, as in the bass is upped slightly, giving it a warmer feel? I'm sure I read that somewhere...
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post #8 of 20
10/21/07 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DominicKarma View Post
didn't the HD5 have a non flat "flat" eq, as in the bass is upped slightly, giving it a warmer feel? I'm sure I read that somewhere...
Yes it does.
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post #9 of 20
10/21/07 at 9:10pm
Shigzeo, which of the players that you have used compliment the Atrios the best? I need a user defined EQ, and like my music, well, Musical and fun sounding. I listen to lots of live stuff so I need to manipulate the sound often. Sorry for being a little off thread. I have the 4 GB M6 and like the EQ but want to upgrade to a 8-16 g Flash.
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post #10 of 20
10/21/07 at 9:16pm
I like my X5 a lot, and got it because it's SQ is pretty much universally hailed, not that that means anything...
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post #11 of 20
10/22/07 at 2:02pm
I wonder how the Sony A818 would compare to the Meizu M3 MusicCard in SQ? I mostly just want a small player that sounds great. I was using SizeEasy.com to check their sizes and they seem close.
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post #12 of 20
10/22/07 at 3:55pm
i have the nwz-a618 (had the nw-hd5 but hard drive broke). This and the other model with the bigger screen (but no radio) sound better than the hd5. Smaller capacity (up to 8 gigs)
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post #13 of 20
10/22/07 at 3:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio-Fi View Post
Sony NW-HD5 is the best sounding DAP to me @ 352kbps ATRAC ripped from CD. I have MiniDisc and NW-HD5 steps all over it. I don't have expirience with Cowon or Samsung but Creative gets the second vote. NW-HD5 sounds 2x better with a good amplifiers.
x2 - good taste.
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post #14 of 20
10/22/07 at 9:05pm
Thread Starter 
The A818 would sound better than the Meizu M3. Also scratch the X5, so it's now down to the D2 and YP-P2 or something else that I will like very much.
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post #15 of 20
10/24/07 at 11:12pm
Thread Starter 
Today I just had a chance to listen to a Samsung YP-K3 and was very pleasantly surprised by the SQ. It was not garbage contrary to what I thought before. The sound was clear and clean but not necessary detailed. What I liked the most was the awesome bass. I'm pretty sure the EQ was off, it said NORM at the top left. Anyways so the YP-P2 will be at the top of the list for my new DAP.
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