iAudio 7 vs. D2 - Page 3

I have the 16G iAudio 7, and both the UE 5 Pro's and the UE 10 Pro's. Even with the excellent amp built-in the iAudio 7, you can "still" get a nice improvement with an external amp (a high-performance mini^3 in my case). And I am not talking about volume/driving capability - simply that the external amp gives more punch and definition at the same listening levels.

Will

My 2 cents:

D2 and iAudio 7 do not sound the same! D2 has a bit dropped mid to low-mid range, which leads to a sharper highs & upper mids + tighter bass feel, but lacks some warmth. This also makes the amp hiss to seem lower on D2. Amp-power-wise D2 has slightly higher output.

Finally, it's very important to get a pair of matching phones, that will make a balanced sound, up to the listener's taste!

There are always ways around that, especially with the D2 getting constant firmware upgrades. The D2 is probably one of the most supported players from Cowon. It has the hardware, but its really the software holding it back. I think they made sacrifices to get a better range of functions, but as they improve the firmware so does the sound and hardware get more fully realized. The IA7, the main focus was music, so they really didn't need to do much else, so naturally they brought out everything that player could do with the hardware it has.

But that's just what I think. I'll let you know when I upgrade the firmware.

here are the chipsets in both:

IA7: WM8731 (http://www.btdesigner.com/pdfs/WM8731_WM8731L.pdf)
D2: WM8985 (http://www.wolfsonmicro.com/uploads/...985_Rev3.5.pdf)

Thats all I have regarding quality

Ok the argument continues...........

I had the d2 for some time and just could not seem to get around the lack of soundstage and also the low end was just not upto the mark. D2 was best with classical. Everything else just sounded totally messed up and there was no resolution. I really wanted to like the D2 because there was nothing else that I really had a problem with.

The other big problem I noticed was that at flat eq the D2 favours the higher end of the spectrum. Also coming from an iriver clix, I was just not able to get a decent soundstage.

By the way all my listening was done through a super.fi 5 pro which is known to be good with bass.

Then recently I tried the iaudio 7 and found the default flat sound to be immediately better and more balanced.

I compared the d2 and i7 with the same song and with no eq and effects and found that the d2 was more tinny in comparison. I immediately found the i7 was more balanced and also had a better soundstage. The bass is also better.

I listen to a lot of rock and the d2 in complex guitar passages just gets too painful and I develop a headache after some time. The highs are just too hard to tame. If I tried to boost the lower end or tame the higher the sound just became totally confused. I tried all the possible settings and everything I could possibly do but just could not get the right sound out of the d2.

Another thing I noticed was that with the increase in volume the i7 seems to maintain the overall balance in the sound whereas the d2 starts to heavily favour the higher end and starts to practically get thinner in sound. It just totally goes out of balance.

All my listening is done without an amp and with the super.fi 5 pro. However I have read that with amp all this changes.

But I don't an amp and don't plan to either. As of now the i7 somehow edges it for me. I would not say i7 is the absolute best but it's pretty good for portable sound.

So in terms of pure sound quality and the right IEM I think the i7 is a more balanced performer. The i7 is more natural sounding and is pretty neutral but slightly towards the warm side with no eq and setting enabled but the d2 favours the analytical side with the same setting and is definitely towards the colder side.

I totally agree with what Shigzeo says about the d2. However I have not tried the ipod touch till now.....

So in conclusion i find it hard to agree that the d2 and i7 sound similar. I would definitely say the i7 sounds better at least with a good IEM.

I would not call it an "argument" After all this is a very subjective hobby of ours

I have been using the i7 since the end of last year or so, and I take it along on every trip I take - domestic and international. It has always performed flawlessly, but, I still can get a small improvement in the lower frequencies from using a small external amplifier (High-Performance mini^3). I only wish that the mini^3 would have as long a battery life as the i7 - the battery life in the i7 is outstanding!

Anyone else want to contribute to this debate? I personally cannot decide between the i7, d2 or the Fuze.

i went with the D2 because i get a SD card expansion

I had my D2 for about a week when I realized it wasn't for me so I sent it back to exchange for the i7. My i7 came last night - MAJOR kudos to adorama.com for getting it to me so fast. The i7 is much smaller, and suits my needs perfectly. It doesn't have the expandable memory slot, but thats a sacrifice Im willing to make to have an all-in-one device I can use anywhere.

Well what can I say ...... the i7 is exactly what I've been looking for. The sound, to me, is wamer and a lot more "fun" compared to the D2. People online have said that and I thought they were just trying to come off as fancy talkers but I have to agree.

The swing touch interface is a breeze to use, no complaints at all. The unit takes about 7 or 8 seconds to power on, I just upgraded the firmware to 1.17 from 1.16 but that's the only complaint (and that is small). I would prefer to NOT show album art, but unfortunately all of my files have it and Im too lazy to dig through and remove them.

16GB is plenty of space for me, most of my files are 192kbps anyways so I dont have lots of large FLAC or OGG files to worry about. Very, very happy with this purchase. x 100

I felt the D2 was delicate in regards I was worried about scuffing it up just sitting it in my car's cup holder while listening on the road. And, trying to navigate that silly touch screen while driving was a nightmare. Cowon's interface isn't the most intuitive out there, and this just made it MORE difficult.

If all you do is listen at your desk, or lounging around, than the D2 is a good choice. I just knew for me the touch screen was a pain in the ass and I would constantly be paranoid of damaging it from everyday use. Good luck, if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

I like the d2 more but the i7 is nice too
im sure ud be happy with either