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D2 minireview and recommendation

post #1 of 25
3/18/08 at 11:25am
Thread Starter 
Hi folks,

after a long year of searching for the ideal DAP I have purchased the Cowon D2.
First of all I have to say to all of you saying robotic, unnatural too analytic...... etc. that I do not understand what you are talking about. None of the description fits the D2 (and I am not talking about personal listening preferences).

The D2 is build wery good. The body will last for a long time and the screen is good also. The icons on the screen are maybe a bit small for people with bigger fiingers (but they can use the stylus). Video quality is superb for portable use. The user interface is just easy to use.
The battery life looks good. I am using the D2 6 days now (1 hour video and cca. 15 hours audio) and the 1st bar disappeard today so I assume that it should last more than 45 hours (good enough for me).

And now the important part. AUDIO QUALITY:

Untill now I have listened to various IPods, some Creative players, my old Thomson player and some other noname players.

The Cowon is the best sounding one of them. I will not write long poems about the sound. I like good instrument separation (so not bloated, too bright or recessed sound). I am listenig to many kinds of music from classical to Big Beat. I just like the sound.

I will update this thread with more info about the equalizer and the other sound settings.

In case somebody has some questions, I will be glad to answer them.

EDIT:

OK. I have purchased the UE Triple Fi 10. I think they have good synergy with the D2 and I am absolutely happy with this combination. The instrument separation is finally on the level of my personal listening NIRVANA.
I just wanted to share my happiness. I will be there for people with questions

Jan
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post #2 of 25
3/18/08 at 4:10pm
Hi Jan,

Thanks for your comments. My only portable source for the last five or six years has been a G2 10Gb iPod, which still serves me faithfully. I replaced the battery. I haven't felt the need to replace it, but I'm starting to consider a new player which can play lossless formats. If I'm not wrong, that versatile thing of yours can play FLAC, APE, even Wavpack.
Would you please tell me how it sounds with those formats? What headphones are you using? Did you get it inside the UE?

Regards
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post #3 of 25
3/18/08 at 4:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool_Torpedo View Post
Hi Jan,

Thanks for your comments. My only portable source for the last five or six years has been a G2 10Gb iPod, which still serves me faithfully. I replaced the battery. I haven't felt the need to replace it, but I'm starting to consider a new player which can play lossless formats. If I'm not wrong, that versatile thing of yours can play FLAC, APE, even Wavpack.
Would you please tell me how it sounds with those formats? What headphones are you using? Did you get it inside the UE?

Regards
Hi I am using UE Super fi 3 at the moment. I am planning to upgrade to Triple fi in the next couple of months.

To answer your question, D2 plays FLAC and Wav. I do not know about APE as I do not use this format. I have tested FLAC and Wav but I have noticed just a small difference with the SF3 so I am sticking with the 320 mp3 files for now. The difference I have noticed was in the hights, they seemed to be brighter and cleaner with FLAC but It might be just the placebo effect.
I will test FLAC after my Triple fi purchase if there will be some difference.
The sound of the D2 is overall good and I think you will not regret if you decide to buy it.
I hope I was at least a bit informative.

j.
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post #4 of 25
3/18/08 at 5:15pm
Thanks a lot, your reply's been very helpful. The D2 is one of my candidates for its storage capacity, size and battery life, but my concerns come from its SQ, and its ability to handle "big" headphones without an external amp. UE are very sensitive, so I expect the D2 to sound quite well with them. It'd be great if you tried it with harder to drive HPs but still portable like the ATH ESW9, HFI-780, HD-25 or the like.
Does it have an analogue line-out and a digital SPDIF out?
I've been looking for it at online stores, but only found some interesting offers at Ebay. Did you buy it online? I'm afraid that purchasing online from an Ebay store I had trouble to have the warranty honored.

Rgrds.
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post #5 of 25
3/18/08 at 5:28pm
I've had the D2 for over a year now, I listen to both Ape and Flac, sounds awesome , I listen to mostly Jazz and Jazz Vocal. Using Shure E500's.

It does not have a analog line-out or a digital SPDIF out.
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post #6 of 25
3/18/08 at 5:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowon_1 View Post
I've had the D2 for over a year now, I listen to both Ape and Flac, sounds awesome , I listen to mostly Jazz and Jazz Vocal. Using Shure E500's.

It does not have a analog line-out or a digital SPDIF out.
oopss, I thought that using the optional "TV out" cable it could be used to feed an analogue audio signal into an external amp, the TV set or anything of the like. Thanks for clarifying.

Regards.
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post #7 of 25
3/18/08 at 5:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool_Torpedo View Post
Thanks a lot, your reply's been very helpful. The D2 is one of my candidates for its storage capacity, size and battery life, but my concerns come from its SQ, and its ability to handle "big" headphones without an external amp. UE are very sensitive, so I expect the D2 to sound quite well with them. It'd be great if you tried it with harder to drive HPs but still portable like the ATH ESW9, HFI-780, HD-25 or the like.
Does it have an analogue line-out and a digital SPDIF out?
I've been looking for it at online stores, but only found some interesting offers at Ebay. Did you buy it online? I'm afraid that purchasing online from an Ebay store I had trouble to have the warranty honored.

Rgrds.
Sorry but no line out or SPDIF,

It will drive the mentionned headphones without problems.

I bought mine from a seller(ukiahh20) on ebay in march 2007.In nov 2007 I dropped it and the sliding on/off switch was mechanically disabled. I contacted Cowon customer service, with my proof of purchase, received a RMA number and within 1 month got the D2 back, no charge.

D2 does sound good and does exactly what I want it to do. The lighted screen can even be used as a flashlight during the night...

regards,
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post #8 of 25
3/18/08 at 6:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool_Torpedo View Post
Thanks a lot, your reply's been very helpful. The D2 is one of my candidates for its storage capacity, size and battery life, but my concerns come from its SQ, and its ability to handle "big" headphones without an external amp. UE are very sensitive, so I expect the D2 to sound quite well with them. It'd be great if you tried it with harder to drive HPs but still portable like the ATH ESW9, HFI-780, HD-25 or the like.
Does it have an analogue line-out and a digital SPDIF out?
I've been looking for it at online stores, but only found some interesting offers at Ebay. Did you buy it online? I'm afraid that purchasing online from an Ebay store I had trouble to have the warranty honored.

Rgrds.
I think you do not have to be afraid. I am listening to the D2 at level 10 of 50 with the IEM`s so it should drive full size headphones easily.
I have bought the player in a normal shop (not internet) just because of the warranty.
No line out. But this is not a problem to me.
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post #9 of 25
3/18/08 at 6:40pm
D2 has APE support through firmware updates. I am concerned about its SQ compared with Ipod Classic. The main problem of D2 is its rather limited capacity. It won't hold many FLACs and APEs. But if I am using Ipod, I will need to convert all the FLACs and APEs that I have into ALACs. I am not sure if that is convenient to do, or will it compromise the quality.
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post #10 of 25
3/18/08 at 6:52pm
The D2 sure blows the iPod Classic away in the SQ department. As for storage capacity, at the moment it's limited to 8GB internal + 16GB external. This might change soon, when 32GB SD cards are available. Both memories can be integrated, so you'll only see one 40GB flash storage.

I've been using bulky HDD players before (X5L), and for my needs I'd rather have a little less flash storage, but in a nice small form factor, than carrying a HDD player around with me. YMMV.

BTW, the D2 drives my HD650 to a decent level... I don't know of any other player that can do that (except the iAudio 7).
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post #11 of 25
3/18/08 at 7:00pm
I really like D2's idea of having expandable memory, really handy. Also, make the storage capacity "upgradable". LOL. Might settle with a 8GB D2 now, and wait for 32GB SD card to be released.
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post #12 of 25
3/18/08 at 8:07pm
I just returned a D2 because it did not suit my needs (storage, screen size) but the SQ was very good.
I think that the D2 has a bum rap around here for SQ.
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post #13 of 25
3/18/08 at 8:21pm
All this is very interesting. I suppose you can travel with two or three SD cards full of music and then swap them into the player, while away from a computer. This would actually increase your capacity to the limits of your wallet, won't it? Is it possible for the D2 to accept a SD card previously filled of music on the go?

Regards
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post #14 of 25
3/18/08 at 8:23pm
Certainly, the D2 accepts any SD/SDHC card, it doesn't need any special folder structure or anything. I'm using an 8GB and a 4GB SDHC.
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post #15 of 25
3/18/08 at 8:57pm
Very good indeed! Using FLAC you can upload about 40-48 albums into a 16Gb SD card. Get three and you can travel with music for a month long holidays away from your PC music library. Just get the AC charger and a good set of cans. I bet this thing can drive the ESW9 or HD25 pretty well.

A firm candidate to replace my venerable G2 ipod...

Rgrds
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