Sony X Series Walkman, COWON S9, Apple iPod touch 2G, SanDisk Sansa Fuze Impressions with the... - Page 9

Yes, the X has auto-resume for podcasts, videos and audio files.

You can get the S9 on ebay from a UK seller with high rep for £220 including post.

Amazon have a couple of refurb X's for 200, but I've just bought one.

Superb post Insomniax!

techfreakazoid: I couldn't have found a better thread to answer all
the questions I had You presented an informative and engaging
comparison which (together with the responses) helped me decide
on a clear winner.

The S9.

I think I'll probably go for a Hifiman at some stage but for now the S9
looks like it's going to fit the bill. I'm away for an extended family break
this weekend and I will have a new S9 along for the journey.

Thanks again techfreakazoid.

Thanks for the heads up on BBE ViVA. I've been an S9 owner for a while now and never tried any EQ settings, because in all the previous players I've owned they've introduced distortion.

Just turned on BBE and dynamics/clarity do seem to be improved, without noticable degradation. I'll leave it on for a week or so and see how it goes

Ordered the S9 last night, will have here tomorrow

Phones: All I have right now is the Edition 9's which should be pretty good
with the S9.

I've been thinking of the JH13 pro's - these seem like the ultimate for the
S9 but I'm worried about potentially damaging my hearing due to close
proximity of the drivers.

Ok so I've finally had the chance to listen to the following players:

1. 3G iPod touch 32GB (no eq, they're pretty bad)
2. Zune HD 16GB (no eq, same)
3. Sony NWZ-X1051 (no eq, clear bass 1 or 2, some fiddling)
4. Cowon S9 (BBE Viva, tried normal, minimal user 1 attempt)

Headphones:

Etymotic ER6i
Sennheiser HD580 w/ PIMETA built by MisterX tailored for the 580's

Songs:

Akon - Keep you much longer
Oakenfold - Words for love
Hans Zimmer Angels and Demons OST - 503
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek

I'm going to keep this short and simple as it's been about a month and I haven't had them all at the same time, so my memory's a little vague on the details. Also, I'm not that great w/ the audiophile glossary, occasionally getting things wrong and stuff, so take it FWIW.

-3G Touch
The new touch to my ears sounds a lot more exciting than the 2G. Somehow my head actually managed to bop to Akon w/ the Ety's, a wild feat considering how bass anemic they are. The details and clarity from 503 never felt too congested, but didn't stun me like another player. Through the amp and Senn's the touch really came alive. The 2 pair together very, very well. I never felt like anything came across too harsh and never had to put down my headphones due to fatigue. Still, it wasn't as thrilling or involving as another player.

-Zune HD
Overall, I would say this player's synergy w/ the Senn's came across about as well as the touch. Both DAPs sounded very smooth w/ the 580's, but the Zune had a seemingly larger soundstage and what seemed more clarity and texture to Imogens synthed vocals. Words for Love also had a bit more foot tapping going on. A decent notch up from the touch both on the Ety's and the Senns for this player.

-Sony X
Heaven. I'm sure a person's ears have a lot to do w/ it, but this player wo/ eq sounded absolutely fantastic w/ everything. Especially complex passages. 503 literally caused me to sit up and jaw drop because of the presence and clarity given to the various strings crossing paths towards the end of the track. Just as well, anything from the Tranceport (Oakenfold) flew by w/ amazing speed. Nothing is too fast for this player. The synergy between the Senns and my ears w/ this player were perfect for Akon as nothing sounded too harsh and I could listen for hours to this combo. The bass sounded tight and very controlled, very un klipsch promedia like. This was my favorite player by far.

Cowon S9
My biggest disappointment. Maybe my ears are broken. Maybe they're too sensitive. Maybe the player is broken? But it actually gave me a headache! The Ety's worked out ok w/ this player, but the Senn's seem to sparkle w/ a cold and harsh smearing to every vocalist. It becomes a bit less rough when I turn off BBE Viva, but then the whole player sounds a bit like a 2G iPod...boring. My biggest beef w/ this player was that it just sounds unnatural, ie undefined bass, smearing highs. 503 seems to lose instruments and the strings all mess together. It almost sounds like I'm listening to MP3's in a lower bitrate?! Akon's track was incredibly harsh, to the point I couldn't even continue to finish it. The soundstage's definitely freaked me out a little w/ Imogen's voice. But once again, the player just seems harsh no matter what settings I threw at it...eq, wide, narrow, normal, bbe, enhance, etc.

I'd love to hear anyone's comments on this. Do you think it's the synergy? Maybe I'm just a warm kinda guy? FWIW, I got a chance to listen to some Grado SR125's briefly out of the touch in a car and though they were a bit too fatiguing and forward for me. Am I broken head-fi?

I've only had the opportunity to listen for a few minutes as I've spent
most of my available time getting my tunes on the S9 and sorting out
album covers. Initial indications are very good: huge soundstage, punchy
bass and a smooth midrange. The highs seem a little harsh right now
but I need some time to really get familiar with the sound and start
tweaking the EQ over time.

It's been a long time since I had a portable device and I'm pretty much
dialled into the sound from my DacMagic > MPX3 > Edition 9's which is
a formidable combo so I'm trying not to be too critical at this stage

The unit itself is sexy and is a joy to use. The UI is pretty well thought
out and becomes second nature once you get the basic features sussed.

The JH13's have such a reputation that it's hard to resist going doing that
route at some stage but I'm going to concentrate on the source first
and the HiFiman has also sparked my interest - though the lack of EQ
has given me a small amount of concern.

And here's me speaking like I have the cash for all of these toys

I'll hopefully post some more next week after some listening over the
weekend. Have a good one!

Cheers.

Jodiuh, everyone here has a different set of ears and I also find certain players better with certain phones - the fact that you didnt like the Cowon doesnt mean you have 'abnormal' hearing. I'm in agreement with you re. the Sony, but there are posts in this forum from folk who dislike the X series sound sig - go figure - but that doesnt make the opinion any less 'right' than yours and mine. The important thing is that you found a player that does it for you.

But I wanted to like the cheaper player.

Welcome to audio

how is the X/S9 compared to the Amp3?

Mine is on the way, and i previously owned the X series. I'm thinking the Amp3 should be here by next week, but i also have a feeling it's somewhere lost in the system...