Thank you all for the kind words. I've gained invaluable knowledge from fellow Head-Fi'ers over the years and wanted to share the experience. I don't visit Head-Fi daily so there may be a lag in response to your PMs and this thread.
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Originally Posted by a_tumiwa  good impression 
only need Samsung P3 to the comparison and this thread is perfect (or change fuze to samsung P3) |
Haha, the P3 would cover all the bases. I'll probably take a look at the Zune HD if it's a worthy contender in the audio dept.
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Originally Posted by nkk I know this in ony to your ears etc, but you just made me a lot less nervous about choosing the S9 over the X (mainly classical, jazz, and some classic rock). Thank you. 
-Nkk |
Glad I could ease your concerns. The S9 will perform admirably for your genres.
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Originally Posted by Buckster what a great post- thanks for taking the time to compare, and then write-up.
I have a Touch 2G already - but about to buy a X series - it would have been a more difficult choice if the S9 was about the same price- but as its more expensive, then the X series is my choice.
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Regional price variances is a given these days with the volatile markets, oil prices, local OEM/retailer competition, etc. so shop wisely.
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Originally Posted by HONEYBOY Great Job techfreakazoid!! Really great review, am pretty sure this would be one of the more valuable reviews for folks considering any of these DAPs. The Cowon S9 does sound tempting but I think I'll stick with the X since it seems that it has a more forward sounding mid-range that complements my FX500 and IE8. If I had the SE530 I might have chosen otherwise so as you rightly indicated component synergy might be crucial
One question, The X is the most natural sounding player I've heard so I'd like to know if the applying of those BBE Viva effects takes away from the naturalness of the S9. A brief note on the naturalness in presentation between the X and the S9 would be very welcomed, Thanks!
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Thanks HB. No doubt, the X is a fine audio player. BBE ViVA sounds natural to my ears. I did not detect any exaggerated or overprocessed elements in electronic or classical genres. BBE ViVA 2 is the max I would go before things sound forced. Perhaps the midrange-rich E500 provides the smoothing counterbalance in the equation. The X is very smooth and for certain tracks, polite in its presentation. I like a little texture in my vocals as it seems more real world.
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Originally Posted by DTKZ Thanks for the detailed comparison. I think you made a typo though. You have the X listed twice at different prices for the Canadian market under the value section.
One question. If you use Clearbass at max and EQ the bottom end as high as it can go on the X and you do whatever is the equivalent on the S9, which has the greater bass quantity? And under those settings, which has better bass definition?
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Yes, thanks for pointing out the typo. The S9 (and not the X) is C$294 and I've made the correction.
While I may listen to some bassy genres, I'm no basshead. After desensitizing my ears to the requested bass settings
, I find they're both comparable in definition. I set Clear Bass to 3 on the X and BBE Mach3Bass on the S9. There is no bass EQ on the X; the left-most EQ is 400 Hz and that's midrange territory. There is an X-Bass option on the S9 with even more bass than BBE Mach3Bass, but it sounds bloated and painful to my ears. If you love bass, BBE Mach3Bass sounds more natural without impacting the rest of the frequency ranges.
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Originally Posted by Duncan Awesome
This comparison on the most part mirrors my own thoughts
Apologies if this has been covered (am on my cell on the train, so may have easily missed this)... One area that the Sony comfortably beats the Cowon on is format support... Yes, the Cowon supports more formats generally, but without support for .m4a files, those upgrading from Apple / itunes store purchases will be high and dry without transcoding...
If the Cowon suppported .m4a, I would've said it was in contention for PMP of the year, but without... for sake of backwards compatibility I would give that crown to the Sony (for now at least) |
Glad we're on the same wavelength.
Yes, I concur if you're migrating from the Apple experience with a large .m4a library, then the X will simplify your life. However, batch transcoding programs are pretty convenient and you can just let them run overnight if you have a sizeable music collection.
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Originally Posted by gameboy115 Thanks your review, S9 seems better to me, I love bigger soundstage player . Not to mention it is cheaper
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I see you have the SE530 and I feel it has the better synergy with the S9.
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Originally Posted by nywytboy68 Excellent comparison/reviews of these players. I'm so glad I managed to find your thread, it's made my mourning!!!! Thank you!!!!!  |
Glad I could bring some sunshine to your day!
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Originally Posted by dippyboy_87 this is the review which is actually useful for anyone contemplating buying any one of these daps. a nice write-up. and we want more of these in the future..
thanks again techfreakazoid!
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I tried to strike a balance between writing for an audience of prospective buyers and current owners. No plans to become a Skylab as it's a time-consuming process documenting all the nuances.
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Originally Posted by Xeon [09] Wonderful review and impressions. Almost felt I was there listening. Now go plug your Shure E500/SE530 in a HiFiMan! |
Haha. I'm curious about the HiFiMAN, but it needs to ship in quantity first.
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Originally Posted by RedSky0 Excellent review, really analysed to a ridiculously thorough extent. I'm surprised you say that the S9 has more bass extension than the X, I guess Cowon must have really improved on that since I found it badly lacking on the D2.
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I have not heard the D2 so can't comment on its 'improvements.'
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Originally Posted by kite7 Is the S9 really that bad under normal settings in comparison to the X? Was it worse than the fuze?
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Yes, the S9's Normal setting is unexciting. The X easily beats the S9 under Normal. S9 (Normal) sounds better than the Fuze. Unfortunately, there's no E500 synergy with the Fuze.
