Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Cowon s9 vs creative zen x-fi2
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Cowon s9 vs creative zen x-fi2

post #1 of 13
5/6/10 at 5:02am
Thread Starter 
Hi, this is my first post and I would like to ask about the difference in sound quality between the to players I stated in the thread name. I currently own a iPod touch 2nd gen 16gb. However, I am rather Displeased with the sound quality. I m also a metal fan. My fav song is waking the demon by bullet for my valentines. I used to own a samsung yh-820 a rather old model... And on the samsung mp3 player I can get the feel of being in the performance, but on the iPod touch it juz seem flat, using the equaliser makes it worse. After researching the net for few days, I am quite interested with this two players, the cowon s9 and the creative x-fi2. As I am in Singapore I am able to buy the 64gb version of of it but I really want to know which is the best. Of course sound quality is the top piority... I have a tight budget though around 350 usd is what I can really afford... The x-fi2 would cost 230 usd which is within my range. But for the cowon s9, I am not too sure of the price in local stores as some forums stated that it was overpriced. So does the sound quality between the 2 players has much difference? I am willing to spend 3 hrs at the audio store to listen for the difference, but I want to know more about the sound difference before testing it. I am using a denon c252 headphone, quite a decent one.. I know the x-fi2 has a poorer touch screen
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Creative Labs Zen X-Fi 2 16 GB MP3 and Video Player with Touchscreen and Built-In...
Creative Labs Zen X-Fi 2 8 GB MP3 and Video Player with Touchscreen and Built-In...
Creative Labs Zen X-Fi 2 32 GB MP3 and Video Player with Touchscreen and Built-In...
post #2 of 13
5/6/10 at 5:29am

My vote goes to the S9, without a doubt.

Reply
post #3 of 13
5/6/10 at 5:55am

Not having heard the X-fi2 I still recommend the S9. The latest Creative player I have heard is the Creative Zen, and unless the X-fi2 has improved the sound quality a lot compared to the Zen, it is probably an okay player but nothing more. The S9 might need a bit of tweaking of the EQ, but once you have found a good setting, the sounds that come out of it are really nice.

 

So I second the vote for S9.

Reply
post #4 of 13
5/6/10 at 6:01am

S9 all the way. It might take a little while to experiment with the EQ and sound enhancements, but it will be worth it....and it also supports gapless playback, if you're into that sorta thing. Also, the screen is way better looking, if you ever planned on watching any video.

Reply
post #5 of 13
5/6/10 at 6:38am

Forget about zen, your ipod sounds better, vote for s9

Reply
post #6 of 13
5/6/10 at 7:29am
Thread Starter 
Nope. Frm what I saw on the net, iPod touch sound quality sux. ESP in terms of eq and the musics sound flat to me... My metal songs sound more like some mad people screaming... However, I want to have more value for money.. Next up after my pmp I want to buy a better earpiece.. Forgot what it was called but it is a hybrid 1 with balanced armature drivers for mid highs and highs and the dynamic driver for mid lows and bass... I am kind of a bassy fan... But cowon s9 is rather overpriced here due to the retarded importer which make the price damn expensive, but Thers local warranty though.. Tink I shud make a trip down to the audio store and spend a few hrs listening to the sound quality... And then burn a hole in my pocket.. Damn..
Reply
post #7 of 13
5/6/10 at 7:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiges View Post

Forget about zen, your ipod sounds better, vote for s9


I wouldn't go that far. If it was a choice between iPod & Creative, I'd say go for the X-fi2. According to some reviews it sounds better than the last few Creative players. And to the OP the iPod sound is flat and dull.

I'd say that Creative players can sound nice, but there isn't that much bass. In that case the Cowon S9 would be a better option (despite it's bass roll-off). Or you could get a cheap headphone amp like the Fiio E5 to go with the X-fi2. The bass boost can help a bit.

Reply
post #8 of 13
5/7/10 at 12:04am
Thread Starter 
Oh ic. Am also looking at the Sony x1060b.. Giv some reviews pls.
Reply
post #9 of 13
5/7/10 at 12:42am

The Sony X seems nice, but expensive. I have not heard it, so I cannot comment on the SQ.

 

Apparently Sony have recently announced that they will discontinue the X. So if you can find one at a good price, it would be best to buy sooner rather than later...

Reply
post #10 of 13
5/7/10 at 2:07am
Thread Starter 
tink I would either go for the cowon or x-fi2. But as far as I know the x-fi2 has a teribble touch screen and a lousy screen though.. May go for cowon but tink rather exp.. The 16gb here cost 300usd. Not sure bout the 32gb... As I nid more storage as I m Now into loseless audio, storage would be a manor factor.. I am shocked with my iPod touch as it tend to have pauses for short period of time due to the hardware when playing wav... Seems like ipodtouch more meant for videos and games and net, audio is rubbish... Perhaps I can get the cowon at a cheaper price if I buy it together with my father's av receiver.. Seems like I nid to find reviews on av receiver and spend maybe 5 hrs at the shop listening.. Hehe but my ipodtouch is kind of useful after jailbread and I m downloading flac's directly from the iPod touch but can't play them.. What a pain
Reply
post #11 of 13
5/7/10 at 7:39am

Based on my experience with creative, its bassy. Im not quite a fab of the series(xcept the zenstone) so my vote goes to s9.

Reply
post #12 of 13
5/7/10 at 8:08am
Thread Starter 

wait.. did u say that the x-fi2 was bassy, some pple told me that it lacked bass.. 

Reply
post #13 of 13
5/24/10 at 3:09pm

230 usd for a 64GB x-fi2?  Where could you find such a bargain?

 

hmm, as for me, maybe the x-fi2 is the best among recent players from Creative, including zen micro, Zen, zen mx, x-fi1.  But the sony x1000 is a little better in SQ.

Why not just try it first?

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Portable Source Gear

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Creative Labs Zen X-Fi 2 16 GB MP3 and Video Player with Touchscreen and Built-In...
Creative Labs Zen X-Fi 2 8 GB MP3 and Video Player with Touchscreen and Built-In...
Creative Labs Zen X-Fi 2 32 GB MP3 and Video Player with Touchscreen and Built-In...
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Cowon s9 vs creative zen x-fi2