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Cowon's cold(?) sound vs others (s-flo2, Hifiman 801, Ipod 5.5)

post #1 of 6
12/10/10 at 6:08pm
Thread Starter 

I just received the Cowon X7 3 days ago. I love how it performs the instrumental parts but I'm confused about how it performs the vocals. They sound a bit cold, if that's the right word. The vocals of my beloved albums are not like I know they used to sound. After searching the forum I came across a few people commenting that the Cowons have cold and analytical sound. Then I came across other people commenting that the S-flo2 sounds cold and others mentioning that the Hifiman 801/602 players have a "neutral" sound...

 

It may be a stupid question...

 

Are warmer sounding players produce a "flavoured" sound, meaning Cowons' (and others' mentioned as cold/neutral) sound is more true to the source, or is it just a shortcoming of the Cowons not being able to produce the original sound which is actually warmer?

 

Or does Cowon's sound just have a different sound signature that I'm not accustomed to... ? I just can't decide...

 

Btw, I'm using an Earsonics SM3 and no amps...


Edited by meurglys0 - 12/10/10 at 6:11pm
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post #2 of 6
12/10/10 at 8:04pm

Have you tried the EQ, or any of the enhancements (BBE, Mach3Bass, etc.)?

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post #3 of 6
12/11/10 at 12:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Achmedisdead View Post

Have you tried the EQ, or any of the enhancements (BBE, Mach3Bass, etc.)?


I purchased the X7 for the EQ in the first place. I have adjusted the EQ to my liking (to my SM3's liking actually). I have not fully understood the bottom part of the EQ, (where one sets the central reference points in the spectrum and adjusts the normal/wide/narrow settings). But I played with the values at the bottom and they don't change much. As for the other effects... Sliding the BBE to 5 or more adds a nice but tiny color introducing more high frequency detail and some hiss. Apart from that, the remaining enhancements sound artificial to me... The M3bass, reverb, 3d surround, ste... MP enhance is for lossy files which I don't use... So the quality of the sound which I described as coldness remains with or without the effects... 

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post #4 of 6
12/25/10 at 3:02am

Most of the poetic things people say about audio components have to do with trying to explain the way their brains interpret the emphasis of gear on parts of the frequency spectrum. Sennheiser headphones, for example, typically have more emphasis towards bass than treble, which makes people call them smooth, dark, and warm. This "warm" sound signature simply means the lower frequencies are slightly louder than the higher frequencies, but many prefer this signature for voices, as it adds a sense of body, thickness, and fullness to vocals. But of course these are just descriptors of a sound signature.

 

Cowon players, on the other hand, have an emphasis on treble. This gives them a sound referred to as bright, airy, fast, and detailed. There are many details in music that can be revealed with a treble emphasis, such as background noise, footsteps, and the breathing of singers near a microphone. But while a treble emphasis is almost universally preferred for electric guitars, it is not the preferred signature for vocals. But, as with anything else in life, you will get used to it. You will hear past the thin, lifeless, cold quality you are describing and just hear the music. 

 

I figure the best thing is to go for neutrality and suffer through not liking it until your ears are tuned to it. Then you can recognize frequency emphasis better and hear everything as the mastering engineer did. But I am a hypocrite, I have the Westone 3, not the Um3x. cool.gif Hope this helps. 

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post #5 of 6
12/25/10 at 3:04am

Also fwir Cowons have a treble emphasis, S:flo2 is almost neutral, and Hifiman players have a "butterworth" treble roll-off.

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post #6 of 6
12/25/10 at 3:43am

Great , great post.

 

beerchug.gif
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by budgetboy View Post

Most of the poetic things people say about audio components have to do with trying to explain the way their brains interpret the emphasis of gear on parts of the frequency spectrum. Sennheiser headphones, for example, typically have more emphasis towards bass than treble, which makes people call them smooth, dark, and warm. This "warm" sound signature simply means the lower frequencies are slightly louder than the higher frequencies, but many prefer this signature for voices, as it adds a sense of body, thickness, and fullness to vocals. But of course these are just descriptors of a sound signature.

 

Cowon players, on the other hand, have an emphasis on treble. This gives them a sound referred to as bright, airy, fast, and detailed. There are many details in music that can be revealed with a treble emphasis, such as background noise, footsteps, and the breathing of singers near a microphone. But while a treble emphasis is almost universally preferred for electric guitars, it is not the preferred signature for vocals. But, as with anything else in life, you will get used to it. You will hear past the thin, lifeless, cold quality you are describing and just hear the music. 

 

I figure the best thing is to go for neutrality and suffer through not liking it until your ears are tuned to it. Then you can recognize frequency emphasis better and hear everything as the mastering engineer did. But I am a hypocrite, I have the Westone 3, not the Um3x. cool.gif Hope this helps. 

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