[Photoman]

The comments I agreed to doesn't have ANYTHING to do with how it reproduces music, but on the assumption of what Cowon as a company LIKES to do...

"Cowon have a reputation for recycling old parts and I think we're seeing the same here with the D. They've bunged a Ferrari shell on a Lada engine lol. I just can't get excited for this as I think we're all getting duped again, yes it LOOKS nice (often many of their DAPs look nice and are advertised well), but for that kinda cash I'd expect more vavavoom!"

But since you are an owner, enlighten us... Have you had any other Cowon players? Are the JetEffect settings different from their other players? Have you loaded it with a full microSD card and see if it's as responsive? Tell us more.
Especially how it compares to the FiiO X1 which can be had for less than a hundred bucks... #sarcasm (just to prove a point... Price might be more for aesthetics than performance).

I still think (that with the exception of battery life), the Sony NWZ-A17 is still one of the best options (plus it has Wifi, BT, etc.). Just wanted to see if Cowon had made something spectacular!

Thanks.

I don't think so. I had the a17 and I returned it the next day. It had little power and with hiss. The D is definitely better to my ears. Between the fiio X1 and the D the fiio has it beat as far as a line out but that's when it stops.

 

[BruceBanner]

I don't think so. I had the a17 and I returned it the next day. It had little power and with hiss. The D is definitely better to my ears. Between the fiio X1 and the D the fiio has it beat as far as a line out but that's when it stops.

 
 
That was my concern with the A17 (and why I never took the plunge), Lachlanlikesathing said as much, too much hiss for $250AUD.
I would expect the D to thrash the X1 in the sound department, but then we are talking $139AUD (X1) vs $399AUD (Plenue D).
 
Do you have any other Cowon's to compare the Plenue D with? Shame if not :'(
Perhaps I can post you my C2 hehe

 

[JBThazard]

   
How many Cowon's have you owned? Anyone who has owned a ton of Cowons will tell you that they all sound virtually the same. The exception would be the P1 and M, due to their weak battery life will have more power hungry components, but the sound signature will still be very similar. Add to this fact that Cowon carry arguably the widest array of DSPs seen on a DAP, if one does have a slightly wider soundstage or warmer presence or what not I'm sure with the right patience and knowledge they could subtly tweak the DSP to being in the same league. Point is Cowon do good sound, you should base decisions based on price and features more than worrying exactly about comparisons.

Anyway, someone needn't spend an additional $200 to compare, you could visit a store (such as Minidisc in Australia) and try them out and compare. I'm sure Advancedmp3players in the UK will stock both, those are just two stores I know off the top of my head, I'm sure many other places exist around the world to compare. Stateside you guys seem to have a better return policy also.

 
Like you, I have never heard the Plenue D. That was my point, as salient as I tried to make it out.

 

[Photoman]

some pics

 

[BruceBanner]

Course I am making an educated guess, I'm just saying it would be a first for the Plenue D with all it's BBE and Jet Effects to sound wildly better or worse than it's predecessors. It'll be more or the same. Some passages in songs might be more detectable differences, but at other times i doubt many will be able to hear a difference (i say that because that is my experience even when comparing wildly different DAPs pitched against one another when A/B switched.)

 

[globiboulga]

it's funny how some of you complain and never heard it or play with it. I had it since Friday night. It's sounds good but not better than P1 of course. Better than my fiio X1 I had firmware V.1.1 less lag than the one in video. Some software issues but can be fixed. A well built small player. A nice sleep mode like (wake up) is also great. Build is niceeeee. Battery is incredibly especially the sound that's comes out. That's it for now

 
Really keen to get your view on performance once you spend a bit more time with the player. I bought the plenue D3 back then and the thing was just horrid to use. The video did scare me a little but if someone confirms that every day use is fine - even if there is 'some' lag, then I might consider this little baby.

 

[Photoman]

Plenue D and fiio X1

 

[Photoman]

 

[pekingduck]

@Photoman Would be great if you could try some AAC files. AAC is not listed as a supported format but I heard some Cowon players handle that just fine.

 

[Deftone]

I love how people act like theyre being forced to buy something so it better be amazing. lol if you dont like the look of it or specifications or whatever then stick with what you have or have a look for something else. Getting stressed over it all seems a bit silly to me. 

 

[georgelai57]

I love how people act like theyre being forced to buy something so it better be amazing. lol if you dont like the look of it or specifications or whatever then stick with what you have or have a look for something else. Getting stressed over it all seems a bit silly to me. :rolleyes:

They want other people's reviews to either confirm that what they themselves bought, or are intending to buy, are the best thing since sliced bread; or that the product sucks and they are glad they themselves don't like it.

 

[JBThazard]

Which is weird, since it seems just about everyone who has actually used the device seems pretty satisfied with its SQ. And I haven't come across this kind of praise for the M2, though comparisons would be interesting to hear at this point. Besides, I'm sure like a lot of people interested in any Plenue device, I have my fair share of vinyl stuff in 24/96 or higher I'm curious to try out. Maybe I won't notice a difference, but I have the ears of a 20 year old, not a middle aged dude, so I'm optimistic.

 

[BruceBanner]

  Which is weird, since it seems just about everyone who has actually used the device seems pretty satisfied with its SQ. And I haven't come across this kind of praise for the M2, though comparisons would be interesting to hear at this point. Besides, I'm sure like a lot of people interested in any Plenue device, I have my fair share of vinyl stuff in 24/96 or higher I'm curious to try out. Maybe I won't notice a difference, but I have the ears of a 20 year old, not a middle aged dude, so I'm optimistic.

 
I've always been satisfied with Cowon sound, till I tried other devices. Alien Shozy really opened me up to appreciating Flat Frequency Response done proper. I used to be guilty of abusing Cowon's DSPs, and it can make the music sound artificial if not fun. Currently I like my music Flat as possible with only a small EQ tweak here or there to make up for ****tier albums. I use my AP100 for this task.
I'm not jumping for a Plenue D because I am already satisfied for sound quality from my AP100, I doubt the plenue will match it seeing as the AP100 has SRC and Hardware EQ (as well as more power hungry components that drive headphones better). It is also dead silent for background hiss, something that my i9+ and C2 are most definitely not. Certain IEMs can really reveal hiss, my Yamaha EPH-100's are unusable with a Cowon due to excessive hiss, yet on the Alien Shozy and AP100 they are completely hiss free, in fact they sound extremely close to my PFE 232's on those rigs (which is basically comparing a $75AUD IEM vs a $600AUD and coming close!).
The two Cowon's that I would expect the stand out from the crowd would be the M and P1 due to their (also) power hungry components.

So i am a big believer in pairing of equipment, there are so many factors when it comes down to audio quality, from Source, File, EQ, Equipment etc etc. That's why when someone says something sounds better than something else I take it with a huge grain of salt, it's just not enough information, more precision testing needs to be done and more variables changed and altered to get a better overall picture.

 

[JBThazard]

That's all swell and I can agree with that, it just seems to contradict a lot of what you posted over and over before. The D being indistinguishable from the M1 and P, and the expectation that the D will use the same tech as the M2? The site says it uses a 24bit DAC, which unless I'm missing something or they're lying, isn't something the M2 has.
 
It's also hard to see it as that much of a rip off anyway, even without factoring in the positive responses to the device. I paid $300 US for the thing, and that's including shipping and the leather case. Many places sell the M2 for $225-250 for the 32gb model, and those are the more generous prices. 
 
I'd understand a lot more if this were just another MP3 product line for them, like the J4 or the M3 or something. But this is only their third Plenue model, and the first one to be in such a price range. If there's anything they've released so far that would be the hardest to speculate on, barring their very first product, it might be this one.

 

[RAFA]

A few unboxing pics