[flinkenick]

 
In the last two months I've been trying (god bless Amazon) in the following order:
 
iBasso DX90, Cowon Plenue M, AK100ii, Sony NW-ZX2 and Cowon P1.
 
First of all....I don't consider my self an audiophile...I'm just someone who really enjoys listening to music as much as I can in the best possible way.
Well, apart the iBasso DX90 and the AK100ii, I found the other daps to be pretty good to the point where is not that easy to decide which one is the best.
I'm currently using a Westome UMPro50 and a Shure SE846...and my Oppo PM-3 are on the way!

Right now I'm using both Sony zx2 and cowon p1...it's just really a matter of taste, haedphone/iem pair and extra features in my opinion.
 
Talking about extra features: the zx2 has a long lasting battery, wifi and bluetooth and android, while the p1 has direct DSD decode and does support practically any kind of music file formats (even ape, cue sheets and iso).
Talking about SQ, last night I was performing some AB with those two daps and my iems: both perform really well with UMPro50 and SE846.
IMHO the zx2 has a little bit more forward highs than the p1 while the p1 has a little bit better mids. These are subtle differences...I'm not even pretty sure I could really write down what I mean, as English is not my mother tongue.

 
I'm waiting my OPPO PM-3 (should be here by this evening!) to decide which one to keep.
 
Well...just my 2 cents!

Thanks, every little bit of info helps. If you discover more differences later on please share.. Like maybe in soundstage/imaging as well. I've heard that the Burr Brown dac of the P1 has a very typical type of soundstage (more deep than wide) but I haven't heard other daps like the X5 and N6 that use the same dac. It's a shame Sony hasn't disclosed which dac the ZX2 uses.
 
And like Johnwamp said, the EQ of the P1 is really great. IMO also essential to the P1 'experience', as it can change the sound for each genre radically without making it sound unnatural. I've never heard such a good EQ.

 

[aratheba]

  Thanks, every little bit of info helps. If you discover more differences later on please share.. Like maybe in soundstage/imaging as well. I've heard that the Burr Brown dac of the P1 has a very typical type of soundstage (more deep than wide) but I haven't heard other daps like the X5 and N6 that use the same dac. It's a shame Sony hasn't disclosed which dac the ZX2 uses.
 
And like Johnwamp said, the EQ of the P1 is really great. IMO also essential to the P1 'experience', as it can change the sound for each genre radically without making it sound unnatural. I've never heard such a good EQ.

Yep, both the Plenue M and the Plenue P1, I knew since I used the Plenue M. What is great is that usually other daps decrease the volume by 5db when using the EQ thus to have some "space" to make the adjustments. This doesn't seem to happen with both the Plenues.
Anyway, I'd rather listen to my music without EQ.

 
I've found both zx2 and p1 to have a wide soundstage...p1 seems to be more 3D...I don't know how to explain it. Maybe, as you wrote, the deeper soundstage helps it to present a more 3dimensional scene.

 

[flinkenick]

Alright thanks man, keep us updated later on and let us know which one you decided keeping 

 

[johnwamp55]

Many just allow the maker of the product to EQ it for them and hence not use the npower given to them. Others have experimented and have mastered when and how to EQ (haeness the power).

 

[cheznous]

  Hmm. It would be nice to try the ZX2, although I think it is down to sound preference whether one is better than the other, and wow, you returned the AK380!! Isn't it supposed to sound "better"?......and how does it add music?

On the mac you have to use Android File Transfer for the AK380 internal memory.
Believe me when I say it is a big pile of crap.
 
Here is my take.
If you can get a ZX2 for the same price as the P1 then get the ZX2. Purely for battery life it has the edge.
Without equalisation they both sound great, I would say P1 slightly warmer sound a touch less analytical perhaps.
If the ZX2 is significantly more expensive then get the P1.
 
The AK380 is over priced and sounds no better than either.
 
And yes they all sound the same through a Hugo.

 

[Sound Eq]

100II has a different sound than the 240.

so to ur ears the ak100ii sounds better than ak240
 
another question please power wise which is more powerful the ak100ii or p1

 

[sunset754]

On the mac you have to use Android File Transfer for the AK380 internal memory.
Believe me when I say it is a big pile of crap.

Here is my take.
If you can get a ZX2 for the same price as the P1 then get the ZX2. Purely for battery life it has the edge.
Without equalisation they both sound great, I would say P1 slightly warmer sound a touch less analytical perhaps.
If the ZX2 is significantly more expensive then get the P1.

The AK380 is over priced and sounds no better than either.

And yes they all sound the same through a Hugo.

I already have the P1 and I think it sounds wonderful! I was just wondering how the ZX2 would sound.
Gosh! How much do they charge for the AK380?

 

[JeremyLaurenson]

Anyone know where the Plenue saves its playlists (favorites)? Or if it reads regular playlists?

 

[virgopunk]

But the ZX2 only has 128gb correct? Sorry, but the potential 256gb+ capacity of the P1  (plus the ability to hot swap) trumps the battery life of the ZX2 for me.

 

[flinkenick]

No i think the ZX2 also has a micro sd slot like the P1

 

[proedros]

  But the ZX2 only has 128gb correct? Sorry, but the potential 256gb+ capacity of the P1  (plus the ability to hot swap) trumps the battery life of the ZX2 for me.

 
zx2 has 128gb internal memory + 1 sd card slot.

 

[jdudesac]

I received my P1 yesterday and oh my, Happy Happy Happy

. I also have a iBasso DX-90 (for about 2 months now) and so for a few hours last night did some comparisons as best I know how. I used both the Nan Viso HP-50's and some oldie but goody Shure E4c's. To make a long story short, the P1 sounds IMO richer, lusher, smoother, more natural. That's all I'll say on the sound because as we all know, so many variables go into reproducing sound your experience will probably differ. But having owned a Cowon iAudio X5L for almost 9 years (died a ghastly death a few months ago being dropped to a hard floor and the screen going white 

), I am very pleased to have some of the same features found on the P1. Easy Navigatable UI. It took me about 10 minutes to familiarize myself to all settings and moving around it is fast too. I prefer to listen to Albums and the P1 does a really cool thing that my X5L did in that when an Album is done it just plays onto the next Album (as the folders are ordered). Now I have some Artists with all there Albums so I prefer to play the Albums in the order they were released. That is easily done by appending the Album folder name with the Year. Been playing Steely Dan in chronological order with out having to fiddle with the player (as I have had to with the DX-90). Sorry, not interested in playlists. I have major problems with the screen brightness (or lack thereof) on DX-90 that in any amount of ambient sunlight I cannot read the screen which makes it frustrating to use it in my car. Hold on, I am pulled over when changing to another album to play. The P1 screen is a beauty. With my complaint, as many others, about the DX-90/50 screen, I see iBasso will soon be releasing the DX-80 which will have the same screen size and resolution as the P1. Don't know that it's exactly the same as they haven't put out anymore details. I read somewhere someone complained that the Screen Lock only affected the screen but not the side buttons. You can do just the screen or also the side buttons as well. My take on the criticism of short playtime (6-8 hours,YMMV) is anyone who has the time to listen for that long needs to get a life. Just kidding. Interestingly, the DX-90 is also criticized for short playtime although it does have the capability for the user to replace the battery. In any case you could carry along a portable battery charger and whala - 15+ hours with 10,000 mAh type.
 
I know this isn't a fair comparison due to the price points on each player but I've done a lot of reading of reviews and comments and the DX-90 was highly recommended as well the Plenue P1 as I discovered.           
 
Thanks to the contributors of these message boards for I probably wouldn't have decided to pull the trigger and get the P1.
 
I'll be selling the DX-90 to help pay for my P1.

       

 

[JeremyLaurenson]

Sorry to be a pain - anyone here know how we can convert .m3u playlists or if the P1 just doesnt do external playlists at all.
 
I found a DB folder with a SQLite copy of the playlist but editing that doesnt seem to do anything, so where the originals are is a mystery to me.
 
Please do let me know either way if you have playlist G2.

 

[johnwamp55]

so to ur ears the ak100ii sounds better than ak240

another question please power wise which is more powerful the ak100ii or p1

P1 is much stronger.

 

[irrefleumas]

Hi All,

I have a quick question regarding Plenue M in this thread, since there is no thread discussing the Plenue M. I have Sony A15, will it good if I jump to Plenue M instead of AK JR? anyone compared both players (AK JR vs Plenue M)? Plenue M got my attention since the price reduced around AK JR price.


Thank you so much!