[Inks]

Clip+ is more accurate to the source, the Cowons sound great because of their enhancements but that's exactly what they are. If you are a EQ freak go for the Cowon, if you want a more accurate presentation, Clip+. 

 

[GGman05]

i always thought there wouldnt be anything superior to my iAudio X5L in terms of soundquality...

My X5 broke about 1  1/2 yrs ago, so i had to get a new player --> got that tiny sansa fuze v2,  after reading a lot in this forum

today i received a new x5l 30gb,
bought them on ebay for 50bucks which is a really good price i think..

and i had some time to compare both players, the fuze vs. x5
 
right now im really disappointed with my X5L...

Both players are rockboxed, both players are FLAT, i dont like those BBE,mach3bass enhancement options, because i feel they have a major infuence in the color and tone of my tunes

sooo. after listening 3-4 hours with my Westone w4 i have to say

the fuze has a muuuuch wider soundstage, sounds fuller, better instrument speration,
more laid-back vocals then the x5, (x5 is somewhat of in-ya-face)
the highs of the x5 may be a lil bit crispier but thats all..

additionally the fuze got more punch in the lower frequencies
the bass is faster, precise and has  more "attack"


all in all the fuze seems to be a better sounding player, more neutral,
the x5 is really colored for "fun-listening"
 

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

i always thought there wouldnt be anything superior to my iAudio X5L in terms of soundquality...

My X5 broke about 1  1/2 yrs ago, so i had to get a new player --> got that tiny sansa fuze v2,  after reading a lot in this forum

today i received a new x5l 30gb,
bought them on ebay for 50bucks which is a really good price i think..

and i had some time to compare both players, the fuze vs. x5
 
right now im really disappointed with my X5L...

Both players are rockboxed, both players are FLAT, i dont like those BBE,mach3bass enhancement options, because i feel they have a major infuence in the color and tone of my tunes

sooo. after listening 3-4 hours with my Westone w4 i have to say

the fuze has a muuuuch wider soundstage, sounds fuller, better instrument speration,
more laid-back vocals then the x5, (x5 is somewhat of in-ya-face)
the highs of the x5 may be a lil bit crispier but thats all..

additionally the fuze got more punch in the lower frequencies
the bass is faster, precise and has  more "attack"


all in all the fuze seems to be a better sounding player, more neutral,
the x5 is really colored for "fun-listening"
 

Thanks for your impressions. I didn't know there was such a large audio difference between the two players. I was eying the J3 earlier, but now I might also consider the Fuze since I'm not a huge fan of EQ's and other music enhancements.

 

 

[visanj]

Hello everyone
 
I received my Sansa Clip+ and Brainwavz M2. After listening to around 20 hrs I can easily say that this is one of the best combo. I tried changing the player as well as earphones but they didn't sound as brilliant as Clip+/Brainwavz M2
 
Cip+ - True natural sound. Convincing lows, mids and highs (not bloated, no harshness, doesn't sound lean). Its perfect
 
I'm trying to compare my Clip+ to full blown audio system (Marantz + KEF speakers) and now I'm convinced that I don't need to listen to such big monsters when I have Clip+
 
Seriously one of the best I have ever heard
 
But one negative point regarding my Brainwavz M2 earphones is that the ear cups were not of good build quality. When I try to change the ear cup it got broken
 
 
 
 

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

Wait, after reading this thread, I'm under the impression that Cowon players don't sound that great after all...I had thought this whole time that Cowon was a top-of-the-line PMP that delivers superb audio quality. And the Sansa Clip+, which is much cheaper than a Cowon device, sounds better instead? Am I missing something here? X_X

Yes: you're missing that most people here are.. not the brightest buttons in the box. Notice that most of them avoided specifying whether they have heard both players together, what IEMs were used - any meaningful detail. Some of them will have had the mediocre I9 and assumed that the J3 sounds the same, some have what I think would be most kindly called "folk beliefs" about BBE which they preserve to flatter their intelligence, etc. I have a Clip+ and a J3 and I've blind tested them. With HF5s the J3 was marginally better, with JVC FXC51s and the right EQ the J3 was a *lot* better (the 51s were better than the HF5s too, but that isn't a blind test result.)
 
Average posters on this forum aren't terribly worthwhile consulting for advice. They're exactly the people who buy $3000 CD players that they can't tell by sound from a Sony Discman in a blind test - not to mention $500 cables that don't blind test better that coat hangers or main cable.
 
 

 

[visanj]

@scuttle: what you heard said is right. J3 might be marginally better than clip+ in flat EQ settings. But when the EQ is changed I'm not sure if thats the desired one. Because for every audiophile flat EQ/source direct is the most important criteria. Sound quality should be equally good in all lows, mids and highs. thats why in every high end amp (Marantz, NAD etc) we have a separate switch "source direct". So just increasing lows, highs won't mean that sound quality is good, atleast for me.
 
but anyways for you if the sound quality is good then its good. ultimately its their own ears who decide if they like the sound quality or not

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

. Some of them will have had the mediocre I9 and assumed that the J3 sounds the same

 
 

They do sound the same. The reason the i9 is "mediocre" is the touchpad controls, average battery life (compared to the J3, D2, C2), and lack of expansion.
 

 

[Optimus Praim]

Quote:

They do sound the same.
 

No they don't sound the same..
i9 sounds kind of thin compared to J3..
 

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

No they don't sound the same..
i9 sounds kind of thin compared to J3..
 

That's not what dfkt said, and he did have them both to compare. Can you pick them apart in a blind, volume matched test?

 

 

[Optimus Praim]

Quote:

That's not what dfkt said, and he did have them both to compare. Can you pick them apart in a blind, volume matched test?

 

Yes i can...
Maybe i have sensitive hearing...

 

 

[peaceful1]

I don't understand why some say Cowon has a better EQ actually rockbox equalizer it way more better.
sansa is the king in driving low impedance headphones but I feel my cowon player needs an additional juice even with my 518DJ it's not about the sound I just feel I can't find the right sound sittings without using an amp.
I feel cowon is better if you like the V EQ .
I say buy both each have there own goods and they some how  complete each other 

 

[plonter]

with some cans i rather listen to my j3 flat,and with others i prefer to use a nice jeteffect preset.  right now i am listening with my RS1 with flat pads with the bbe viva preset and the sound is really mind blowing.  see,the sound of the stock flat pads on the RS1 is really muddy and missing some serious highs, but the bbe viva preset gives them  the sparkle they're missing and also adds some punch and deep bass.  I like it! 
 
the cowon bbe enhancements are the "forbidden pleasure"  of audiophiles          with my denon ahd5000 for example i am leaving the sound flat.
listen to what sounds best to your ears...and i don't agree that the bbe enhancements make the sound "thin".  it is anything but thin imo.

 

[Poimandres]

X2. The bbe viva creates a wider sound stager and really brings out alot of subtleties that you may not have heard previously. The cowons with higher impedance phones (over 50 ohms I believe) will be as flat across the spectrum as the clip+ or v2 fuze according to dkft's graphs.

 

[Danneq]

It must be terrible to be an audiophile and look at EQ as something taboo!

 
I prefer to EQ and get a sound that sounds pleasant to my ears. Something much worse is the current trend of brickwalling music, i.e. the so called "loudness war". Even old classics that had great dynamics on vinyl and older CD prints sound like a chainsaw when they are re-released in "remastered" versions.
 
Better to EQ a source file with high dynamic range than to listen flat to a source file with low dynamic range...
 
About the BBE+, I think it is okay. However I cannot stand some features such as 3DStereo. I have created some custom EQ settings that are not far from the Viva settings. I still prefer my Kenwood, JVC and iRiver H120, but the S9 is not far from them...

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

 
I prefer to EQ and get a sound that sounds pleasant to my ears. Something much worse is the current trend of brickwalling music, i.e. the so called "loudness war". Even old classics that had great dynamics on vinyl and older CD prints sound like a chainsaw when they are re-released in "remastered" versions.
 
Better to EQ a source file with high dynamic range than to listen flat to a source file with low dynamic range...

I heard a few 'remastered' songs from The Beatles...they didn't sound that fantastic.