[big_lou]

This was posted in the "headphones" forum so I am just moving it here. Sorry for any duplication this may cause.

Quote:
************************************************** ****
Originally Posted by Assorted
I personally dislike Cowon signature for classical. The Kenwood HD30GB9 would do you very good ampless SQ for arond $400.

************************************************** ****

Please explain why you feel the Cowon D2 would not be a good player for classical music. In a previous post you stated it's sound was too "cold". Does this equate with "analytical"? Or do you mean too neutral, too uncolored, too "accurate"?. Perhaps, you mean too "dark", or perhaps lacking in "brilliance"?

Since I don't really know what most of the above terms mean "exactly", I am also hoping you can expand on your opinion of the D2 in terms that I may be able to relate to, such as "it sounds too hollow, or too cavernous, or too much or not enough reverb, or it doesn't reproduce harmonics very well, or it has too much emphasis at the freq. extremes and not enough in the midrange (or the other way around), or lacking in "sound stage", etc, etc.

I know you are working on a HD30GB9 review but from what I gather so far this does appear to be a better DAP than the D2. The Kenwood would also work better for me since I would be using a large number of FLAC files which would just about fit in the HD30GB9 but would require carrying a few SD cards for the D2. I am also not crazy about the lack of tactile controls on the D2.

The deal killer, for me, might be the lack of easy support for the Kenwood. I would hate to drop $400 and find little issues with the player that might require shipping it back overseas (at my expense) and perhaps have to wait weeks or months to get it back and then find another issue I missed the first time and start all over again. Perhaps Cowon is no better in this respect?

Thanks again for any feedback.

Lou

 

[StevenBrouwer]

I think cold means: 1) not much bass 2) you are not into the music. I had the D2; was dissappointed. Although its perfect feature list I won't buy it again since the music sounded harsh yet recessed to me. Don't you go near it

.

 

[ZARIM]

Cowon D2 is not cold at all specialy with EQ(pop) on and BBE feature. It's bright and somehow colored but it's not emphesis on any frequencey range. It's shows good details in music with decent soundstage and overall is very good for pop, vocal, classical, opera and jazz(in my own experience). Actualy when i play lossless on it and it shows real strength like actual AMPs(very controled and somehow punchy)

 

[Assorted]

It just seems to me that the D2 is almost... artificial. But there are many other good opinions on this, and you can only hear for yourself

The Kenwood does not play FLAC so you have to uncompress it, transfer it as wav and retag it using the Kenwood software.

If the only deal killer is support, I can guarantee you there will be no hassle with them. They usually reply within a day.

I had a problem with my unit and this seemed to be unique so I sent it for repair in Japan, and they used EMS to ship it back. That takes around one week including weekends for them to ship back. They marked it as a sample (to my recollection) so there was no need to pass customs (it shouldn't go thru customs anyway).

I have no idea what Cowon support is like...

 

[dissembled]

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevenBrouwer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think cold means: 1) not much bass 2) you are not into the music. I had the D2; was dissappointed. Although its perfect feature list I won't buy it again since the music sounded harsh yet recessed to me. Don't you go near it .

Harsh but recessed? Trebley with no details? Trebley with recessed midrange? Trebly with recessed bass? Trebley with no details, recessed midrange and recessed bass?

 

[StevenBrouwer]

Recessed like distant.

 

[rxc]

The D2 does sound distant, like listening to a performance from the back row. Other than that, the sound without eq is quite neutral to me. The bass doesn't intrude on the mids, the mids and the highs don't stand out. Everything stays in its place. The D2's distant and neutral sound does make it a bit uninvolving and flat, I think this is what Steve was referring to when he said harsh. Harsh as in not his cup of tea and not as in treble sparkle. I can also understand Assorted's artificial comment.

An amped D2 however is a different story. The neutral sound and good headphone out makes the D2 a good amping candidate. Coupled with the Supermicro amp, the D2 and amp put me up front and the music sounds much more three dimensional. Details, soundstage, everything that describes the Supermicro is there.

If you do need a lot of space (currently the D2 can hold 12 GB) then a HD player might be your best bet. I've heard the Kenwood players and they are indeed quite good just pricey. Your other option might be the iMod which is even pricier but its the top of the heap.

 

[bangraman]

I current own the D2 along with the Trekstor Vibez (my third, and counting - same issues persist), Clix2, Sony NW-A808, Samsung YP-T9 and a few others. Both in direct A/B and long-term listening tests, I'm not hearing this distance. The D2 is no worse and no better than many of the players out there, As for the Kenwood which I've also owned - just because a manufacturer tells you that a 'master tuned' digital amp makes all the difference you shouldn't necessarily swallow that story whole.


If the ability to fiddle with the sound along with a decent core SQ with compressed material is something you value, and you want a "mainstream" product that's fairly devoid of bells & whistles I'd say take a look at the Samsung players as well as what you're currently considering.

 

[Night Surfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for the Kenwood which I've also owned - just because a manufacturer tells you that a 'master tuned' digital amp makes all the difference you shouldn't necessarily swallow that story whole.

Which model did you own and what was your opinion of it's SQ?

 

[Thermionic]

I have a D2 and use it with a pair of Grado SR125s for listening to classical music and acoustic mainstream jazz. On its own I do find the D2 output a little ‘polite’ and very slightly lacking in dynamics, not particularly obvious though. However with an amp (Minibox E in my case) things seem to really get going, with noticeably improved piano and bass dynamics. It’s a bit like comparing a modest output (but good) valve amp with a muscular transistor one, in that the sound seems to have more ‘guts’ and more reality. The equaliser in the D2 is also quite good at getting a reasonably flat response from the Grados.

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Night Surfer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Which model did you own and what was your opinion of it's SQ?

HD30GB9, OK.

 

[StevenBrouwer]

Just ok? That's all you can say about it's sq?

 

[The Pieman]

Ahhhh..... it seems that the D2 has lost its FOTM status. Anyway I like the D2 with classical, but it is better amped. But what I think really makes a difference is the cans you are using. My Shure E4c's are excellent, but they cannot compete with my Sennheiser HD25-1's. The full size cans will give that much more depth to the music.

As rule I use my D2 with the Tomahawk or Hornet and the Sennheisers. But I also use the D2 straight to the HD25s or E4cs and both sound excellent. Just depends on whether I want to have an amplifier with me.

my 0.02 worth.

cheers
Simon

 

[dissembled]

oh, poo.

 

[dissembled]

Pieman, is the X5 sonically superior to the D2 in your opinion?