[DKaz]

I have the Sony NWZ-A818, my brother has the Sansa Clip, and I have owned previous Cowon products. Of all three I would choose the Sony every time. The SQ is unbelievable. Cowon products are phenomenal also, but they can be quite analytical.

Sony NWZ-A818

I own the Meizu that Rob E. so inappropriately suggested and I would definitely pick the Sony over the Meizu.

 

[abitdeef]

Sony - more dynamics and bass, less power output and some hiss, great soundstage.

D2- less bass with low IMP cans, lots of power, low hiss and great instrument placement and detail, but a smaller sound stage.

Zune- Really well balanced and good detail and soundstage, but no EQ if that matters.

Sound wise I would rank them:

Zune

Sony

D2

If you like sound enhancements:

D2

Sony

Zune

Build quality:

Sony

D2

Zune

Looks:

Sony

Zune

D2

O.K I'm done

all three are great choices I believe, word is the D2 might be getting rock box , that would make it really flexible and almost a must have- I just wish the D2 had a proper LO

 

[lamewing]

I would say:

1. Sony and Zune
2. Cowon (new Cowons don't stack up to the older models IMO - too cold).

I now own a Zune 80, Sony A818, and Zune 8. The A810 models are on sale right now, but the Zune 8 has dropped in price as well. The new Sony A820/A720 are nice with the larger screen, but don't seem to be built quite a sturdily. I really doubt it will make that big a difference as all the Sony players are flash.

I have found the wireless syncing of the Zune to be wonderful. I can update my Podcasts each morning without having to plug the thing in. Very cool. I wouldn't use it to transfer 80GB of info, but for adding podcasts and the single album it is great. I do wish the Zune had a clock, but I am not concerned about internet, games, etc.

 

[anadin]

I have a iAudio D2 with DAB and it does have a very cold sound signature but you can change the sound signature to your liking with so many different sound settings.

The D2 is very close to being ported to Rockbox as mentioned earlier in this thread, when this happens its going to make this already great DAP even better.

It has an incredible amount of power on tap and with Rockbox it will sound even better.

 

[woopididi]

i saw you guys mentioned that the Cowon D2 has an awesome amount of power. is the Cowon D2 good enough to power the Yuin PK1 (150ohms) properly?

edit: does the Cowon D2 have song shuffle mode?

 

[Clarkp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by anadin /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a iAudio D2 with DAB and it does have a very cold sound signature but you can change the sound signature to your liking with so many different sound settings. The D2 is very close to being ported to Rockbox as mentioned earlier in this thread, when this happens its going to make this already great DAP even better. It has an incredible amount of power on tap and with Rockbox it will sound even better.

I also have just bought a D2 with dab and am having a lot of problems with it.
I have bought an 8gb sd card but cannot see it on computer to drag and drop from windows media player. I have firmware version 4.54 on it now. Also. I cannot get album art. But that is not important. And the dab is useless.

Any suggestions ?

 

[woopididi]

what's DAB?

 

[Clarkp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by woopididi /img/forum/go_quote.gif what's DAB?

Digital radio

 

[woopididi]

oh ok, can't really figure that out from looking at the initials..
so, you guys are saying that the version of the D2 with the FM radio is worst than the one without it?

 

[Clarkp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by woopididi /img/forum/go_quote.gif oh ok, can't really figure that out from looking at the initials.. so, you guys are saying that the version of the D2 with the FM radio is worst than the one without it?

I believe both versions have fm radio but mine also has digital radio. DAB is not working very well in my area. I don't think there is a difference between the two other than that.

 

[Carlsan]

I have both the Zune 80 and the Sony.
I listen to the Zune every day, at work, it sounds great matched with the Shure SE-530 earphones.
The Sony I take to the gym. It sounds very good as well. I think I prefer the Zune but that may also be related to the storage size, it can store a ton of albums, so what I want to hear I almost always have access to.

I did take the opportunity when I got the Zune to compare it to a Creative Zen 30 gig (last generation that it was produced), as well as a Ipod 60(?) gig from 2008. Both did not come close to the sound of the Zune.

 

[DTKZ]

I upgraded to a Sony A829 from an ipod and I'm enjoying it. It is a little low powered but that can fixed by an amp if you're willing to carry one around. If you use bluetooth headphones sometimes, it's one of the best for that purpose

Another thing about Sony players is that you can access a test mode on them and further tweak the bass gain and treble gain if you so like. My A829 came with the bass gain set at -4.5.

 

[Mors]

I virtually own all three of these currently. And was doing a bit of RMAA'ing with them last night (loaded RMAA to my IE8).

I would say they are all excellent devices and all give excellent sound output.

Here's a bit of my input on each:

Zune:
Very clean accurate sound. Accurate Bass, powerful. The frequency response from the Zune is solid across the scale, the most consistent of the 3.
It's a bit big, and in my opinion not the best looking.

D2:
By far the most tweakable unit and will produce virtually any sort of sound you like out of it - If you want loads of bass or loads of top end, it will do it. The other devices dont give you this option, they'll only give you a very small amount of tweaking. Its easy and cheap to upgrade the storage. Battery life is bloody excellent, it goes for ever.
The device itself is a small brick. Horrible little design. The touchscreen is horrible, and the interface isn't the best. I'm not impressed with the screen quality either.

Sony:
This produces an excellent sound, very warm. The EQ isn't bad on this device, gives you a fair bit of control of the sound. This device did show the most bass rolloff on my tests though, around the 200hz range, but saying that, on playback, I didn't notice it and the bass sounded very good, just slightly behind the D2, but not by much.
I think this unit has the best design, screen, interface and has excellent sound.


For sound alone I would score them as the following (this is factoring in whether they allow you change the sound and not just using a flat EQ as not all people like that):

D2 - 90/100
Sony - 88/100
Zune - 80/100

But if you factor in the other aspects, I would say the Sony is the best device overall.


This is just based on sound btw, obv not video.

 

[Miklos]

I had all three units.

The cowon had nice sound, but too cold. I sold it.

The Sony had really great sound - but I could not stand the hiss. I sold it.

The Zune had perfect sound - no hiss. I sold it and replaced it by two units: Archos 5 (for great sound and excellent video ) and Sony S639 ( very small, perfect sound - no hiss).

But to answer your question: I found the Zune the best of the 3 you are asking about.