[Hi-Fi'er]

see my profile on the iems i listing

lazy to list haha some are quite sensitive

Ok, you have a nice collection. The Havi should have a great soundstage. I have them and they are great, but they have to have an amp to shine for example. Without one they sound a little dull. So with that example, an amp would be beneficial with the PD and those IEM's. Try the setting I mentioned and see. Try the BBE just off and listen to a vocal track and going from 10 to off you will immediately hear the person go from all around and distant to right smack in front of you. Forwardness will come with more power/gain which again is what an amp helps achieve.

 

[HiFlight]

Well I've spent two days of 8 hours each of non stop playing listening to music with different IEM's and songs (IEM's only, headphones maybe different results I'm sure). What I have learned about the Cowon Plenue D.

.........................................................................................................snip.......................................................................................

7. When the Plenue D is connected line out to a portable amp or any other amplified source, it does not distort it's output at 100% volume. Now that is impressive.
8. When you connect the line out to a portable amp or any other source, the battery life is greatly increased. This has always been true mostly with audio but the battery life is greatly extended on top of it's already great battery life.

Overall, the sound is wonderful and clear. Each of my IEM's that I struggled with to make sound good or better with different DAP's found a new home with the Plenue D, the IPOD goes into storage. 

I may post more impressions if any.

Just as a point of clarification, the Plenue D does not have a Line Out jack, only a headphone output which is very low impedance when compared to a line-out jack. Feeding the headphone jack output to an external amp often results in less than optimum sound.

 

[audio123]

Ok, you have a nice collection. The Havi should have a great soundstage. I have them and they are great, but they have to have an amp to shine for example. Without one they sound a little dull. So with that example, an amp would be beneficial with the PD and those IEM's. Try the setting I mentioned and see. Try the BBE just off and listen to a vocal track and going from 10 to off you will immediately hear the person go from all around and distant to right smack in front of you. Forwardness will come with more power/gain which again is what an amp helps achieve.

thats interesting haha. Well the havi needs amping definitely but actually i want to get the best out of my fibass

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

Did you try all your IEM's and the settings suggested?

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

Just as a point of clarification, the Plenue D does not have a Line Out jack, only a headphone output which is very low impedance when compared to a line-out jack. Feeding the headphone jack output to an external amp often results in less than optimum sound.

I did mean line out as headphone line out, not line out as a true line out. Weather it sounds less optimal in an AB test I don't think with the PD it will be evident enough for someone to not want to use an amp. But I know what you mean.

 

[jmills8]

Thinking of an amp for my pd. the c5 increases the sonic performance?

 

[audio123]

Did you try all your IEM's and the settings suggested?

yeap!

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

yeap!

I don't know what settings you are using on the PD but try the one below. It's better than all the presets. 
 
 
Starting Point EQ Settings:
 
+7  80Hz Wide  /  -2   220Hz Wide /  +5  1.4Khz Wide /  +5  4.1Khz Wide /  +6  6.9Khz wide
 
BBE: +10
Mach3 Bass: Off
3D Surround +3
Mp Enhance: On
Reverb: Off
 
Or try same EQ +7  80Hz Wide  /  -2   220Hz Wide /  +5  1.4Khz Wide /  +5  4.1Khz Wide /  +6  6.9Khz wide (same as above) with:
 
BBE: Off
Mach3 Bass: 3~5
3D Surround +3
Mp Enhance: On
Reverb: Off
 
Leave the frequency and the width of the adjustment as is, but if it's too high then just reduce and keep reducing the amount to a comfortable amount depending on what IEM you are using ie:
 
+6 80Hz Wide  /  -2   220Hz Wide /  +4  1.4Khz Wide /  +4  4.1Khz Wide /  +5  6.9Khz wide

 

[buchignani]

I have been reading through the twenty seven page product sheet for the WM8998 "High Performance Audio Hub CODEC" that is used in the Plenue D. It clearly states that this chip has a "Ground-referenced line output driver-Stereo single-ended or Mono differential configuration". The chip pin out diagram also shows left and right line outputs. I know that the D does not have a formal line out, but perhaps there's a possibility here for a little DIY to create a line out jack. Whether this would be  successful would depend on whether the line out is always on while the D is operating. Does anyone out there have a clue about this?
 
The only other consideration would be whether making a line out is worth it if one is using high impedance headphones, from a SQ point of view. In the product sheet I don't see much real difference between the line out specs and the high impedance headphone ones.
 
Your input is appreciated.
 
By the way, the product sheet can be found here.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

  I have been reading through the twenty seven page product sheet for the WM8998 "High Performance Audio Hub CODEC" that is used in the Plenue D. It clearly states that this chip has a "Ground-referenced line output driver-Stereo single-ended or Mono differential configuration". The chip pin out diagram also shows left and right line outputs. I know that the D does not have a formal line out, but perhaps there's a possibility here for a little DIY to create a line out jack. Whether this would be  successful would depend on whether the line out is always on while the D is operating. Does anyone out there have a clue about this?
 
The only other consideration would be whether making a line out is worth it if one is using high impedance headphones, from a SQ point of view. In the product sheet I don't see much real difference between the line out specs and the high impedance headphone ones.
 
Your input is appreciated.
 
By the way, the product sheet can be found here.

I was wondering the same. I didn't see much difference either. I was even wondering if COWON could add a software driven option in the settings to allow the jack to be set to either "headphone" or "Line out" but depending on the internal circuitry I don't know if that is doable or if it was ever internally designed to be able to do that. Would be awesome if they did design it to have that ability and it can be software controlled since they don't have a true line out.

 

[audio123]

Anyone AB Plenue D against Plenue S?

 

[jmills8]

Anyone AB Plenue D against Plenue S?

You already should know.

 

[Tokyoghoul]

Anyone AB Plenue D against Plenue S?

I tried the S about several weeks ago in Tokyo with the same song "Paper Moon" and the same EQ settings as my D.
The sound signature was slightly similar, but the S was far more richer in overall detail and powerful output power. The S has a 3.5mm balanced output and a much smoother UI. However it costs 6 times more than the D....

 

[audio123]

You already should know.

yes but curious what others think since this is subjective.maybe the next time i try i can look out for certain things

 

[audio123]

I tried the S about several weeks ago in Tokyo with the same song "Paper Moon" and the same EQ settings as my D.
The sound signature was slightly similar, but the S was far more richer in overall detail and powerful output power. The S has a 3.5mm balanced output and a much smoother UI. However it costs 6 times more than the D....

ah yes there is more richness in the sound and the imaging of it is better