[Onix]

   
 
Haha ok ok!

No, but in all seriousness it goes like this. When i had my Alien Shozy I was impressed with the sound, I then went to compare it with a Sansa Fuze. Whilst it trumped the sound quality most of the time, depending upon the track being played and point in the song, the two were indistinguishable from one another at many other times also. Same with the Hippo Biscuit vs Shozy, yes at certain times I could tell the difference (the Biscuit duller and had less 'life' about it) but at other times I could not tell the difference (this was using a A/B switch). Of course genre plays a part, bang on some Death Metal and its far harder to tell the difference with all that thrashing going on! Jazz and classical different.

I sincerely doubt this D will be any different. Oh for sure ppl will suffer from new toy syndrome, but if used the same DSP/Jet Effects applied in both devices, volume matched, and listened closely and were being objective, I rekon the sound will be virtually the same, perhaps cleaner signal at times with the D but not much in it really.

Prove me wrong
 
 
That's because it's the same as the M2, how else do you think its getting such similar battery run times

 
How does it stack against the Alien Bruce?

 

[jmills8]

How does it stack against the Alien Bruce?

You think he bought a PD?

 

[shigzeo]

   
How does it stack against the Alien Bruce?

I have both. Measurably, the Plenue D is ahead (in most metrics) and hisses way less. But Alien Gold is stabler in general as a measure of load vs unloaded measurements. 

 

[Onix]

 
I have both. Measurably, the Plenue D is ahead (in most metrics) and hisses way less. But Alien Gold is stabler in general as a measure of load vs unloaded measurements. 

 
Thanks shigzeo. But which one would you say you like the most?

 

[BruceBanner]

   
How does it stack against the Alien Bruce?

 
Don't have the PD, sorry.
 
 

You think he bought a PD?

 
Nope, would like to, if it saw a price drop I'd be on it, but at $450AUD it's a hard pill to swallow, especially when I am very content with my AP100.
 
 

 
I have both. Measurably, the Plenue D is ahead (in most metrics) and hisses way less. But Alien Gold is stabler in general as a measure of load vs unloaded measurements. 

 
I still find this hard to believe. My experience of my two Cowon devices vs Alien (original non gold) in terms of hiss goes like this;
 
With the Alien, I can have the headphones plugged in, inserted in my ears (PFE 232's by the way), turn on and not hear a single click, bump, hiss or anything to actually give comfort to the fact it was switched on. Then the track begins playing. The only hiss I hear is the hiss in the recording of the file which is universal across all platforms, find a modern track without hiss and there is absolutely zero hiss to my ears. Increasing volume brings about no hiss, and I have listened at close to max volume on the Shozy and have never ever heard hiss.
It get's more interesting.
 
I own a pair of Yamaha EPH100's, which are renowned for hiss, indeed when connected to my two Cowon DAPs (i9+ and C2) the hiss is extremely pronounced and obvious, from the get go, even in menu doing nothing it's detectable. However taking the same EPH100's to the Shozy and it is as silent as the PFE 232's, no one more than I was shocked to discover that.
 
Continuing on with the Cowon's and I discovered the hiss got worse or increased the higher the volume used, and worsened even more when using it's vast array of DSPs. Let me be clear, the hiss was tolerable when no DSPs are used, but when in effect the results vary for hiss depending upon IEM used. The PFE 232's coped, the EPH100's didn't, simply put I can't use the EPH100's with my Cowon's, it's just hissville.
 
Now granted my two Cowon's are not the PD, nor is my Shozy a 'new' Gold one, but they (Cowon) have done wonders with the PD if they have eliminated hiss, especially when DSPs are well and truly in effect. My only experience of Cowon succeeding with low hiss is with the E3, which is underpowered and lacks the array of DSPs available on other Cowon devices.
 
PD is very attractive, just at $450 it's more than twice the price of the M2. For my buying purposes I would essentially be paying twice the price for;
 
a) hopefully no hiss as I imagine the M2 hisses like my others
b) nicer screen, in terms of viewing and interacting with i.e. capacitive vs resistive (but this really is not that important to me considering 95% of my listening is done with screen off)
c) better driving power, hopefully my 232's sound overall better with the PD vs the M2, but I doubt it's noticeable to me.
d) a few extra features like renaming playlists etc
 
It's a lot to pay for reduced hiss etc, and whilst my AP100 ticks along just fine, I'm hoping in a year or two I might snag a PD for $280-300 or so...

 

[shigzeo]

   
Thanks shigzeo. But which one would you say you like the most?

 
I don't like either that much. Plenue D's battery life is amazing, and its interface is better, but not great. I like its size better, too. If I had to choose one it would be Plenue D. 

   
Don't have the PD, sorry.
 
 
 
Nope, would like to, if it saw a price drop I'd be on it, but at $450AUD it's a hard pill to swallow, especially when I am very content with my AP100.
 
 
 
I still find this hard to believe. My experience of my two Cowon devices vs Alien (original non gold) in terms of hiss goes like this;
 
With the Alien, I can have the headphones plugged in, inserted in my ears (PFE 232's by the way), turn on and not hear a single click, bump, hiss or anything to actually give comfort to the fact it was switched on. Then the track begins playing. The only hiss I hear is the hiss in the recording of the file which is universal across all platforms, find a modern track without hiss and there is absolutely zero hiss to my ears. Increasing volume brings about no hiss, and I have listened at close to max volume on the Shozy and have never ever heard hiss.
It get's more interesting.
 
I own a pair of Yamaha EPH100's, which are renowned for hiss, indeed when connected to my two Cowon DAPs (i9+ and C2) the hiss is extremely pronounced and obvious, from the get go, even in menu doing nothing it's detectable. However taking the same EPH100's to the Shozy and it is as silent as the PFE 232's, no one more than I was shocked to discover that.
 
Continuing on with the Cowon's and I discovered the hiss got worse or increased the higher the volume used, and worsened even more when using it's vast array of DSPs. Let me be clear, the hiss was tolerable when no DSPs are used, but when in effect the results vary for hiss depending upon IEM used. The PFE 232's coped, the EPH100's didn't, simply put I can't use the EPH100's with my Cowon's, it's just hissville.
 
Now granted my two Cowon's are not the PD, nor is my Shozy a 'new' Gold one, but they (Cowon) have done wonders with the PD if they have eliminated hiss, especially when DSPs are well and truly in effect. My only experience of Cowon succeeding with low hiss is with the E3, which is underpowered and lacks the array of DSPs available on other Cowon devices.
 
PD is very attractive, just at $450 it's more than twice the price of the M2. For my buying purposes I would essentially be paying twice the price for;
 
a) hopefully no hiss as I imagine the M2 hisses like my others
b) nicer screen, in terms of viewing and interacting with i.e. capacitive vs resistive (but this really is not that important to me considering 95% of my listening is done with screen off)
c) better driving power, hopefully my 232's sound overall better with the PD vs the M2, but I doubt it's noticeable to me.
d) a few extra features like renaming playlists etc
 
It's a lot to pay for reduced hiss etc, and whilst my AP100 ticks along just fine, I'm hoping in a year or two I might snag a PD for $280-300 or so...

Anecdotal evidence is a bit tenuous, especially when the rendering device: the PFE 232 earphones, are not that sensitive. And everyone has different thresholds of sensitivity toward hiss. Use SE846 or Ultrasone IQ and you will hear it. Alien doesn't hiss a lot but it certainly hisses more than the Plenue D - probably by a factor of 4 or 5.

 

[audio123]

Plenue D is possibly the DAP with least hiss with my final audio design iems

 

[BruceBanner]

   
I don't like either that much. Plenue D's battery life is amazing, and its interface is better, but not great. I like its size better, too. If I had to choose one it would be Plenue D. 
Anecdotal evidence is a bit tenuous, especially when the rendering device: the PFE 232 earphones, are not that sensitive. And everyone has different thresholds of sensitivity toward hiss. Use SE846 or Ultrasone IQ and you will hear it. Alien doesn't hiss a lot but it certainly hisses more than the Plenue D - probably by a factor of 4 or 5.

 
 

Plenue D is possibly the DAP with least hiss with my final audio design iems

 
That's great to hear.

 

[HiFiChris]

Plenue D is possibly the DAP with least hiss with my final audio design iems

 
The DX90 is even audibly quieter, but the Plenue D isn't tooo far away and one of the DAPs with the least hiss.

 

[taffy2207]

The funny thing with measurements is that they can never tell the whole story. We all know that certain DAPs pair well with certain Amps, Headphones etc. That word, Synergy, again. There's so many variables, people are basically taking a punt when recommending gear, mostly an educated punt but a punt nonetheless.
 
Some gear will hit all your criteria and you can still ending up hating it.
 
Buying Audio gear and particularly the Plenue D reminds me of the Maxda Mx-5. There's nothing particularly special about it but the sum of it's parts makes it special. That's why the MX5 is widely regarded as one of the most fun cars to drive, I hesitate to use the word best.
 
The Plenue D is not particularly bad in any areas and that makes it a great all rounder as a portable source.
I think if people stopped looking for the best and started looking for good all rounders, they'd be much happier.
 
Now i'm doing to dig out some meters and electronic gizmos to measure how much I love my wife. Just kidding, but some things can't be measured.

 

[shigzeo]

  The funny thing with measurements is that they can never tell the whole story. We all know that certain DAPs pair well with certain Amps, Headphones etc. That word, Synergy, again. There's so many variables, people are basically taking a punt when recommending gear, mostly an educated punt but a punt nonetheless.
 
Some gear will hit all your criteria and you can still ending up hating it.
 
Buying Audio gear and particularly the Plenue D reminds me of the Maxda Mx-5. There's nothing particularly special about it but the sum of it's parts makes it special. That's why the MX5 is widely regarded as one of the most fun cars to drive, I hesitate to use the word best.
 
The Plenue D is not particularly bad in any areas and that makes it a great all rounder as a portable source.
I think if people stopped looking for the best and started looking for good all rounders, they'd be much happier.
 
Now i'm doing to dig out some meters and electronic gizmos to measure how much I love my wife. Just kidding, but some things can't be measured.

More like: measurements tell one story, personal bias/preference tell another. The synergy thing is silly. I may feel that DAP A and earphone B pair wonderfully, but you may not. And, it may be that I like the pair despite the DAP being unable to properly drive the earphones. That is just personal bias and its story is completely ephemeral. Measurements tell you all you need to know about synergy, drive power, resolution, etc.,; the rest is up to you to decide.

 

[taffy2207]

 
The synergy thing is silly. I may feel that DAP A and earphone B pair wonderfully, but you may not.

Personal synergy

 

[audio123]

The DX90 is even audibly quieter, but the Plenue D isn't tooo far away and one of the DAPs with the least hiss.

this is very subjective depends on what iems u are using

 

[HiFiChris]

 

The DX90 is even audibly quieter, but the Plenue D isn't tooo far away and one of the DAPs with the least hiss.

this is very subjective depends on what iems u are using

 
I'm referring to the DX90, mate, and it is quieter than the Plenue D. Not that the Cowon was hissy at all (it is super far away from being a snake pit), it just has little hiss with extremely sensitive in-ears whereas the DX90 is almost as silent as a vacuum.
 

 

 

[audio123]

I'm referring to the DX90, mate, and it is quieter than the Plenue D. Not that the Cowon was hissy at all (it is super far away from being a snake pit), it just has little hiss with extremely sensitive in-ears whereas the DX90 is almost as silent as a vacuum.

 

yes i know DX90 not DX50 DX80 DX100. Tried a couple of weeks ago and it has more hiss than the pd for my final audio iems. Cheers