[rr12267]

Thank you for the extensive post.
I don't think the problem is with Plenue D. All I want from it, is to play FLAC and sometimes other formats because when I listen on computer for example, I can definitely hear the difference. And of course the battery is impressive. At the moment music is only at home or live, but I'd like to be portable.
My main issue is what to pair the Plenue D with phonewise because I get confused when I read that FLAC is 96kHz or 192kHz and the IEM is only up to 20kHz.
But you all helped me. Now my understanding is: Samplerate of a codec doesn't equal frequency range of phones. If that's right, then you helped me and I will no longer look at that and rather browse this site for ear/headphone recommendations.

You are getting confused about encoding sampling rates vs what us as we as humans can hear frequency wise. The average human can hear sounds from 20Hz - 20kHz.

Think of sampling rate as the number of points in time per second that a reading is taken to covert the audio signal.

Here is a decent explanation if you have not read this already.

Technics - What is High Resolution Audio

 

[phase0]

My main issue is what to pair the Plenue D with phonewise because I get confused when I read that FLAC is 96kHz or 192kHz and the IEM is only up to 20kHz.
But you all helped me. Now my understanding is: Samplerate of a codec doesn't equal frequency range of phones. If that's right, then you helped me and I will no longer look at that and rather browse this site for ear/headphone recommendations.

You got it now. Human audible hearing range is considered to be 20 Hz up to 20,000 Hz (20 KHz).

CD quality redbook audio is sampled at 44.1 KHz at 16-bits. It's a really long discussion digital audio sample theory, over sampling, Nyquist theory etc. Computers/DAPs/MP3 players all have the processing ability to decode these files that are 96-192 KHz but none of that is in the audible range (above 20 KHz). You can't hear at 96 KHz but that's also not really what that number represents. I'd say it's more like a finer sampling resolution on the digital sampled signal so you can more accurately represent and reproduce the original analog voltages. I look at it more like a bandwidth value. There's also techniques with filtering where you can push noise and distortion into the upper frequency range above audible hearing so the higher resolution and higher frequency and sampling rates can have audible range benefits the way the files are processed. Anyways, close enough without devolving into an over detailed technical discussion on sampling.

IMO the bulk of your budget should go to good headphones or IEMs. Obviously IEMs are more compact/portable than over ear headphones. The best case scenario is you can try a bunch of different products at a store and decide what sounds best to you. As a DAP/MP3 player the Cowon is a pretty good balance of capabilities and can drive a lot of headphones and IEMs. You can also go crazy and spend 10x more, buy external amps and build a really bulky solution held together by giant rubber bands For portable I try to keep things as compact and basic as I can. I aimed for pretty good, not the best/ultimate and I'm happy/satisfied where I landed. I have had more expensive players and my desktop setup is pretty top of the line expensive and I still chose the Plenue D.

 

[BigNewsII]

Just to reiterate what someone said earlier: “good sounding” 'phones do not have to be expensive. I prefer IEMs with my PD because of portability and how they are naturally noise-canceling (when fit properly) but I‘ve never had a problem running my big Sennheiser or Grado on it either. If you haven't found it yet, here is the Head-Fi Headphone Buying Guide. It's a good place to start. Just know that people's opinions on headphones are going to be A LOT more diverse than on MP3 players And post up your thoughts on the PD here @Shikari if/when you get one

 

[Shikari]

Yes. I was kinda clueless, probably still am compared to others. This is a topic where you can read every day and only get a tiny bit smarter every time.
Just ordered the PD and will share my feelings when I properly tried it out.
Also I'm definitely going to stores and try all kinds of over ear phones. In ear can't be tried I guess.
And of course I will have a look at the buying guide and this website in general. It's been a blast so far.
Thanks to all of you.

 

[Vruksha]

Hey guys, what is the max external storage capacity of PD2? Is it 128gb (Amazon says so) or 256gb or even higher? Its confusing cuz I am reading different things lol. What's the exact storage capacity?

 

[Sebasistan]

Hey guys, what is the max external storage capacity of PD2? Is it 128gb (Amazon says so) or 256gb or even higher? Its confusing cuz I am reading different things lol. What's the exact storage capacity?

The 1's max capacity was 128. I tried a bigger card and it kept crapping out on me. Don't know if the 2 is better there.

 

[Vruksha]

Hey guys, just got myself a PD2, had a PD a while back. I am not able to see the music from my Sandisk 128gb card on the dap. I converted the card from exFAT to fat32 still can't see the card. I can access the card thru my laptopwhile connected. I've updated to the lastest firmware as well but still no hope. What am I missing here??

 

[Gevaldig]

I'm a long time lurker on this thread and thanks too all with you knowledge, it has helped me a ton!
special thanks to @Brucebenner for his tweaked BBE settings, they're just amazing!

Question: My PD broke down after 1.5 years of use ( got credited back $179.99 from amex + 4179.88 from amazon so essentially i was paid $179.99 for a year of usage, not bad mind you ; ) ) and i'm looking for a new DAP which wont disappoint me after being used to the Jet effect /BBE settings.

Which DAP-any company- would you guys recommend in the sub $400 area which will be as good as using Bruces' settings on the PD

Thanks

 

[Niyologist]

I'm a long time lurker on this thread and thanks too all with you knowledge, it has helped me a ton!
special thanks to @Brucebenner for his tweaked BBE settings, they're just amazing!

Question: My PD broke down after 1.5 years of use ( got credited back $179.99 from amex + 4179.88 from amazon so essentially i was paid $179.99 for a year of usage, not bad mind you ; ) ) and i'm looking for a new DAP which wont disappoint me after being used to the Jet effect /BBE settings.

Which DAP-any company- would you guys recommend in the sub $400 area which will be as good as using Bruces' settings on the PD

Thanks

You could try out the iBasso DX160.

 

[Gevaldig]

You could try out the iBasso DX160.

Thanks! i dont like the reviews i see on the DX160.. any other recommendations ? how about the M11 (FIIO)

 

[Niyologist]

Thanks! i dont like the reviews i see on the DX160.. any other recommendations ? how about the M11 (FIIO)

I don't own that DAP. Although I've heard about UI issues.

 

[Sebasistan]

Which DAP-any company- would you guys recommend in the sub $400 area which will be as good as using Bruces' settings on the PD

Thanks

Depends on what exactly you want from a DAP. I would assume since you come from the PD, you don't need a lot of fancy features. Personally, I would recommend what I have now as my main player, the Shanling M6. It sounds absolutely fantastic for its price, way better than it has any rights to. I am though not entirely sure how close that would come to your PD preferences.

 

[BigNewsII]

Why not find another PD, @Gevaldig?

 

[Gevaldig]

Depends on what exactly you want from a DAP. I would assume since you come from the PD, you don't need a lot of fancy features. Personally, I would recommend what I have now as my main player, the Shanling M6. It sounds absolutely fantastic for its price, way better than it has any rights to. I am though not entirely sure how close that would come to your PD preferences.

Thanks Sebas. Yeah we’ll said, am not looking into crazy features if I come from the PD ( not that lack of BT doesn’t bother me though) what I need is superior sound like the Jet settings mentioned above . Did you ever try the PD with Bruce or Bruce like settings and compared it to the M6 ?

 

[Gevaldig]

@BigNewsII Totally! I’m open on buying a new DAP by whatever make as long as it won’t be a step down from the tweaked PD BBE