[morndewey]

   
Yes, the case is closed by magnets.

Is it a concern having magnets nestled up against the PD all the time? I have irrational fears of magnets because of the external HDDs I use to archive live music. I mean, magnets are the bane of electronically stored data, no?

 

[HiFiChris]

 

   
Is jailbreaking the iDevice an option for you? Because if it was, you could install a (free and legal) tweak that allows you to get up to 128 volume steps with the buttons - system-wide with all apps.

Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not tech savvy enough to go down that road. Plus, I'm not keen on losing all the security supports that jailbreaking appears to entail. I probably have some misconceptions here but I'm loathe to tinker with core system content.

 
Well, it's actually not difficult to do at all (download a program, connect the iDevice and then hit "run" and let the PC do all the work for you) and restoring a jailbroken device in iTunes is just the same procedure, but I fully understand you fears and concerns.
 
Anyway, the Plenue D is a nice DAP and the ability to add external memory is a huge plus compared to Apple's built-in memory (which is done that way as the database is built in iTunes and not in the device itself, hence gapless playback, sorting by Album Artist and other things work so flawlessly; that's also why it is extremely unlikely that Apple will ever release a phone or DAP with expandable memory).

 

[taffy2207]

  I reverted back to FW 1.10 and there's indeed excess of reverberation affecting dynamics on FW 1.11. I'll skip with 1.10 untill next release.

You were right.  I listened on BBE Viva 2 setting for about 40 minutes last night at a moderate volume. It was a joy at first but I had a piercing headache for hours after. I'd advise people to be careful listening with FW 1.11 updated. I've also gone back to  1.10.
 
EDIT. I've enquired about the change in sound with Cowon and they haven't got back to me yet.

 

[Ghisy]

I don't really hear the difference between 1.10 and 1.11. Maybe it's because I'm using my own custom EQ?

 

[taffy2207]

Could be, I'm thinking it's the defined presets 

 

[gjc10212]

Apologies if already discussed. Does this dap have the pitch function, along the same lines as the d2 & d20 where you can increase or decrease the playback speed.

 

[Paulus XII]

The only issue with 1.11 is the excessive, exagerated soundstage that affects dynamics & PRaT. It's not fatiguing, it just does not sound as dynamic as 1.10 to my ears due to the excess of "reverberation". Put too much reverb in anything you record and vocals, drums, etc, will sound too distant, less dynamic and natural.

 

[taffy2207]

My phones can be a little lively in the treble region. I listened to the same music at same volume on the same preset setting last night. No headache, it was bliss with 1.10.
 
My wife whinced using 1.11 as well saying "It's too much".
 
Ultimately we all have different set ups, preferences and sensitivities. All I know is that the effects were harsh using 1.11 for me.

 

[waxdoctor]

  On my Plenue D the new FW 1.11 fixed a slight glitch that kind of annoyed me and maybe my brain may have tuned into it so it may have been more noticeable to me than others or just a difference from unit to unit!
 
But when playing MP3 files from the internal memory, there was a very slight high pitched noise, lasting for 1/10 of a second or so between songs.
 
I believe it may be related to to some kind of processor buffering issue. Anyway, the FW 1.11 seems to have fixed this issue on my Plenue D, certainly not there anymore, first thing I checked for!  So maybe gapless playback with the new FW may have improved overall for all units using various formats?
 
Touch screen navigation seems fairly similar to me at least and since I didn't have any issue with this beforehand I most likely wouldn't notice any kind of significant improvement.
 
Change in sound stage. Did anyone have any kind of DSP effect on when they changed FW? Because this is where I could buy into experience a change that wasn't purely coming from my brain/expectation.  When JetEffect set at normal I didn't experience any alteration.

"But when playing MP3 files from the internal memory, there was a very slight high pitched noise, lasting for 1/10 of a second or so between songs."
 
Still have that one - running on FW1.11

 

[Vitor Valeri]

  Is it a concern having magnets nestled up against the PD all the time? I have irrational fears of magnets because of the external HDDs I use to archive live music. I mean, magnets are the bane of electronically stored data, no?

 
You do not have this problem with the Cowon Plenue D because it is through storage by SSD (Solid State Drive).

 

[Jupiterknight]

  "But when playing MP3 files from the internal memory, there was a very slight high pitched noise, lasting for 1/10 of a second or so between songs."
 
Still have that one - running on FW1.11

 
Yes, unfortunately I still have it too. Found that out after listening to more albums and I was so happy for a while
Not a deal breaker to me but my brain has kind of tuned into listening for that little piece of noise, static, whatever it is.  Try to listen to a silent recorded track, or a very quiet piece of music for a couple of minutes and you may notice that this little piece of noise may appear every two minutes or so. At least this is what I experience. With any kind of busy music track you most likely won't hear it. I'm still referring to Lame MP3 files played from the internal memory. 

 

[morndewey]

PD file directory issues continue. Several files on sd card do not appear under albums directory, nor artists. Some of those files are jumbled up under duplicated album titles. Everything appears kosher on the sd card directory though. Damn this thing is buggy. The UI is quickly defeating me.

 

[morndewey]

What are the chances UI issues will be resolved by Cowon in a timely fashion? It's one thing to have a UI that is slow or unattractive; quite another thing for it to be unreliable.

 

[morndewey]

Random folders containing whole albums, visible only on sdxc card (invisible thru artist or album directories as previously posted), will not play at all. When attempting to play any song within said folders, the prompt "Invalid File" appears. Additional attempts to play any songs from said folders result in PD green screen or frozen, unresponsive screen, requiring hard reset which fails to remedy folder issues.  Error checked sdxc card using Windows 7 disk properties tool: clean bill of health. Furthermore, music files in said folders play without issue via itunes and quicktime. Majority of ALAC files seem to play without issue. I could delete and recopy said folders to card, and this may solve the problem for these folders, but how many other such folders are lurking there I have no way of knowing without checking each and every folder individually. Even at a modest 30gb this is a massive, onerous task.  I have spent tens of hours copying music folders, wrestling with id tag mysteries, and now troubleshooting weird PD behavior. Unit appears to be, at best, a beta product. I am really disappointed and burned out on this thing. Gonna miss the sound though.

 

[jmills8]

Random folders containing whole albums, visible only on sdxc card (invisible thru artist or album directories as previously posted), will not play at all. When attempting to play any song within said folders, the prompt "Invalid File" appears. Additional attempts to play any songs from said folders result in PD green screen or frozen, unresponsive screen, requiring hard reset which fails to remedy folder issues.  Error checked sdxc card using Windows 7 disk properties tool: clean bill of health. Furthermore, music files in said folders play without issue via itunes and quicktime. Majority of ALAC files seem to play without issue. I could delete and recopy said folders to card, and this may solve the problem for these folders, but how many other such folders are lurking there I have no way of knowing without checking each and every folder individually. Even at a modest 30gb this is a massive, onerous task.  I have spent tens of hours copying music folders, wrestling with id tag mysteries, and now troubleshooting weird PD behavior. Unit appears to be, at best, a beta product. I am really disappointed and burned out on this thing. Gonna miss the sound though.

Dide sell your PD and enjoy a simpler dap like an AK.