[mattg3]

Yes Im not a prime member so that explains my no seeing it

 

[jwbrent]

I just picked up one of these DAPs at Amazon for $99 shipped. I always liked the design, and I’ve read it’s a nicely built unit.

Two questions: often when manufacturers indicate the maximum microSD storage, one can still use a bigger card. Has anyone tried using a larger microSD than 128GB? I understand I need to format the card as FAT32; I’ve done this before with large cards, e.g., 256GB, and have never had a problem. Secondly, does anyone know which DAC the Plenue D uses? Strange that Cowon doesn’t list this info as they do with its other DAPs.

I downloaded the latest firmware, v1.20, but sometimes it’s not always a good idea performance wise to have the latest firmware. Any thoughts on this?

Finally, are there any idiosyncrasies with this unit I should know about? I’ve never owned this brand.

Thanks for any help on my questions.

 

[rr12267]

I just picked up one of these DAPs at Amazon for $99 shipped. I always liked the design, and I’ve read it’s a nicely built unit.

Two questions: often when manufacturers indicate the maximum microSD storage, one can still use a bigger card. Has anyone tried using a larger microSD than 128GB? I understand I need to format the card as FAT32; I’ve done this before with large cards, e.g., 256GB, and have never had a problem. Secondly, does anyone know which DAC the Plenue D uses? Strange that Cowon doesn’t list this info as they do with its other DAPs.

I downloaded the latest firmware, v1.20, but sometimes it’s not always a good idea performance wise to have the latest firmware. Any thoughts on this?

Finally, are there any idiosyncrasies with this unit I should know about? I’ve never owned this brand.

Thanks for any help on my questions.

As for fw 1.20 I have not run into any performance issues. Actually the performance has increased, UI wise as there was more of a lag in previous versions.

DAC is wolfsen and I believe 128gb is the largest that can be read by this player. You can put in larger but any files over the 128gb threshold will not be seen.

 

[jwbrent]

As for fw 1.20 I have not run into any performance issues. Actually the performance has increased, UI wise as there was more of a lag in previous versions.

DAC is wolfsen and I believe 128gb is the largest that can be read by this player. You can put in larger but any files over the 128gb threshold will not be seen.

Thank you for your reply. Wolfson DACs have a good reputation, so it’s surprising Cowon didn’t indicate this in the specs. Good to know about the 128GB limit, not a big deal since again, I’m primarily going to use it with my iTunes library. I’ll still buy a 128GB card so I can put some of my hi res files on it.

I’ll go ahead and update the firmware unless it already has v1.20 installed.

 

[technobear]

It's a Wolfson WM8998E.

And yes, it won't play files located in the space above 128GB. You'll see them in the folder browsing as the directory is at a low address but will get an error when you try to play them.

 

[jwbrent]

I received my Plenue D a while ago and am loading 2,650 songs on it ... looks like that’s going to take awhile.

My unit had v1.20 already installed which suggests this unit hasn’t been sitting on a shelf for too long. The controls seem simple enough, but all these EQ settings will take some time to understand the effect they have.

Can anybody suggest which BBE filters they like a lot?

It appears a case might be a good idea since the metal looks like it might scratch easily.

I plugged in my final Sonorous VI hybrid headphone with the final Silver cable upgrade, sounds pretty good, maybe even better than I had expected. I’m going to burn it in for the next several days, but so far, at $99, it seems like it’s a steal. Ultimately, this is going to be my IEM dap for my hikes.

 

[jwbrent]

Oh, is the case that is made for the Plenue D by Cowon durable? I’m not sure whether the blue or brown is better looking on my silver unit, but the brown is $25 on Amazon, $5 cheaper than the blue one.

 

[phase0]

- I have the blue case, I like that personally. It also covers the SD card slot, so it is harder to swap cards.
- Firmware 1.20
- The DAC is a Wolfson WM8998 per this post: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cowon-plenue-d.789488/page-262#post-13202950
- 128 GB space limit is what I've have read. I have not tried a larger card.

I love this little DAP. Cowon has always made me happy. I ended up selling my Plenue 1 as I don't use DAPs a lot and this one has fantastic battery life and sounds about as good. I also just sold my Modi 2 multibit and Neve RNHP. They're just not significantly better IMO at least with the headphones I run currently. I love the compactness, runs "forever", sounds great. No plans to "upgrade"...

 

[jwbrent]

When you enter the Plenue Folder, there’s a Music folder and a Manual Folder, but the manual doesn’t show up. When I had the Plenue D mounted on my computer, I noticed a folder on the root level that had manuals inside for different languages, including English.

Anyone know how I can read the manual, it might be good to access it sometime?

 

[Tempy-17]

I just had an amazing experience with this player with my 'Movie Tracks' compilation and sennheiser ie800 headphones. Sounded dreamy. What a perfect sunny wintery day. Might buy the P2 because of the Soundplus amplifier and the overall look of it is really cool with the old-school knobs. Probably sound more 'ampy' than the P1 but the same old-school ampy sound characterized by that player.

 

[Sanada]

Looks good.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

The P2 is great and much cheaper than it was when it came out. It's a tad more transparent then the P1.

The D is OK, but Hiby R3 for me is much nice for a close price.

 

[jwbrent]

Incorrect info. There is no pure Wolfsten DAC in the D. That's why the spec does not list what DAC is being used. No pure DAC being used. Search this thread and you will find the (correct) answer. Someone opened one and there was no DAC as we know it but some other variant.

The P1 has a true Wolfsten DAC.

However it converts digital to analog, the D sounds really good driving my final Sonorous VI. Coming from years in two channel home audio where tone controls or EQs were viewed with strong prejudice against, I’m really enjoying trying out the BBE circuitry.

My first Cowon is making a good impression ...

 

[gemNeye]

I received my Plenue D a while ago and am loading 2,650 songs on it ... looks like that’s going to take awhile.

My unit had v1.20 already installed which suggests this unit hasn’t been sitting on a shelf for too long. The controls seem simple enough, but all these EQ settings will take some time to understand the effect they have.

Can anybody suggest which BBE filters they like a lot?

I don't own this DAP, but I remember awhile back researching Cowon DAP's + crossfeed on Reddit (a year or two ago?) and came across this comment from ZeosPantera (the youtube audio review guy) recommending this setting from his old Cowon D2 utilizing the Jet Audio settings. Here is his exact quote:

The Best Crossfeed I have ever heard is a mix of "Stereo Enhance"(4/6) and "3D Surround"(1/10) in the Jet Audio settings of my Cowon D2. I have yet to find it's equal for the PC and I don't know why.

SOURCE: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1ssju2/what_do_you_think_about_crossfeed/

Hope this helps?

 

[Dustry]

I don't own this DAP, but I remember awhile back researching Cowon DAP's + crossfeed on Reddit (a year or two ago?) and came across this comment from ZeosPantera (the youtube audio review guy) recommending this setting from his old Cowon D2 utilizing the Jet Audio settings. Here is his exact quote:

The Best Crossfeed I have ever heard is a mix of "Stereo Enhance"(4/6) and "3D Surround"(1/10) in the Jet Audio settings of my Cowon D2. I have yet to find it's equal for the PC and I don't know why.

SOURCE: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1ssju2/what_do_you_think_about_crossfeed/

Hope this helps?

I always wanted my Cowons (most recent - Plenue J) to sound like "Rock" preset but with stronger sub-bass (other than sub-bass, Rock is largely perfect for me)
I spent a lot of time and finally created User Preset that sounds exactly like what I wanted (EQ 4 2 2 2 2, all wide; BBE 8; Mach3Bass 4; 3D Surround Off; MP Enhance Off; Reverb Off)). But then the other day I accidentally checked "BBE Headphone 3" and this was almost exactly the same. So that is the one I am using now. It extends both lower frequencies (for sub-bass) and higher frequencies (for clarity) + boosts overall volume, and all that with virtually zero distortion. Great preset.