Cowon Plenue M
- Thread starter toxicdrift
- Start date
globiboulga
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2007
- Posts
- 211
- Likes
- 25
I won’t have the pretension to be capable of doing a complete review of the Cowon Plenue M here. That would be both naive and irrelevant. No. instead, I will restrain myself not to quit the land of the politically correct and merely offer an initial set of impressions that should be taken as such: a collection of simple descriptions that have more to do with a twitter than War & Peace. It will be more of a diesel powered Volvo than a racy Italian V12; more the clinical update provided by a doctor announcing the result of a set of painful rectal tests than the baroque exuberance of a jazz quartet which decided to embark on a LCD trip to experience the magical power of the unknown. And It will be done over the next few days, with this being part 1.
As a sort of unimportant disclaimer, I should also add that have been connected to Cowon for a decade or so, having bought the X5L when it was released. I don’t think anything ever surpassed the awesomeness of minidiscs, but losing my MP3 virginity to the X5L was a fantastic experience. At the time, that well crafted aluminum box was way ahead of anything else, including the iPod, and even sported a fantastic little joystick that made me weep in sadness that no-one ever thought of turning this thing into a game console. I’ve had since moved on and tried a wide range of little and big MP3 players of which only the Cowon J3 turned out to be a winner, mostly because of its unsurpassed battery life and awesome value. But onto the 'M":
As it is now the norm, the “M” comes in a tight, solid black carton box. Its external minimalism is exactly matched on the inside and you’ll find there a relatively longish USB cable (black) as well as a collection of useless but pretty booklets wrapped in a slightly more useless cartonish envelop. As we all know, uselessness is a good proxy for luxury, so we’re certainly here reminded that the whole experience is one of exclusivity and and quality printing. Other than that, well: the player and... that’s about it. You won’t get the exclusive leather case that is generously provided with the “1”, not will you get a power adapter. I would have liked a case here, if only because I can sense that the Cowon accessories market is about to be as active an English tourist on a sunny Spanish beach.
The player itself is a thing of minimalist beauty. There is nothing out of place design wise and on of those rare instances where the commercial material does not do justice to the actual object. The aluminum is well crafted and so smooth it feels it has been rubbed against the unshaven thighs of young and eager factory workers several times during the polishing process. The buttons offer a firm resistance met by a feint click that learned at the school of good manners that you don’t need to pile up the decibels to acknowledge an instruction has been received and executed. If there was only a negative comment, it would be in the bezels around the screen, which would probably put Sony to shame. It distracts a little of the magnificence of the machine, but then again, this is the glory of being used to mobile phones that it demands that all screen be perfect even when there is no rationale reason for it. Exceptional demands breed injustice, so let us remind ourselves that the screen of this player has very little use indeed, thanks to these external commands that cover all that needs to be covered for the remote operation of the player. I suspect that blind use will have its hit and miss, but that’s the beauty of doing things in the dark that they can go oh that little bit wrong.
Weight wise, well, it’s not unnoticeable, but hey, it’s here. I, for one, do like the feeling of fullness gained by that little bit of extra fat for it is a symbol of luxury, even if only to fear that it could also - in one of those twist that fate like to unexpectedly throw at us - mean that the “M” would connect with the ground with that little bit more velocity.
A little blue led indicates the player is on when the screen is off and that’s lovely. It’s a very opinionated led though and it would - does - annoy in the dark - but there are settings to address that issue.
As a sort of unimportant disclaimer, I should also add that have been connected to Cowon for a decade or so, having bought the X5L when it was released. I don’t think anything ever surpassed the awesomeness of minidiscs, but losing my MP3 virginity to the X5L was a fantastic experience. At the time, that well crafted aluminum box was way ahead of anything else, including the iPod, and even sported a fantastic little joystick that made me weep in sadness that no-one ever thought of turning this thing into a game console. I’ve had since moved on and tried a wide range of little and big MP3 players of which only the Cowon J3 turned out to be a winner, mostly because of its unsurpassed battery life and awesome value. But onto the 'M":
As it is now the norm, the “M” comes in a tight, solid black carton box. Its external minimalism is exactly matched on the inside and you’ll find there a relatively longish USB cable (black) as well as a collection of useless but pretty booklets wrapped in a slightly more useless cartonish envelop. As we all know, uselessness is a good proxy for luxury, so we’re certainly here reminded that the whole experience is one of exclusivity and and quality printing. Other than that, well: the player and... that’s about it. You won’t get the exclusive leather case that is generously provided with the “1”, not will you get a power adapter. I would have liked a case here, if only because I can sense that the Cowon accessories market is about to be as active an English tourist on a sunny Spanish beach.
The player itself is a thing of minimalist beauty. There is nothing out of place design wise and on of those rare instances where the commercial material does not do justice to the actual object. The aluminum is well crafted and so smooth it feels it has been rubbed against the unshaven thighs of young and eager factory workers several times during the polishing process. The buttons offer a firm resistance met by a feint click that learned at the school of good manners that you don’t need to pile up the decibels to acknowledge an instruction has been received and executed. If there was only a negative comment, it would be in the bezels around the screen, which would probably put Sony to shame. It distracts a little of the magnificence of the machine, but then again, this is the glory of being used to mobile phones that it demands that all screen be perfect even when there is no rationale reason for it. Exceptional demands breed injustice, so let us remind ourselves that the screen of this player has very little use indeed, thanks to these external commands that cover all that needs to be covered for the remote operation of the player. I suspect that blind use will have its hit and miss, but that’s the beauty of doing things in the dark that they can go oh that little bit wrong.
Weight wise, well, it’s not unnoticeable, but hey, it’s here. I, for one, do like the feeling of fullness gained by that little bit of extra fat for it is a symbol of luxury, even if only to fear that it could also - in one of those twist that fate like to unexpectedly throw at us - mean that the “M” would connect with the ground with that little bit more velocity.
A little blue led indicates the player is on when the screen is off and that’s lovely. It’s a very opinionated led though and it would - does - annoy in the dark - but there are settings to address that issue.
toxicdrift
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2008
- Posts
- 292
- Likes
- 59
can u post some pictures please? looking fwd to more reviews and sound impressions 
globiboulga
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2007
- Posts
- 211
- Likes
- 25
Now to the juicy bits... First thing first took me a good hour and a half to load nearly 60GB of FLAC files onto the internal memory of the “M”, and the whole lot of 2 seconds to insert a 128GB microSD into its belly. I was dreading the scanning process, but behold: the “M” was quicker than an Impala chased by a hungry hippo protecting its personal space and in a few mere seconds, I was welcomed by the player sober but dark UI. Call me impressed here, I smiled like a new born hearing is mummy for the first time knowing that the milk is about to come. Yes it’s a dark world here. It’s a question of preference of course but I do like white background better, irrespective of the impact on battery life (and like St Thomas, I doubt that it is significant anyway). It must be my older eyes, a repressed fear of the night or perhaps the need to experience better contrast to glance quickly other the complex set of options, but I was a tad underwhelmed by the software design. There are options to get a metallish skin, but its value can only be to remind us how such an embarassing mistake skeumorphism is. There’s a blueish version as well, which I use at the moment, as a last resort. You can get additional skins, that is if a modding community develop, which could happen since the “M” share the same underlying UI characteristics than the “1”.
Saying this, let’s put the UI in perspective: it’s extremely responsive, scrolling trough long lists is a breeze that cool your brain like a fisherman’s breath mint and I am yet to have had ANY hiccup or issue with the touch screen or the software. All praise to Cowon here, there won’t be any of the frustrations that some of the owners of the other expensive player seem to experience on a regular basis. Before we go on any further, it is useful to remind everyone that unlike its cheaper Cowon siblings, the “M” (and the “1”) refuse to have anything to do with wireless whatsoever, so don’t expect any wifi capabilities or indeed bluetooth. The “M” is an asocial brat that don’t play well with the other kids at school and will only merely accept to be mounted as DAC if you ask politely and coupled to a headphone amp through its audio out when it feels so lonely, it requires the affection of another metallic brethren.
Other than its aesthetic, the UI is relatively straight forward and simple. Bar the few cultural oddities (I assume that “remove silence” means gapless unless that’s “track interval”), you won’t be lost in a unknown land here. No need for a complex manual: it’ll take you a few minutes to get around the ‘house’ and feel at home. Except for the EQ adjustments of course, they’re plentiful and overwhelming to the point where simply thinking about them could drive you to a little unexpected musical orgasm. Most of the critical settings are accessible on the ‘now playing’ main page and it’s great. At this point, my only little niggle is the battery icon which is small and lets you guessing: there’s no percentage or anything like this. You know you’re getting close to the end, but not really how close. Something that could be fixed in a future firmware update - as well as the white background? You get your usual tag driven and folder navigation options and getting the music onto the player is merely a drag and drop affair that would make Ashley Madison proud.
The following listening impressions were conducted using my trusted Denon AH-D5000, a pair of B&W P7 and custom IEMs which are improved reshelled version of the top end Shure lineup. I mostly listen to Pop, Rock, progressive rock and a little Classical to spice it all up. I did a little comparison with a Sony ZX1 and the my trusty Cowon J3. Bear in mind, it’s only been a few days and I tend to be overly critic with my new gear.
By principle, I refuse to use the mojo-jumbo that tend to characterize the reviews on these forums. I’m a simple soul, and selfish to the point where the overall enjoyment of the music is what matters to me. So bear with me as I try to break down the feelings brought up by the “M” into words that mean more than an analytical assessment that is better conducted looking at dry graphs and metrics. I’m always impressed by warmth and ‘fun’, the consistent delivery of the sound experience, where mids present forward, tightly supported by rich and mastered low channels. I don’t like acute highs, they remind me of my 10th grade math teacher.
So how does the “M” fare? Well, very well thank you. Once liberated by pushing the volume in the high end - it needs that little power to drive the P7 for example - the music is well presented and in line with my liking. Separation is good and satisfying, without being too clinical. The highs are well brought forward without being overwhelming or annoying (cymbals especially) and the bass is consistent and well managed, if not a little weak at time. The sound signature is actually quite different than the ZX1 on that front, there is way more overall ‘attack’ on the Cowon, and guitar riffs are far better ‘executed’. What the ZX1 has in terms of bass ‘humpf’, the Cowon get in the mid range presentation. Whereas the ZX1 is ‘relaxed’, the Cowon means business. The Cowon is ‘fuller’ without scarifying too much of the instruments separation. In that sense, that would be the only weakness of the Cowon where when the tracks are busy, it tends to get overwhelmed and like a kid in a toy shop difficult to rein in. But that’s the definition of fun!
Of course, the Cowon becomes another beast altogether when you unleash the power of JetEffects 7, and the level of sound customisation is quite astonishing. I don’t subscribe to this idea that one shouldn’t modify or adjust tracks sound signature, so the more options, the better. After all you’re listening to something in a wildly different way than when the recording was mastered so there’s no guaranty you’re listening to what the ‘artist’ wanted you to listen to in the first place anyway. So Cowon here fills up my dreams with unlimited options and you can put these in good use to adjust the sound just the way you like it, correcting some of the ‘imprecisions’ that the player might provide out of the box. This helps lifting up bass presence a little and pushing vocals that little more in the forefront. I won’t go through all these options here, that would require this website to book half of Amazon Services storage capacity, but needless to say that they are almost endless and that Cowon implementation of eQ settings is flawless (if not for the spoiled brat who would recommend for them to be even deeper).
I haven’t had enough time to test the battery life here, but from my initial sessions with the player, it certainly seems to be in line with the 10 hours or so claimed by Cowon. Enough for a day’s listening but not for a long week end away. It certainly seems the internal have been used for sound reproduction rather than whacking a large slab of power in there. Given the player doesn’t use Android, this is a little disappointing in light of Cowon track record on that front. And on the unfinished business front, while I tried to couple the “M” to a few headphone amps I have, these were quick and dirty quickies which I didn’t spend enough time on to firm up any judgment. I suspect that some of the bass softness would be very well countered by a couple of my amps.
So? What do I think? Do I get the usual buyers remorse? The feeling of being conned into a hobby that has no end, no point, no relief? In a word: no. The few niggles I have are relatively minor. I wouldn’t spend the extra money to find out if the “1” is any better on that front, although it is very much possible that the Burr Brown in the “1” correct some of the weaknesses the “M” to prevent for some of the complex tracks to become that little bit too overwhelming. Somewhere deep inside, I’d love to hear the AK240, but Cowon has always done music better than iRiver and the player is so damn ugly that spending that amount of money to be disappointed on all fronts is just pushing sadism to a point where it would require most countries to officially ban high end DAPs altogether. But the “M” has grown on me enormously over the last few days. I don’t believe in ‘burn in’, if not for my brain getting used to the sound signature better, but as I learn to adjust the volume and setting to the different headphones I try to marry with the player, I’m getting towards a very satisfying sweet spot that make me develop a lovely and embarrassing fondness to the “M”. These last few days have also outlined how good value the Sony ZX1 is. For nearly half the price of the “M” you get a very capable little machine. And to some extent, Android is not such as bad deal given that battery life is on par with dedicated UI machines. I though I would sell it, but it will stay with me at least until the ZX2 or ZX3 come down below the $1k mark.
Sefu: any news on the official case?
Saying this, let’s put the UI in perspective: it’s extremely responsive, scrolling trough long lists is a breeze that cool your brain like a fisherman’s breath mint and I am yet to have had ANY hiccup or issue with the touch screen or the software. All praise to Cowon here, there won’t be any of the frustrations that some of the owners of the other expensive player seem to experience on a regular basis. Before we go on any further, it is useful to remind everyone that unlike its cheaper Cowon siblings, the “M” (and the “1”) refuse to have anything to do with wireless whatsoever, so don’t expect any wifi capabilities or indeed bluetooth. The “M” is an asocial brat that don’t play well with the other kids at school and will only merely accept to be mounted as DAC if you ask politely and coupled to a headphone amp through its audio out when it feels so lonely, it requires the affection of another metallic brethren.
Other than its aesthetic, the UI is relatively straight forward and simple. Bar the few cultural oddities (I assume that “remove silence” means gapless unless that’s “track interval”), you won’t be lost in a unknown land here. No need for a complex manual: it’ll take you a few minutes to get around the ‘house’ and feel at home. Except for the EQ adjustments of course, they’re plentiful and overwhelming to the point where simply thinking about them could drive you to a little unexpected musical orgasm. Most of the critical settings are accessible on the ‘now playing’ main page and it’s great. At this point, my only little niggle is the battery icon which is small and lets you guessing: there’s no percentage or anything like this. You know you’re getting close to the end, but not really how close. Something that could be fixed in a future firmware update - as well as the white background? You get your usual tag driven and folder navigation options and getting the music onto the player is merely a drag and drop affair that would make Ashley Madison proud.
The following listening impressions were conducted using my trusted Denon AH-D5000, a pair of B&W P7 and custom IEMs which are improved reshelled version of the top end Shure lineup. I mostly listen to Pop, Rock, progressive rock and a little Classical to spice it all up. I did a little comparison with a Sony ZX1 and the my trusty Cowon J3. Bear in mind, it’s only been a few days and I tend to be overly critic with my new gear.
By principle, I refuse to use the mojo-jumbo that tend to characterize the reviews on these forums. I’m a simple soul, and selfish to the point where the overall enjoyment of the music is what matters to me. So bear with me as I try to break down the feelings brought up by the “M” into words that mean more than an analytical assessment that is better conducted looking at dry graphs and metrics. I’m always impressed by warmth and ‘fun’, the consistent delivery of the sound experience, where mids present forward, tightly supported by rich and mastered low channels. I don’t like acute highs, they remind me of my 10th grade math teacher.
So how does the “M” fare? Well, very well thank you. Once liberated by pushing the volume in the high end - it needs that little power to drive the P7 for example - the music is well presented and in line with my liking. Separation is good and satisfying, without being too clinical. The highs are well brought forward without being overwhelming or annoying (cymbals especially) and the bass is consistent and well managed, if not a little weak at time. The sound signature is actually quite different than the ZX1 on that front, there is way more overall ‘attack’ on the Cowon, and guitar riffs are far better ‘executed’. What the ZX1 has in terms of bass ‘humpf’, the Cowon get in the mid range presentation. Whereas the ZX1 is ‘relaxed’, the Cowon means business. The Cowon is ‘fuller’ without scarifying too much of the instruments separation. In that sense, that would be the only weakness of the Cowon where when the tracks are busy, it tends to get overwhelmed and like a kid in a toy shop difficult to rein in. But that’s the definition of fun!
Of course, the Cowon becomes another beast altogether when you unleash the power of JetEffects 7, and the level of sound customisation is quite astonishing. I don’t subscribe to this idea that one shouldn’t modify or adjust tracks sound signature, so the more options, the better. After all you’re listening to something in a wildly different way than when the recording was mastered so there’s no guaranty you’re listening to what the ‘artist’ wanted you to listen to in the first place anyway. So Cowon here fills up my dreams with unlimited options and you can put these in good use to adjust the sound just the way you like it, correcting some of the ‘imprecisions’ that the player might provide out of the box. This helps lifting up bass presence a little and pushing vocals that little more in the forefront. I won’t go through all these options here, that would require this website to book half of Amazon Services storage capacity, but needless to say that they are almost endless and that Cowon implementation of eQ settings is flawless (if not for the spoiled brat who would recommend for them to be even deeper).
I haven’t had enough time to test the battery life here, but from my initial sessions with the player, it certainly seems to be in line with the 10 hours or so claimed by Cowon. Enough for a day’s listening but not for a long week end away. It certainly seems the internal have been used for sound reproduction rather than whacking a large slab of power in there. Given the player doesn’t use Android, this is a little disappointing in light of Cowon track record on that front. And on the unfinished business front, while I tried to couple the “M” to a few headphone amps I have, these were quick and dirty quickies which I didn’t spend enough time on to firm up any judgment. I suspect that some of the bass softness would be very well countered by a couple of my amps.
So? What do I think? Do I get the usual buyers remorse? The feeling of being conned into a hobby that has no end, no point, no relief? In a word: no. The few niggles I have are relatively minor. I wouldn’t spend the extra money to find out if the “1” is any better on that front, although it is very much possible that the Burr Brown in the “1” correct some of the weaknesses the “M” to prevent for some of the complex tracks to become that little bit too overwhelming. Somewhere deep inside, I’d love to hear the AK240, but Cowon has always done music better than iRiver and the player is so damn ugly that spending that amount of money to be disappointed on all fronts is just pushing sadism to a point where it would require most countries to officially ban high end DAPs altogether. But the “M” has grown on me enormously over the last few days. I don’t believe in ‘burn in’, if not for my brain getting used to the sound signature better, but as I learn to adjust the volume and setting to the different headphones I try to marry with the player, I’m getting towards a very satisfying sweet spot that make me develop a lovely and embarrassing fondness to the “M”. These last few days have also outlined how good value the Sony ZX1 is. For nearly half the price of the “M” you get a very capable little machine. And to some extent, Android is not such as bad deal given that battery life is on par with dedicated UI machines. I though I would sell it, but it will stay with me at least until the ZX2 or ZX3 come down below the $1k mark.
Sefu: any news on the official case?
kawaivpc1
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
- Posts
- 1,716
- Likes
- 90
Interesting... P1 was about 1200 dollars. This one's just 400 dollars cheaper.
What's the big difference between the two besides storage?
P1 and M look almost identical.
What's the big difference between the two besides storage?
P1 and M look almost identical.
globiboulga
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2007
- Posts
- 211
- Likes
- 25
Minor cosmetic differences, and as pointed earlier in the thread, a different Sound chip.
Sefu
Member of the Trade: Minidisc AU
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2001
- Posts
- 57
- Likes
- 27
kawaivpc1
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
- Posts
- 1,716
- Likes
- 90
Why are they making a worse model than P1?
P1 can't beat other models such as Calyx M, AK240, etc.
warrior1975
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2013
- Posts
- 7,619
- Likes
- 1,205
Probably easier to make this dap, and get into a more competitive price bracket using similar technology.
globiboulga
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2007
- Posts
- 211
- Likes
- 25
Uncle E1
Member of the Trade: E1 Personal Audio
- Joined
- May 10, 2015
- Posts
- 408
- Likes
- 83
Did a brief A/B comparison with the AK100ii which is in the same ball park figure.
Both players offer minimalist designs. UI of the Cowon M is slick and smooth, very mass market driven animations while on the AK100ii it is
very straight forward utilitarian.
Both were playing Michael Jackson's Billie Jean in .dsf format direct into Dita Audio Truth and Westone UMPro50.
The Cowon M is liquid smooth to a point of boredom. Lower resolution files will most probably sound better on it without showing the edginess.
On the other hand,the AK100ii offers better details, relaying a sense of excitement from the music. High-resolution files will come out being
appreciated more.
Both players offer minimalist designs. UI of the Cowon M is slick and smooth, very mass market driven animations while on the AK100ii it is
very straight forward utilitarian.
Both were playing Michael Jackson's Billie Jean in .dsf format direct into Dita Audio Truth and Westone UMPro50.
The Cowon M is liquid smooth to a point of boredom. Lower resolution files will most probably sound better on it without showing the edginess.
On the other hand,the AK100ii offers better details, relaying a sense of excitement from the music. High-resolution files will come out being
appreciated more.
Sound Eq
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2013
- Posts
- 11,165
- Likes
- 2,826
oh boy that is bit not encouraging then
so i take it the p1 is much better than the m
Wyd4
Headphoneus Supremus
I am looking at this DAP as a potential.
I actually have @Sefu hard at work
.
I loved the Cayin n6 and how it was voiced for my IEMs, however the Plenue P1 has all this talk of faux analogue and smooth and thick etc. This will not fly with my IEM's as it will either be like listening through a thickshake pillow or bore me to sleep.
Hoping that the Plenue M has a bit more aggression and bite to it.
For me the AK100ii sounded nice with my Ref1's. But it sounded safe... Everything sounded good, but it didnt really get my foot going. The N6 got my foot going, my leg, my arms. Hoping for some of that magic in a package that looks like it was made by humans intended to be used by humans
Scott
I actually have @Sefu hard at work
.I loved the Cayin n6 and how it was voiced for my IEMs, however the Plenue P1 has all this talk of faux analogue and smooth and thick etc. This will not fly with my IEM's as it will either be like listening through a thickshake pillow or bore me to sleep.
Hoping that the Plenue M has a bit more aggression and bite to it.
For me the AK100ii sounded nice with my Ref1's. But it sounded safe... Everything sounded good, but it didnt really get my foot going. The N6 got my foot going, my leg, my arms. Hoping for some of that magic in a package that looks like it was made by humans intended to be used by humans
Scott
Uncle E1
Member of the Trade: E1 Personal Audio
- Joined
- May 10, 2015
- Posts
- 408
- Likes
- 83
I am looking at this DAP as a potential.
I actually have @Sefu hard at work
I loved the Cayin n6 and how it was voiced for my IEMs, however the Plenue P1 has all this talk of faux analogue and smooth and thick etc. This will not fly with my IEM's as it will either be like listening through a thickshake pillow or bore me to sleep.
Hoping that the Plenue M has a bit more aggression and bite to it.
For me the AK100ii sounded nice with my Ref1's. But it sounded safe... Everything sounded good, but it didnt really get my foot going. The N6 got my foot going, my leg, my arms. Hoping for some of that magic in a package that looks like it was made by humans intended to be used by humans
Scott
comparing with the Cayin N6, you will be disappointed with the M
Users who are viewing this thread
