[poka]

It was a geeks rendez-vous 

 

[Spamateur]

Ha! Nothing to be ashamed of there. 

 

[AudioMan2013]

Decided to keep the P1 instead of returning it....
 
CONS
1. Line out is not a true line out and sounds horrible when connected to my home system.  When compared to any other component, including the Ibasso DX100's line out, it is clear to me that the P1 was meant strictly for easy to drive headphones and nothing more.
2. The built in amp needs to be more powerful to drive audiophile grade headphones.  Any volume above 120 starts to distort.  It does drive my Sennheiser HD650 okay at volume 110 for low to mid volume listening.  With my JVC SZ2000, it drives them wonderfully around volume 75 with deep tight bass that is high in quality and quantity.
3. Wish it had a SD slot instead of micro SD.  SD has much higher capacities available.
4. Wish it could be used as a USB DAC.
5. USB 2 not USB 3
 
PROS (why I decided to keep it)
1. Most analog sounding DAP I've ever heard, sound very smooth - reminds me of the days of tape and reel.  No listening fatigue for me, can listen to it day and night.
2. User interface - extremely fast, only has the bare essentials for listening to high quality audio, nothing extra to slow things down.  Can handle 7,000 files I have on it easily.
3. Picosecond jitter clock - my ears can tell that it provides a solid foundation for all music, including low bit rate mp3 files.
4. Equalizer - one of the best I've seen in a portable player, so many options and settings.

 

[QsTree]

Love my P1 in combination with the Sennheiser IE800. For me a perfect match.
Line out is a weak point of the P1. Instead of this I use the optical out which works and sound perfect.
Can't wait to pair the P1 with the Core from Mass Fidelity. Perfect sound just everywhere.
 
In case not already posted...
try to switch of your P1 and keep the power button pressed for >10 sec. When the button is released the blue LED will light up permanently until the button is pressed again.

 

[HungryPanda]

P1 and Unique Melody Miracles..... a match made in heaven

 

[Spamateur]

Glad to see this DAP had some other buyers. I read through the entire thread when I was thinking of buying one and the interest level dropped off significantly after the initial impressions and reviews came out. I can't understand why. It really does play in the same league as the best DAPs out there.

 

[Papajoe]

Probably because this is Cowon'S first serious audiophile grade dap released in the market after s9 n j3...in between that those models are basically more mainstream multimedia players...maybe that explain why peeps are somehow sceptical ....when choosing my new dap...i give myself a good listen between the p1 ak120ii n ak240....where imho the 240 hands down the best among the other 2 but not by a huge margin in terms of sq...n i dun need the xtra storage bluetooth wifi thingy thus went with P1 at less than half the cost of the 240...it does what it do best...play excellent hifi grade sound with the UI that im so familiar with n the jet effects which is capable of all kinds exciting sound to suit my listening mode n pairing with it with the xtra headroom that the jha roxanne provides...this combo never fail to put a smile on my face everytime...

 

[Z06_Pilot]

Probably because this is Cowon'S first serious audiophile grade dap released in the market after s9 n j3...in between that those models are basically more mainstream multimedia players...maybe that explain why peeps are somehow sceptical ....when choosing my new dap...i give myself a good listen between the p1 ak120ii n ak240....where imho the 240 hands down the best among the other 2 but not by a huge margin in terms of sq...n i dun need the xtra storage bluetooth wifi thingy thus went with P1 at less than half the cost of the 240...it does what it do best...play excellent hifi grade sound with the UI that im so familiar with n the jet effects which is capable of all kinds exciting sound to suit my listening mode n pairing with it with the xtra headroom that the jha roxanne provides...this combo never fail to put a smile on my face everytime...

With the P1 and the Roxanne's, you have a potent private listening experience for sure.....

 

[gadgetheaven]

Folks I took delivery of a p1 yesterday. I'm using a K702 65th anniversary as my cans. It could power it on headphone mode but sounded thin and lacking body. So I then used the advice on this thread and set earphone mode and vol max out to my fiio e12. This sounded a bit better but lacked something still and I could rotate the e12 volume to 6 o'clock and it still was not loud enough. So as a last resort I tried headphone mode max vol out to e12. This was more like it and now I could hear some sound quality. Does any one else have this dilemma? The dx90 before the p1 amped much better and to my ears sounded good. Am I better returning my k702 and going with an easier to drive k550?

 

[Mark76]

Folks I took delivery of a p1 yesterday. I'm using a K702 65th anniversary as my cans. It could power it on headphone mode but sounded thin and lacking body. So I then used the advice on this thread and set earphone mode and vol max out to my fiio e12. This sounded a bit better but lacked something still and I could rotate the e12 volume to 6 o'clock and it still was not loud enough. So as a last resort I tried headphone mode max vol out to e12. This was more like it and now I could hear some sound quality. Does any one else have this dilemma? The dx90 before the p1 amped much better and to my ears sounded good. Am I better returning my k702 and going with an easier to drive k550?

you placed the FiiO e12 maximum swich gain?

 

[doublea71]

  P1 and Unique Melody Miracles..... a match made in heaven

Oh yeah? Do tell!

 

[HungryPanda]

My first ciems were Minerva Artist Pro (silicon) used on a Cowon J3, so I updated my player to an iBasso DX50. Then I decided that the Minerva pro's didn't cut it so after a lot of deliberation I went with Unique Melody Miracles. Wow was I blown away with the clarity and so much so I soon realised the DX50 (as much as I love it still) didn't do the miracles justice. After many hours of research I was caught between the Calyx M or The Cowon Plenue P1. Having always liked the Cowon sound I dived in and bought the P1. I only play flac albums and the warmth of the P1 was astounding (almost  vinyl sounding). I am using no equalization just set on normal setting. I have been using P1 constantly for several months now, listening to Rock, Jazz, Blues, Folk & Techno. To say I'm a pig in **** whilst listening doesn't even come close to explaining the wonder of both pieces of equipment.

 

[HungryPanda]

P1 direct out is via mini optical cable. I have used such a cable to the Cambridge Audio DAC100 connected to my Roksan Kandy II amp and it sounds Incredible. The 3.5mmm earphone socket doubles as a mini optical socket and will probably need to use an amp with optical in .

 

[AudioMan2013]

Folks I took delivery of a p1 yesterday. I'm using a K702 65th anniversary as my cans. It could power it on headphone mode but sounded thin and lacking body. So I then used the advice on this thread and set earphone mode and vol max out to my fiio e12. This sounded a bit better but lacked something still and I could rotate the e12 volume to 6 o'clock and it still was not loud enough. So as a last resort I tried headphone mode max vol out to e12. This was more like it and now I could hear some sound quality. Does any one else have this dilemma? The dx90 before the p1 amped much better and to my ears sounded good. Am I better returning my k702 and going with an easier to drive k550?

Yep, Cowon really messed up the P1.  I am keeping mine and only using with easy to drive phones such as the JVC SZ2000 and Sennheiser IE80.  That is when the P1 sounds its best.  The built in amp is not strong enough to drive many cans and they don't have a true line out.  My P1 at max volume either with headphone off or on sounds very distorted.  I have tried many different amps and cans and these are my findings.  For me there is no point in using the optical toslink out. It does sounds amazing with the IE80's.  I only recommend purchasing the P1 to those who want to use with easy to drive phones.

 

[cheznous]

Yep, Cowon really messed up the P1.  I am keeping mine and only using with easy to drive phones such as the JVC SZ2000 and Sennheiser IE80.  That is when the P1 sounds its best.  The built in amp is not strong enough to drive many cans and they don't have a true line out.  My P1 at max volume either with headphone off or on sounds very distorted.  I have tried many different amps and cans and these are my findings.  For me there is no point in using the optical toslink out. It does sounds amazing with the IE80's.  I only recommend purchasing the P1 to those who want to use with easy to drive phones.

Yet I use line out, max vol in earphone mode, all find it works fantastic with all my headhone amps. Currently using my Lehmann Traveller listening to early Can. No distortion at all.