[Francky]

to be more precise : english, czech, nederlands, french, deutsch, hungarian, italian, polish, spanish, svenska, hebrew, and some other I can't read (non roman).

 

[Francky]

As for me, there's no difference in sound when used in DAP mode.
 
In DAC, with Audirvana, it seems to me that sound is more impactful in bass and I think there's more overall details.
 
I made a comparison on Pink Floyd The Wall Remastered (Flac/16 bits), and I prefer the sound in DAC mode. Audirvana magic?
 
That's my impressions. Too little listening since update to be sure.

 

[goldsmith83]

  So, I've had the P1 for a couple of weeks now. I've sold my AK120.
 
I'd been looking for a new player for a while and went for the P1 for a number of reasons, but mainly because it has optical out, which the Chord Hugo plays very well with. I'm not bothered about streaming, adding apps or having line-out so the exclusion of these was also welcome.
 
In my opinion the Plenue P1 is better than the AK120 in the following departments:
 

1. UI - much easier and quicker to navigate
2. Search function - not quite as good as an iPhone but the P1 beats the AK120 hands down
3. Loading/starting times - almost instant, compared with a couple of minutes each time tracks are added the AK120
4. Artwork & tags - not a single problem with the P1. When I first put music on the AK120 much of the artwork wouldn't display and I spent weeks re-tagging into a format it could read
5. Equalizer - I don't normally use the equalizer but I had a play with the P1's. It subtly changes the sound as you would hope. With the AK120 you had to wait for the equalizer to kick in, then adjust the volume. 
6. Gapless - I could never get gapless to work properly on the AK120. No such problem on the Plenue P1. There is even a setting to shorten gaps between tracks

 
The AK120 beats the Plenue P1 in these areas:
 

1. Looks
2. Size

 
 
Sound-wise, I wouldn't say the P1 is better. Wait. Yes I would. After just a few minutes with the P1 I realised I'd been missing bass. Bass on the AK120 is too quiet, and the sound overall is too cluttered and coloured. The P1's bass booms nicely (a little too elevated perhaps?) and its sound is much cleaner and more neutral. It doesn't reach the clean, natural, analogue output of the Hugo, but it's much closer than the AK120 gets.
 
Let's face it, the P1 isn't the prettiest and in comparison it's a bulky unit, but its performance exceeds what I'd hoped for. It sounds and feels like a finished product - something the AK120 could never claim.

Was yours AK120 or AK120II?

 

[Wilderbeast]

Was yours AK120 or AK120II?

It was the original AK120 that I'd had for ages. I'm actually annoyed with myself for sticking with the AK120 for so long - it has many faults.

 

[mannp]

   
I have both the P1 and AK240. 
 
 
UI- The P1 is really good for the price. I paid £650 for mine brand new in the UK. The UI is not as good as the AK240. It sometimes a bit difficulty to make selection, but you’ll get used to it. I do like the screen display on the P1. The themes included  are a lot more fun than the AK240. 
 
 
Build quality- The AK240 beats it hands down, but remember you could  buy nearly 4 P1 for the price of 1 AK240. To me the AK240 is overpriced.
 
 
SQ- I have not  tested both as I use the Hugo for DAC and AMP purpose. Not sure it would be fair test as the P1 is new and  the internal amp is never used. It's only a source for my Hugo.
 
 
UI- The P1 is really good for the price. I paid £650 for mine brand new in the UK. The UI is not as good as the AK240. It sometimes a bit difficulty to make selection, but you’ll get used to it. . The themes included in the P1  are a lot more fun than the boring ones included in the AK240.
 
 
If you have the cash and want the most expensive DAP then get the AK240, but if you want the best packaged DAP that comes close to the AK240 in every way, I either get the P1 or the AK120ii.
 
The best comparison for the P1 in price  is the AK100ii. The P1 wins hands down if you’re going to compare it to the AK100ii in every one. 

Very interesting, thanks for the info.
 
I am using the ZX1 with my Hugo and love it, but would prefer a better connection solution that the clunky one for the Sony.
 
I tested the 120II at the Bristol show and liked it to be honest, but the P1 is a much better price and seems similar in a number of ways.
 
Does the battery life of the P1 suffer with optical, I assume not, as the ZX1 battery suffers when connecting the digital connector.
 
Also, would you know if the P1 has apps like the AK has Qobuz for example?
 
And, where did you find it at that price

 

[zerodeefex]

Was yours AK120 or AK120II?

It was the original AK120 that I'd had for ages. I'm actually annoyed with myself for sticking with the AK120 for so long - it has many faults.

I prefer the original AK120 to the revision in terms of sound by a wide margin.

 

[Spamateur]

 
Very interesting, thanks for the info.
 
I am using the ZX1 with my Hugo and love it, but would prefer a better connection solution that the clunky one for the Sony.
 
I tested the 120II at the Bristol show and liked it to be honest, but the P1 is a much better price and seems similar in a number of ways.
 
Does the battery life of the P1 suffer with optical, I assume not, as the ZX1 battery suffers when connecting the digital connector.
 
Also, would you know if the P1 has apps like the AK has Qobuz for example?
 
And, where did you find it at that price

P1 has no apps as it's not Android-based. It's a custom Linux OS. It also has no wifi or connectivity options outside of physical ones, so streaming apps wouldn't be usable even if it had them. However, as I solely use the P1 as a standalone mobile DAP, this wasn't an issue for me personally.

 

[mannp]

  P1 has no apps as it's not Android-based. It's a custom Linux OS. It also has no wifi or connectivity options outside of physical ones, so streaming apps wouldn't be usable even if it had them. However, as I solely use the P1 as a standalone mobile DAP, this wasn't an issue for me personally.

 
I see, thanks for the clarification Spamateur.
 
That's a bit of a blow for me then...mmh

 

[RAFA]

  Hi,
 
Thanks Rafa for the link. I installed this beta.
 
I'm presently trying the Plenue 1 as a DAC with Audirvana Plus and Q701 headphones (no external amp). It works flawlessly. Great sound.
 
The fact Cowon didn't implement the DAC function initially was the greater gripe against Plenue 1 for me.
 
Plenue 1 was a great device, it is now better.
 
Franck

 
Thats great! Damn I need to safe up money for this.

 

[Spamateur]

   
I see, thanks for the clarification Spamateur.
 
That's a bit of a blow for me then...mmh

No problem! Think of it this way: Cowon got the sound so damn good on the P1 that they wanted to make sure they could deliver it at a better price than the competition, hence cutting out a lot of the add-on features that aren't part of the core operation. The AK120 had bluetooth, for example, but it was basically useless when I tried to use it.
 
I think for the sound quality the Cowon is a steal at the $999 price it's selling for here in the US. I don't own the AK240 but I'm not even considering shelling out the ridiculous 2.5x the price for one, which I was actually considering doing for a long time. I really can't imagine another DAP being better for what I want out of a portable solution for my flac library. I felt the same when I got the Earwerkz Legend R CIEMs. I finally hit "that sound" that I wanted out of an IEM.
 
Yes, a couple extra features would be nice, but with the addition of a USB DAC option that apparently in beta, I'll basically be set for all my needs. I don't miss any of the extra features of the ZX1 or AK120 at all, personally.

 

[coolmingli]

AK240 sound better, when you reach at certain levels, the SQ margin is very small, if you want better sound, you would have to pay the 2.5x price.

 

[Papajoe]

AK240 sound better, when you reach at certain levels, the SQ margin is very small, if you want better sound, you would have to pay the 2.5x price.

agreed...i did do a AB demo with the ak240 n p1 ..indeed the differences is very minimal. .n ihmo...definitely not worth that huge price different even with that xtra storage wireless etc features...not mentioning that with the new 1.98 update, the p1 definitely gets my 2 thumbs up for price vs performance ratio..

 

[coolmingli]

To my ears, the AK240 wins over the P1 at better resolution, analytical details, highs are more extender, balanced and neutral,  this is more obvious when connected to the Micro or Pure 2.
That is just me, others may have different thoughts.

 

[Mimouille]

  To my ears, the AK240 wins over the P1 at better resolution, analytical details, highs are more extender, balanced and neutral,  this is more obvious when connected to the Micro or Pure 2.
That is just me, others may have different thoughts.

This afternoon, I listened to the RWAK240 and Lab1 for a few hours. At first I like the combo better than with P1, but after one hour it was a bit fatiguing. I switched back to P1 - Lab 1 and the combo is smoother.
 
I think it is more a matter of signature / synergy and mood than performance at this level.

 

[coolmingli]

  This afternoon, I listened to the RWAK240 and Lab1 for a few hours. At first I like the combo better than with P1, but after one hour it was a bit fatiguing. I switched back to P1 - Lab 1 and the combo is smoother.
 
I think it is more a matter of signature / synergy and mood than performance at this level.

Michael, you must like dark signature, you don't like Mentor, you sold the Nt6, you always go back to SE 5, I agree AK240 sometimes could be too much, but I like it, I like bright Sig, I don't  listen with extender period of time, usually less than a hour.