[Sound Eq]

My predjuduces against the Sony were primarily motivated by my dislike of Android as an OS, the ZX2 seemed to me to have a serious bloat ware issue. That being said I felt that the ZX2 was not as precise as the p1 in capturing subtle audio cues - particularly in classical, nor did it have the drive that I seek in my music. Again I'd stress these are MY musical tastes and emphases and may not reflect yours. As I point out on other topics, at this price-point it really is about personal preferences, capabilities (eg Bluetooth, wifi, storage or eq) and flavours, technically there isn't a huge degree of difference. You may like the flavour of an A&K, Lootoo or Sony. You really need to listen to each to work out what you like in terms of sound.
I note that you seem to seek comparison opinions on a lot of the DAP topics. It may help people to answer your question if you clarify a few things, such as what iems/headphones you use, what kinds of music you listen to, what the role of the device will be (ie commuting, study, desktop, etc). Identify your priorities in each of those elements and you may find the issue resolves itself. For example I note from your profile that you hadanve sold the Chord Hugo. Clearly something about it wasn't to your preference or need and so it didn't stay in your inventory. Advising our colleagues of things to consider or to avoid is a help.

Regards,

Giles

thanks so much for your reply
 
yes i sold the hugo and i respect everyone who likes it but to me it lacked bass and somehow i found it thin sounding but its a great device and i respect it but as you said it did not fit what i look for
 
so i am worried to buy something and then i have to sell for big loss because in my country we do not have the those daps, and i have to rely on feedback from here
 
now to the daps, its been such a big struggle and i am holding off for a long time and hoestly i can not make a decision anymore between the following daps
 
1- ZX2
2- cowon p1
3- ak240
4- hifiman 900
 
for what i look for in a dap is
 
1- warm, layered , analogue and great bass sound signature with no harshness at all
2- to have a great equalizer because i simply need to eq things especially that my music sometimes demands that due to poor recording
 
I have the shure 846 and i will use it home and on commute 
 
please help guys
i really need help in making my decsion

 

[Gilles De Rais]

thanks so much for your reply

yes i sold the hugo and i respect everyone who likes it but to me it lacked bass and somehow i found it thin sounding but its a great device and i respect it but as you said it did not fit what i look for

so i am worried to buy something and then i have to sell for big loss because in my country we do not have the those daps, and i have to rely on feedback from here

now to the daps, its been such a big struggle and i am holding off for a long time and hoestly i can not make a decision anymore between the following daps

1- ZX2
2- cowon p1
3- ak240
4- hifiman 900

for what i look for in a dap is

1- warm, layered , analogue and great bass sound signature with no harshness at all
2- to have a great equalizer because i simply need to eq things especially that my music sometimes demands that due to poor recording

I have the shure 846 and i will use it home and on commute 

please help guys
i really need help in making my decsion

I'm not sure what country you're in or where in that country you are, but if you're spending between usd 1000 and 2400, you really should try to get to the nearest place you can hear these. Whilst you've clarified your needs, you are asking effectively for third party opinions. There are enough fanboys for each of the brands you've nominated to further muddy the waters. I assume that this type of opinion is what swayed you toward the Hugo in the first place and has lead to your subsequent disappointment. In the absence of informed opinions, professional reviews may assist though beware of the overly gushing ones.

Again look at your preferences, if you want eq look at the options on each of your choices. But above all try before you buy.

Regards,

Giles

 

[Wilderbeast]

 
what i look for in a dap is
 
1- warm, layered , analogue and great bass sound signature with no harshness at all
2- to have a great equalizer because i simply need to eq things especially that my music sometimes demands that due to poor recording
 

 
The P1 is definitely warmer and thicker-sounding than the Hugo. It has no harshness at all to my ears. That said, I love my Hugo.
 
If you thought the Hugo sounded thin and lacked bass you should steer clear from the AK240 in my opinion.

 

[zerodeefex]

 
now to the daps, its been such a big struggle and i am holding off for a long time and hoestly i can not make a decision anymore between the following daps
 
1- ZX2
2- cowon p1
3- ak240
4- hifiman 900
 
for what i look for in a dap is
 
1- warm, layered , analogue and great bass sound signature with no harshness at all
2- to have a great equalizer because i simply need to eq things especially that my music sometimes demands that due to poor recording
 
I have the shure 846 and i will use it home and on commute 
 
please help guys
i really need help in making my decsion

 
Throw out ZX2. It's less resolving than the P1. As far as the rest, I haven't spent enough time with them. The AK240 seemed quite expensive so I threw it out, and the HM901 was disappointing (didn't use the balanced card).
 
what IEMs are you planning on using?

 

[db02922]

   
Would be good to hear your thoughts after you've had it for a while.
 
I'm surprised at the lack of P1 owners around these parts. I much prefer it to the AK*** players I've had. The sound won't be to everyone's taste but I'm sure some people would love it. Great UI, the quickest start-up/load time of any player I've had, no tagging issues, plays well with mac & PC, huge internal storage, plays any type of file you throw at it.

Hi Wilderbeast
 
Your comment regarding 'no tagging issues' caught my attention as I have been experiencing some myself, whereby tracks with multiple artist tags show up in the Artist display on the P1 as a not-quite-random concatenation of parts of each tag (e.g. start of one tag, end of another but not following a set pattern as to which part of each tag is displayed).  If I edit the tags down to a single artist the problem goes away.  I raised this with my vendor here in UK (AMP3) and they told me that Cowon's position at present was that the P1 does not support multiple artist tags but would be doing so in a future FW release.  Just wondering whether you are saying that you don't have this issue with multiple artists?  Or maybe you have organised all your tracks to have single artist tags?  I still have this nag in the back of my mind that I may have a HW issue so would like to put that to bed if possible.
 
Kind regards
DB

 

[Wilderbeast]

    Just wondering whether you are saying that you don't have this issue with multiple artists?  Or maybe you have organised all your tracks to have single artist tags?  I still have this nag in the back of my mind that I may have a HW issue so would like to put that to bed if possible.
 

 
Hi there. I don't have any multiple artist tags I'm afraid.
 
After having problems with an old AK120 I spent a couple of months stripping tags to the bare bones: album, artist, composer, album cover. That's all I've got now.
 
I feel for you - tagging issues can be so frustrating. It can really turn you off a player.

 

[sladewilson411]

Here it is. Pair perfectly with my Angie. This is the kind of sound i had waited for so long. The instruments separation is amazing. And the fast details pair with kind a warm iem wow. It is pleasure to listen to and i can't get it off once i have it on. This will stay with me for sure after i traded the AK120ii for this. 
 
 
 

 

 

 

[Giancarlo]

Hello Chaps,
 
New member here but I am an owner of the Plenue P1 so thought I would post a picture of my P1 and say it is a gorgeous DAP with some of the best sounds that I have heard come out of any DAP that I have listened to and that is why I am keeping this one, as it just sounds so good
 
Oh well does not look like I have permissions yet to post pictures but, it is a stunning DAP !!

 

[Sound Eq]

which has more power to drive headphones the zx2 or p1

 

[Gilles De Rais]

which has more power to drive headphones the zx2 or p1

Context, my friend, context. Are we talking 32 ohm portables or 300 ohm desktops? Planars or dynamics? The problem is that the amp technologies in the two devices is different. I suspect any of them can drive your momentums, your LCD 2 on the other hand....I'd probably use a desktop set up. You've already tried and discarded probably the only portable device capable of satisfactorily driving most headphones (the Chord Hugo). Once again I urge you to think carefully about what you see as desirable elements for your DAP.
These are portable devices that are both capable of producing high quality sound forum your 846s and your momentums.
You really seem to be stuck in a loop - no amount of other people's opinions are going to be able to replace how you perceive the sound. If you have neither the capacity to actually hear and compare the two DAPs nor the ability to return them after a trial, ask yourself if you really want to waste more money on this hobby and leave you ultimately dissatisfied with music.

Please, please, please just go by bus, car, train or foot to somewhere in your area where you can touch, feel, play and listen to these players.

Regards,

Giles

 

[db02922]

   
Hi there. I don't have any multiple artist tags I'm afraid.
 
After having problems with an old AK120 I spent a couple of months stripping tags to the bare bones: album, artist, composer, album cover. That's all I've got now.
 
I feel for you - tagging issues can be so frustrating. It can really turn you off a player.

Thanks Wilderbeast for your reply and empathy.  I will wait to see what the next few FW upgrades bring before I think about major tag surgery.  Ideally I would love to see a 'view by album artist' option in the UI, so I could get the best of both worlds.  I should say it hasn't turned me off the P1 at all, I regard it as more of an inconvenience.  The sound is what's most important after all, and fixing the tagging would bring me as close to portable perfection as I need to be.
 
Kind regards
DB

 

[Sound Eq]

Context, my friend, context. Are we talking 32 ohm portables or 300 ohm desktops? Planars or dynamics? The problem is that the amp technologies in the two devices is different. I suspect any of them can drive your momentums, your LCD 2 on the other hand....I'd probably use a desktop set up. You've already tried and discarded probably the only portable device capable of satisfactorily driving most headphones (the Chord Hugo). Once again I urge you to think carefully about what you see as desirable elements for your DAP.
These are portable devices that are both capable of producing high quality sound forum your 846s and your momentums.
You really seem to be stuck in a loop - no amount of other people's opinions are going to be able to replace how you perceive the sound. If you have neither the capacity to actually hear and compare the two DAPs nor the ability to return them after a trial, ask yourself if you really want to waste more money on this hobby and leave you ultimately dissatisfied with music.

Please, please, please just go by bus, car, train or foot to somewhere in your area where you can touch, feel, play and listen to these players.

Regards,

Giles

blieve me if it was a matter of taking a taxi or ride to try things i would , but undortaunetly for me i have to take a plane as i live in israel and i guess the nearest place to try such audio gear would be in europe
 
i want to use it with my shure 846 and audeze lcd2

 

[Gilles De Rais]

blieve me if it was a matter of taking a taxi or ride to try things i would , but undortaunetly for me i have to take a plane as i live in israel and i guess the nearest place to try such audio gear would be in europe

i want to use it with my shure 846 and audeze lcd2

My apologies for your commercial isolation....I do note that the Cowon global site http://www.cowonglobal.com indicates that there are some Israeli retailers, have you approached these?

I still think you are asking for too much. A quick check on this forum indicates only a very few people who consider the LCD2 as "portable". They by and large are running separate amps to power these phones- Pico Powers, Tralucent T1, ALO pan am, etc. This is a desktop headphone, powering from a dap will bring some noise but it will be flat and undynamic. So we're back to looking at your SE846, which any dap can power. And again you need to think of what you want in terms of sound signature and functionality.

If you re read my preferences, you can see that I was looking for a particular sound that corresponds to timbal accuracy and PRaT. Now if I was after a wide soundstage and micro detail I might have chosen something different. You'll also note that I identified that some daps, to my ears, suited some genres of music better. You've provided a very broad definition of what you're after for a sound signature but in the absence of either genres or specific musical examples it's hard to tell what you mean. On the issues of equalisers, whilst this is one of the selling points of the Plenue, have you seen what can or can't be done on the Sony? As was pointed out earlier, when you identify what you prioritise against capabilities, the answers become more apparent.

Regards,

Giles

 

[Jeff Y]

Hi, has any one been using the P1 with the Chord Hugo? I'm looking for a DAP to give digital output to the Hugo while on the go so I am asking.
Thank you.

 

[Sound Eq]

My apologies for your commercial isolation....I do note that the Cowon global site http://www.cowonglobal.com indicates that there are some Israeli retailers, have you approached these?

I still think you are asking for too much. A quick check on this forum indicates only a very few people who consider the LCD2 as "portable". They by and large are running separate amps to power these phones- Pico Powers, Tralucent T1, ALO pan am, etc. This is a desktop headphone, powering from a dap will bring some noise but it will be flat and undynamic. So we're back to looking at your SE846, which any dap can power. And again you need to think of what you want in terms of sound signature and functionality.

If you re read my preferences, you can see that I was looking for a particular sound that corresponds to timbal accuracy and PRaT. Now if I was after a wide soundstage and micro detail I might have chosen something different. You'll also note that I identified that some daps, to my ears, suited some genres of music better. You've provided a very broad definition of what you're after for a sound signature but in the absence of either genres or specific musical examples it's hard to tell what you mean. On the issues of equalisers, whilst this is one of the selling points of the Plenue, have you seen what can or can't be done on the Sony? As was pointed out earlier, when you identify what you prioritise against capabilities, the answers become more apparent.

Regards,

Giles

those listed as retailers never ever heard of the plenue p1, and they do not even have one item sold by cowon, which is just ridiculous that cowon lists them as retailers
 
anyway my genres of music are synthpop, metal, progressive rock.
 
Now when I mentioned I want to use the p1 with lcd2 I knew I will add my alo mk3 B to the mix as I am aware no one dap can drive such headphones to a joyable listening level
 
Now here it goes, I owned the fiio x3, fiio x5, fiio x3 2nd gen and with my shure the sound is dull and the eq sucks big big big time in all those I owned. So i added the digizoid fs to my fiio x3 2nd gen and now I am enjoying the sound, now I am hearing great bass, but sound stage is not that good.
 
Anyway it seems  its so difficult to answer my questions, and the only thing logical is order the p1 or sony zx2 and deal with what i get. 
 
Also the sony zx2 is not available in israel, believe me I would have knows if it was, it does not mean that we have sony retailers that they sell those items
 
thanks for your help