[PaganDL]

Yes it does...thank-you for responding That's kind of what I figured-- a big lure to this player was its capacity for EQ/sound manipulation, and I figure that if I'm not happy with any element I can just adjust it until I am. I have heard lots of great things about the "Cowan sound" get the sense they're something of the hidden gems of the DAP world for those who prize sound quality above all. Stoked to hook up the PR to my Solaris!

Hi @Rockwell75,

Honestly, as stated, it all depends on you, for Cowon Sound, subjectively & personally, I much prefer Plenue D or Plenue D 2 to R's sound, particularly since both Ds have a louder sound level at lower volumes & on the go have less issues in a tight pocket on the go.
I don't know whether Cowon Sound would be considered a hidden gem or not as it all depends on whether you do research & what your preferences are, more importantly, trust your own ears & not follow the hype train.
As a general rule, there is often too much hype & unhelpful information on headfi, especially with a lot of sheep leading the charge, this is certainly not a dig by any means, it just is.

Also, from experience, the Solaris doesn't play well with complex music which is not really surprising given it only has one crossover point which seems to be placed in the lows only though your mileage will certainly vary.

I be curious to see how things turn out for you.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Rockwell75]

Hi @Rockwell75,

Honestly, as stated, it all depends on you, for Cowon Sound, subjectively & personally, I much prefer Plenue D or Plenue D 2 to R's sound, particularly since both Ds have a louder sound level at lower volumes & on the go have less issues in a tight pocket on the go.
I don't know whether Cowon Sound would be considered a hidden gem or not as it all depends on whether you do research & what your preferences are, more importantly, trust your own ears & not follow the hype train.
As a general rule, there is often too much hype & unhelpful information on headfi, especially with a lot of sheep leading the charge, this is certainly not a dig by any means, it just is.

Also, from experience, the Solaris doesn't play well with complex music which is not really surprising given it only has one crossover point which seems to be placed in the lows only though your mileage will certainly vary.

I be curious to see how things turn out for you.

Hope you have a great day !

I'm not sure what you mean...different sound level would imply a different volume, no? What are the differences in the sound signatures? I'm also not sure you mean about Solaris-- it's handled everything I've thrown at it beautifully...my favorite IEM But I'm not in this thread to talk about that

 

[PaganDL]

Hi @Rockwell75,

I'm not sure what you mean...different sound level would imply a different volume, no?

Sound Level generally refers to how clearly one can hear sound at any volume as opposed to actual volume which is based on db measurement.

What are the differences in the sound signatures?

If you mean between both Plenue Ds & the R, pretty much none where sound signature is concerned, Cowon Sound is hard to beat, also subjectively & personally, depends on you.

I'm also not sure you mean about Solaris-- it's handled everything I've thrown at it beautifully...my favorite IEM But I'm not in this thread to talk about that

No, definitely not the thread to discuss the Solaris but once again, it comes down to personal preference.
In brief, there are some things the Solaris does which I don't like but that's just me.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Rockwell75]

Delete

 

[Rockwell75]

For 1 - do you mean the elapsed time on the now playing screen?

I don’t have an R anymore so can’t remember the setting, but I remember getting the Plenue V and liking how the V showed elapsed minutes:seconds at the bottom of the screen and preferring that to just a count of total seconds on the R. Then I realized there was an option on the R to change it to minutes:seconds too. Felt like a dunce for not seeing that option sooner!

What were your impressions of the R? Could you compare to a Sony ZX300?

 

[someyoungguy]

What were your impressions of the R? Could you compare to a Sony ZX300?

I see you have the ZX300. I had the R at the same time as the Plenue V, then sold the R and had the V and ZX300A at the same time. So I never had the R and ZX300A to compare side by side, but with that caveat I listened to both extensively and think I have a pretty good feel for them.

Maybe I should start with my impressions of the ZX300A, so you can see if they line up with yours. I find the sound is hard to describe, so I’ll start with the easy to describe: it has fantastic definition; quite clinical in it’s accuracy, particularly in the bass there’s a better sense of the actual note of deep bass than most other players I’ve heard - things that just sound low and deep on other players have a more definite note or frequency on the ZX300A, if that makes sense. Also, the Sony is quite a naturally bassy player; I would quite often use BBE effects on Plenues, but the ZX300 is quite bass heavy without. People love the JetEffect settings on Plenues and the ZX300 does have quite good EQ and filter settings too, which are quite subtle but natural sounding.

What I find hard to describe about the ZX300 is the tone. I’ve heard people call it warm, I don’t know if I’d use that term but it isn’t neutral. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it’s as if the initial instant hit when a note first sounds is more “rounded” - it has a velvety smooth kind of tone.

In contrast, I think the R is the more neutral of the two. It has quite a clear, crisp, natural sound. It reminded me a bit of the iFi sound - where the focus of energy is on the mids and lower treble. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the larger screen Plenue players, but they have a smooth, fast UI and quick start up time, and very intuitive to use, so the R has that going for it.

The only reason I moved on from the R was that I could hear the bass with it, but didn’t *feel* the bass. I hear people say that can happen when a driving source is underpowered. I was using easy to drive headphones - B&W P7s and Meze 99 classics- but think the R maybe still didn’t have quite enough juice for my liking. The balanced output was definitely better for bass impact and definition though. I don’t have any IEMs so don’t know how they’d sound paired with the R.

When the xCAN was released I immediately wondered what the balanced out of the R would sound like passed through the xCAN for some extra power. I actually have an xCAN on the way in the post and am half tempted to pick up another R to try it out, although I had been intending to upgrade to a Plenue 2 mk II - been cycling through a few DAPs in the last couple of years and just want to settle on one to keep for the next 5 years or so. Oddly, the best sounding Plenue to my ears (that I’ve heard out of the P1, M, D, R and V) has been the V, which is one of their cheapest but suffers from the smaller screen and laggy UI of their small player range.

 

[Rockwell75]

I see you have the ZX300. I had the R at the same time as the Plenue V, then sold the R and had the V and ZX300A at the same time. So I never had the R and ZX300A to compare side by side, but with that caveat I listened to both extensively and think I have a pretty good feel for them.

Maybe I should start with my impressions of the ZX300A, so you can see if they line up with yours. I find the sound is hard to describe, so I’ll start with the easy to describe: it has fantastic definition; quite clinical in it’s accuracy, particularly in the bass there’s a better sense of the actual note of deep bass than most other players I’ve heard - things that just sound low and deep on other players have a more definite note or frequency on the ZX300A, if that makes sense. Also, the Sony is quite a naturally bassy player; I would quite often use BBE effects on Plenues, but the ZX300 is quite bass heavy without. People love the JetEffect settings on Plenues and the ZX300 does have quite good EQ and filter settings too, which are quite subtle but natural sounding.

What I find hard to describe about the ZX300 is the tone. I’ve heard people call it warm, I don’t know if I’d use that term but it isn’t neutral. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it’s as if the initial instant hit when a note first sounds is more “rounded” - it has a velvety smooth kind of tone.

In contrast, I think the R is the more neutral of the two. It has quite a clear, crisp, natural sound. It reminded me a bit of the iFi sound - where the focus of energy is on the mids and lower treble. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the larger screen Plenue players, but they have a smooth, fast UI and quick start up time, and very intuitive to use, so the R has that going for it.

The only reason I moved on from the R was that I could hear the bass with it, but didn’t *feel* the bass. I hear people say that can happen when a driving source is underpowered. I was using easy to drive headphones - B&W P7s and Meze 99 classics- but think the R maybe still didn’t have quite enough juice for my liking. The balanced output was definitely better for bass impact and definition though. I don’t have any IEMs so don’t know how they’d sound paired with the R.

When the xCAN was released I immediately wondered what the balanced out of the R would sound like passed through the xCAN for some extra power. I actually have an xCAN on the way in the post and am half tempted to pick up another R to try it out, although I had been intending to upgrade to a Plenue 2 mk II - been cycling through a few DAPs in the last couple of years and just want to settle on one to keep for the next 5 years or so. Oddly, the best sounding Plenue to my ears (that I’ve heard out of the P1, M, D, R and V) has been the V, which is one of their cheapest but suffers from the smaller screen and laggy UI of their small player range.

Interesting...thanks for your impressions. Reviews of these devices are hard to come by. I have a Plenue R coming in the mail that I am hoping to have within the next few days. My aim is to compare it to the ZX300 with my Campfire Solaris and keep one or the other. I really like the ZX300 in a lot of ways but I've heard some describe the sound as "veiled" so it will be interesting to see if I can notice a difference with the Plenue R there-- I'm wondering if that's what you were hearing when describing the "rounded" tone. The ZX300 also hisses a little bit so not enough to bother me the vast majority of the time. I've been curious about Cowon for a while with their reputation for clear and detailed sound and the R seemed like the best bet for me in terms of battery life and storage. I'll probably pickup a flagship level player at some point but it's not really feasible now It's interesting that there is differences in sound between Cowan players but I'm hoping to try out and negate that with Jet Effects (another big draw to Cowon). I have read that the Plenue R isn't as powerful as some players and better suited to IEMs. One feature I find very weak with the ZX300 is making playlists-- I find it very cumbersome. I also miss having a "favorites" feature. If the Plenue excels in these areas and is reasonably portable I will probably wind up keeping it. Also, since I'm using IEMs that have a fairly good bass impact with the ZX300 I'll be sure to comment on my experience with the PR in that regard.

 

[iciclevan]

Hi, perhaps this is old news but, I think that I finally solved the playlist conundrum that other users had been experiencing a while back.
Using Playlist Creator, I assembled an m3u file and then dropped it into the MUSIC folder (the original one that was there when I first turned the device on).
With the Plenue D, I could create a separate "Playlists" folder and keep them all together but the R doesn't seem to like that.
Anyway, I've tried it twice and both have been recognized by the player and work perfectly.
Now, if I was only able to sort by Year (which I can do with the PD), I'd be satisfied...

 

[Photoman]

Hi, perhaps this is old news but, I think that I finally solved the playlist conundrum that other users had been experiencing a while back.
Using Playlist Creator, I assembled an m3u file and then dropped it into the MUSIC folder (the original one that was there when I first turned the device on).
With the Plenue D, I could create a separate "Playlists" folder and keep them all together but the R doesn't seem to like that.
Anyway, I've tried it twice and both have been recognized by the player and work perfectly.
Now, if I was only able to sort by Year (which I can do with the PD), I'd be satisfied...

Or you can make playlist on the fly and use the keyboard. But the year playlist would be nice though like on the D. I sent cowon a message on that.

 

[iciclevan]

True, but I think that you can only have one Favorites list if you do that, right?
I sent them a message this morning as well so hopefully they'll take it into consideration.
I'd also like to have the New files category sorted into "1 Day", "1 Week", etc. like it is on the D.

 

[Photoman]

True, but I think that you can only have one Favorites list if you do that, right?
I sent them a message this morning as well so hopefully they'll take it into consideration.
I'd also like to have the New files category sorted into "1 Day", "1 Week", etc. like it is on the D.

When I go to my favorites icon I can make as many playlist I want. I have about 12 already. Yes I ask them about that too the new icon

 

[Photoman]

When I go to my favorites icon I can make as many playlist I want. I have about 12 already. Yes I ask them about that too the new icon

 

[Photoman]

True, but I think that you can only have one Favorites list if you do that, right?
I sent them a message this morning as well so hopefully they'll take it into consideration.
I'd also like to have the New files category sorted into "1 Day", "1 Week", etc. like it is on the D.

Did that work for you?

 

[Rockwell75]

True, but I think that you can only have one Favorites list if you do that, right?
I sent them a message this morning as well so hopefully they'll take it into consideration.
I'd also like to have the New files category sorted into "1 Day", "1 Week", etc. like it is on the D.

When I go to my favorites icon I can make as many playlist I want. I have about 12 already. Yes I ask them about that too the new icon

What do you guys think of the Plenue R in terms of sound quality?

 

[iciclevan]

Yes, I see what you were talking about, thanks.
I didn't realise that you had to start on the Now Playing screen (I was trying to create one from the icon on the main toolbar).