Cowon s9 vs creative zen x-fi2
May 6, 2010 at 8:02 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16

Benchia001

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Hi, this is my first post and I would like to ask about the difference in sound quality between the to players I stated in the thread name. I currently own a iPod touch 2nd gen 16gb. However, I am rather Displeased with the sound quality. I m also a metal fan. My fav song is waking the demon by bullet for my valentines. I used to own a samsung yh-820 a rather old model... And on the samsung mp3 player I can get the feel of being in the performance, but on the iPod touch it juz seem flat, using the equaliser makes it worse. After researching the net for few days, I am quite interested with this two players, the cowon s9 and the creative x-fi2. As I am in Singapore I am able to buy the 64gb version of of it but I really want to know which is the best. Of course sound quality is the top piority... I have a tight budget though around 350 usd is what I can really afford... The x-fi2 would cost 230 usd which is within my range. But for the cowon s9, I am not too sure of the price in local stores as some forums stated that it was overpriced. So does the sound quality between the 2 players has much difference? I am willing to spend 3 hrs at the audio store to listen for the difference, but I want to know more about the sound difference before testing it. I am using a denon c252 headphone, quite a decent one.. I know the x-fi2 has a poorer touch screen
 
May 6, 2010 at 8:55 AM Post #3 of 16
Not having heard the X-fi2 I still recommend the S9. The latest Creative player I have heard is the Creative Zen, and unless the X-fi2 has improved the sound quality a lot compared to the Zen, it is probably an okay player but nothing more. The S9 might need a bit of tweaking of the EQ, but once you have found a good setting, the sounds that come out of it are really nice.
 
So I second the vote for S9.
 
May 6, 2010 at 9:01 AM Post #4 of 16
S9 all the way. It might take a little while to experiment with the EQ and sound enhancements, but it will be worth it....and it also supports gapless playback, if you're into that sorta thing. Also, the screen is way better looking, if you ever planned on watching any video.
 
May 6, 2010 at 10:29 AM Post #6 of 16
Nope. Frm what I saw on the net, iPod touch sound quality sux. ESP in terms of eq and the musics sound flat to me... My metal songs sound more like some mad people screaming... However, I want to have more value for money.. Next up after my pmp I want to buy a better earpiece.. Forgot what it was called but it is a hybrid 1 with balanced armature drivers for mid highs and highs and the dynamic driver for mid lows and bass... I am kind of a bassy fan... But cowon s9 is rather overpriced here due to the dumb importer which make the price damn expensive, but Thers local warranty though.. Tink I shud make a trip down to the audio store and spend a few hrs listening to the sound quality... And then burn a hole in my pocket.. Damn..
 
May 6, 2010 at 10:46 AM Post #7 of 16


Quote:
Forget about zen, your ipod sounds better, vote for s9


I wouldn't go that far. If it was a choice between iPod & Creative, I'd say go for the X-fi2. According to some reviews it sounds better than the last few Creative players. And to the OP the iPod sound is flat and dull.
I'd say that Creative players can sound nice, but there isn't that much bass. In that case the Cowon S9 would be a better option (despite it's bass roll-off). Or you could get a cheap headphone amp like the Fiio E5 to go with the X-fi2. The bass boost can help a bit.
 
May 7, 2010 at 3:42 AM Post #9 of 16
The Sony X seems nice, but expensive. I have not heard it, so I cannot comment on the SQ.
 
Apparently Sony have recently announced that they will discontinue the X. So if you can find one at a good price, it would be best to buy sooner rather than later...
 
May 7, 2010 at 5:07 AM Post #10 of 16
tink I would either go for the cowon or x-fi2. But as far as I know the x-fi2 has a teribble touch screen and a lousy screen though.. May go for cowon but tink rather exp.. The 16gb here cost 300usd. Not sure bout the 32gb... As I nid more storage as I m Now into loseless audio, storage would be a manor factor.. I am shocked with my iPod touch as it tend to have pauses for short period of time due to the hardware when playing wav... Seems like ipodtouch more meant for videos and games and net, audio is rubbish... Perhaps I can get the cowon at a cheaper price if I buy it together with my father's av receiver.. Seems like I nid to find reviews on av receiver and spend maybe 5 hrs at the shop listening.. Hehe but my ipodtouch is kind of useful after jailbread and I m downloading flac's directly from the iPod touch but can't play them.. What a pain
 
May 7, 2010 at 10:39 AM Post #11 of 16
Based on my experience with creative, its bassy. Im not quite a fab of the series(xcept the zenstone) so my vote goes to s9.
 
May 24, 2010 at 6:09 PM Post #13 of 16
230 usd for a 64GB x-fi2?  Where could you find such a bargain?
 
hmm, as for me, maybe the x-fi2 is the best among recent players from Creative, including zen micro, Zen, zen mx, x-fi1.  But the sony x1000 is a little better in SQ.
Why not just try it first?
 
Mar 20, 2018 at 12:53 AM Post #14 of 16
I have a Creative ZEN X-Fi2 16GB and am using it together with a 16GB micro SD card.

I'm wondering if there's a limit for external storage? ZEN X-Fi2 players where sold back in the day up to 64GB.

I'm wondering if I can use a 64GB micro SD card on my X-Fi2. I want more storage but don't want to get another player unless I absolutely have to.

Any thoughts, if a 64GB micro SD would work on my 16GB X-Fi2?

Thanks for reading.
 
Mar 20, 2018 at 1:18 AM Post #15 of 16
I have a Creative ZEN X-Fi2 16GB and am using it together with a 16GB micro SD card.

I'm wondering if there's a limit for external storage? ZEN X-Fi2 players where sold back in the day up to 64GB.

I'm wondering if I can use a 64GB micro SD card on my X-Fi2. I want more storage but don't want to get another player unless I absolutely have to.

Any thoughts, if a 64GB micro SD would work on my 16GB X-Fi2?

Thanks for reading.

The Creative ZEN X-Fi2 only supports microSD cards with a capacity up to 32GB.

There are different types of microSD cards.

The maximum capacity of a SDHC microSD card is 32GB.

This website may give you more information.
 

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