Covenant
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2005
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[size=medium]Introduction[/size]
The Cowon S9 has been on the block for a little while now, but there have been few reports as to how it performs from a sound quality perspective. While the iPod Touch is a more direct competitor for the S9 in terms of design and features, I wanted to evaluate the S9 on a purely SQ basis against my benchmark DAP, the E10.
The iRiver E10 was arguably the best-sounding player iRiver has released since the mighty iHP120-140 and H320/H340 series. Most of their more recent players have sadly deviated from this heritage of well-built and good-sounding players, and have lead to dissapointments such as the E100 and Lplayer.
I have no past experience with Cowon/iAudio players, but I have owned both the H320 and the E10 for a period of some years each, so I'm familiar with the iRiver trademark sound at its best. I've also owned the S9 for about two months now, familiarising myself with its sound and burning it in.
[size=medium]The test setup[/size]
In comparing the S9 to the E10, the following setup was used:
S9 on volume 40, playing EAC-ripped and encoded FLAC files
E10 on volume 40, playing EAC-ripped and encoded Ogg Vorbis files at quality 9 setting
APureSound mini to mini interconnect
HeadAmp Pico for amplification
HD600 as the test 'phones
Pics of the lineup (apologies for crappy camera phone quality):
Caveat: I did not have time to re-rip my music to WAV for the E10, so the quality of tracks used between the two players is not the same. The S9 is playing lossless, while the E10 is using top-quality lossy. Realistically speaking, one cannot tell a difference out of a portable source anyway. I have tried comparing Q9 ogg Vs FLAC on a portable before, and cannot hear the difference, thus it should have no impact on the validity of this test. Onward!
[size=medium]Comparison[/size]
I have used a fairly mixed bag of music genres to compare the two players, including progressive metal, heavy metal, and acoustic female vocal. Below are the tracks used and a comparison of how each player performed.
Track 1:
Nightwish - Dark Passion Play - The Islander
Cowon S9:
Very 3-dimensional and sense of space when the storm starts playing in the intro. Instruments remained well seperated, decays were short enough to keep each image distinct, but long enough to allow bass rumbles and string plucks to reverberate.
E10:
Immediately one notices a decrease in the airy 3-dimensionality exhibited by the S9. Decays seem slightly longer, causing plucked instruments to sound less vibrant than on the Cowon. Soundstage seems slightly flattened.
Track 2:
Fleetwood Mac - Landslide
Cowon S9:
Definitely an increase in treble clarity on this player. Guitars come in clearer and sharper, although Stevie's vocals sound slightly distant.
E10:
Stevie's vocals become smoother and fuller on this player, displaying the E10's greater warmth to good effect. Guitar plucks in the background are less dominant and less easy to define, due to a slightly rolled off treble presentation and too heavy a note decay causing images to lose some of their seperation.
Track 3:
Metallica - Black Album - Enter Sandman
Cowon S9:
Perhaps a modicum more bass depth than the E10, very close here though. Increased clarity makes the intro more gripping. Slightly more defined vocals, although vocals also seem thinner.
E10:
Increased decay makes this track sound heavier, which is a good thing in this case. Vocals lose their slight thinness from the S9, however they lose some definition as well. Otherwise very close between the two players.
Update: further comparisons on post #15.
[size=medium]Summary and verdict[/size]
The Cowon S9 seems to have the nod over the E10 in the frequency extremes, particularly in treble extension and clarity. Imaging and layering also seems slightly better on the S9, with a shorter decay and less warmth causing less "bleed" of images into each other. The iRiver's greater warmth and longer decays can be beneficial in some areas, though, such as the soft female vocals in Landslide, and for adding body to otherwise thin vocals.
From a purely SQ perspective, my nod goes to the S9 as the superior player, as the added seperation and clarity create a better listening experience when paired with naturally-warm and musical headphones like the HD600 (or my portables, the IE8's for that matter). Add to the fact that the S9 brings a host of superior features to the table, as well - longer battery life, better audio and video format support, bigger and much clearer AMOLED screen, and a true drag-and-drop file support without having to use any bundled software, and the decision becomes clear-cut.
The Cowon S9 has been on the block for a little while now, but there have been few reports as to how it performs from a sound quality perspective. While the iPod Touch is a more direct competitor for the S9 in terms of design and features, I wanted to evaluate the S9 on a purely SQ basis against my benchmark DAP, the E10.
The iRiver E10 was arguably the best-sounding player iRiver has released since the mighty iHP120-140 and H320/H340 series. Most of their more recent players have sadly deviated from this heritage of well-built and good-sounding players, and have lead to dissapointments such as the E100 and Lplayer.
I have no past experience with Cowon/iAudio players, but I have owned both the H320 and the E10 for a period of some years each, so I'm familiar with the iRiver trademark sound at its best. I've also owned the S9 for about two months now, familiarising myself with its sound and burning it in.
[size=medium]The test setup[/size]
In comparing the S9 to the E10, the following setup was used:
S9 on volume 40, playing EAC-ripped and encoded FLAC files
E10 on volume 40, playing EAC-ripped and encoded Ogg Vorbis files at quality 9 setting
APureSound mini to mini interconnect
HeadAmp Pico for amplification
HD600 as the test 'phones
Pics of the lineup (apologies for crappy camera phone quality):
Caveat: I did not have time to re-rip my music to WAV for the E10, so the quality of tracks used between the two players is not the same. The S9 is playing lossless, while the E10 is using top-quality lossy. Realistically speaking, one cannot tell a difference out of a portable source anyway. I have tried comparing Q9 ogg Vs FLAC on a portable before, and cannot hear the difference, thus it should have no impact on the validity of this test. Onward!
[size=medium]Comparison[/size]
I have used a fairly mixed bag of music genres to compare the two players, including progressive metal, heavy metal, and acoustic female vocal. Below are the tracks used and a comparison of how each player performed.
Track 1:
Nightwish - Dark Passion Play - The Islander
Cowon S9:
Very 3-dimensional and sense of space when the storm starts playing in the intro. Instruments remained well seperated, decays were short enough to keep each image distinct, but long enough to allow bass rumbles and string plucks to reverberate.
E10:
Immediately one notices a decrease in the airy 3-dimensionality exhibited by the S9. Decays seem slightly longer, causing plucked instruments to sound less vibrant than on the Cowon. Soundstage seems slightly flattened.
Track 2:
Fleetwood Mac - Landslide
Cowon S9:
Definitely an increase in treble clarity on this player. Guitars come in clearer and sharper, although Stevie's vocals sound slightly distant.
E10:
Stevie's vocals become smoother and fuller on this player, displaying the E10's greater warmth to good effect. Guitar plucks in the background are less dominant and less easy to define, due to a slightly rolled off treble presentation and too heavy a note decay causing images to lose some of their seperation.
Track 3:
Metallica - Black Album - Enter Sandman
Cowon S9:
Perhaps a modicum more bass depth than the E10, very close here though. Increased clarity makes the intro more gripping. Slightly more defined vocals, although vocals also seem thinner.
E10:
Increased decay makes this track sound heavier, which is a good thing in this case. Vocals lose their slight thinness from the S9, however they lose some definition as well. Otherwise very close between the two players.
Update: further comparisons on post #15.
[size=medium]Summary and verdict[/size]
The Cowon S9 seems to have the nod over the E10 in the frequency extremes, particularly in treble extension and clarity. Imaging and layering also seems slightly better on the S9, with a shorter decay and less warmth causing less "bleed" of images into each other. The iRiver's greater warmth and longer decays can be beneficial in some areas, though, such as the soft female vocals in Landslide, and for adding body to otherwise thin vocals.
From a purely SQ perspective, my nod goes to the S9 as the superior player, as the added seperation and clarity create a better listening experience when paired with naturally-warm and musical headphones like the HD600 (or my portables, the IE8's for that matter). Add to the fact that the S9 brings a host of superior features to the table, as well - longer battery life, better audio and video format support, bigger and much clearer AMOLED screen, and a true drag-and-drop file support without having to use any bundled software, and the decision becomes clear-cut.
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