[Luc33]

Hi everyone,
this is my second thread here, I hope it helps me deciding on my next purchase

i need a new mp3 player

i've read some reviews here and i'm deciding between:

- Cowon iAudio 7 16GB
- Cowon D2 16GB + SD card
- Cowon D2+ 16GB + card
- Sansa Fuze 8GB + card

that's it

Sound quality is very important, and for what i've read, i think they're all good in that aspect, and i probably won't notice a big difference between them (correct me if i'm wrong)

I''ll be using it with a Head-Direct R2 (+ FiiO E5 at times)

I won't be watching videos or pictures in it usually, so that's not really important. I'll be using it everyday in the way to university/work (bus + metro + walk), and i usually keeps it in my pocket, so some easy buttons would be nice, and that's why i'm a bit concerned about the D2s, as they are "touch". I don't want to have to look at the player to skip tracks/albums ,for example.

I also need to record lectures and stuff, and i'll be using the player. I think all of them offers this feature

For the moment i'm leaning toward the iAudio 7, mainly because of its battery life and simplicity to use

Fuze could be nice too, and it's cheaper. The reviews i've read let me with the impression that the iAudio 7 is a better player.

on amazon, the D2 / D2+ are just a little bit more expensive than the iAudio 7. Is it worth it, knowing that i won't really watch films on it?
storage IS important, as i have a 200GB+ music library, but actually i think 16GB is ok for a player.

well, that's it, any comments on these or other players would be helpful
(i'll be spending ~150 US Dollars max.)

thanks in advance

 

[james444]

I keep my Fuze in my shirt pocket and can skip tracks or change volume without taking it out. SQ is excellent IMO and there is even a reasonable stable version of RockBox available, so you could have gapless / crossfeed and a HQ equalizer. Apart from the touch interface the D2(+) would also be a bit heavy for a shirt pocket. I don't know the iAudio 7, but I have the U3 which is quite similar and I believe the Fuze's SQ can keep up with it.

 

[Luc33]

how about the Fuze's battery life?

 

[james444]

Hard to say, I connect it almost every day to my notebook, so it gets charged. But to give you a perspective, today I left for work with 100% charge and after about 2 hours playing time there is 77% left. This is with RockBox and equalizer off most of the time.

 

[RAQemUP]

Of course the typical user does not install Rockbox and Rockbox does drain the battery faster than any default mp3 player UI.

I own both the D2 and the Fuze.

I get a little over 15 hours on my Fuze. The D2 gets roughly 35+ hours for me.

The Fuze is the easier to navigate for general use mainly because it has that physical wheel thingy and home button. Physical buttons by nature are just easier to use to navigate your music with over a touch interface that has no tactile feedback, especially in the case of the D2 since it has a really small touch screen. Keep in mind both units are small, but the D2 is pretty thick while the Fuze is extremely thin.

The D2 does have a nice option of remapping the physical volume keys and menu button on the top of the unit to skip tracks and play/pause the music when lock button is in use which makes it easier to use blindly in pocket. Regardless of which mp3 player you use, you would have to take it out of your pocket to skip albums at least.

I enjoy the sound out of both. The Fuze sounds great without using any EQ which is a good thing as its EQ presets are just terrible sounding and non-adjustable. The D2 does sound "cold" unEQed and slightly bass light with low impedance headphones (the D2 has a bass rolloff affect with low impedance phones), but it's user adjustable EQ is top notch and makes it easy to tailor your sound to whatever you want.

As you already know the D2 has the better expandability and default storage.

In my opinion, if you want a thin mp3 player with easy to use physical buttons for a UI and not want to mess with any EQ, get the Sansa Fuze. If you want to mess with a touch interface UI and the ability to tailor your sound with adjustable EQ, get the Cowon D2.

 

[chud]

I am in somewhat the same boat. How do I choose within the Cowon line?

I'm mostly concerned about sound quality. Pocketability is not a concern.

I think I am down to either the D2+ or the S9.

One of the drawbacks in my mind, and this may seem silly, is the curved back of the S9 which would seemingly make pairing it with an amp less...aesthetic.

 

[Luc33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAQemUP /img/forum/go_quote.gif Of course the typical user does not install Rockbox and Rockbox does drain the battery faster than any default mp3 player UI. I own both the D2 and the Fuze. I get a little over 15 hours on my Fuze. The D2 gets roughly 35+ hours for me. The Fuze is the easier to navigate for general use mainly because it has that physical wheel thingy and home button. Physical buttons by nature are just easier to use to navigate your music with over a touch interface that has no tactile feedback, especially in the case of the D2 since it has a really small touch screen. Keep in mind both units are small, but the D2 is pretty thick while the Fuze is extremely thin. The D2 does have a nice option of remapping the physical volume keys and menu button on the top of the unit to skip tracks and play/pause the music when lock button is in use which makes it easier to use blindly in pocket. Regardless of which mp3 player you use, you would have to take it out of your pocket to skip albums at least.

yeah i won't be installing rockbox in it
(should I? what are the real advantages? i don't need gapless, nor games, and i think all of the player i've listed plays flac already)
but ok, that's not the main issue

fuze gets about 15 hours?
the iAudio 7 should get around 60 hours, which is pretty impressive
that's the main reason i'm thinking of getting it instead of the Fuze


and yeah i saw that option on the D2 to remap the buttons and it's pretty cool, but i'm really insecure about the touch interface. It looks fragile and a bit complicated. I saw videos on youtube and the guy presses the thing like 3 times before he can get it right


well any other opinions would be appreciated too
thanks

 

[james444]

I thought the same about RockBox and had been using my Fuze for about a year with standard firmware. But since I actually tried it there's no way I'm going back. I love gapless for classical music and live albums. Then there's an excellent equalizer which lets me EQ down the bass hump of my IE8 with no degradation of overall sound quality. It's so much better than the original EQ! Last not least I can customize the user interface to my liking, use smaller fonts to avoid text scrolling, have better album art, ...

I trade all this in a second for a few hours of battery life. Of course YMMV.

 

[Luc33]

well i might try it. I'm almost buying the Fuze.
Has anyone already tried both the iAudio and Fuze? is there a noticeable difference on sound quality? (i'm far from an expert, i can't even tell a V2 from a FLAC file normally, and i rarely mess with the EQs)

 

[cyberspyder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luc33 /img/forum/go_quote.gif well i might try it. I'm almost buying the Fuze. Has anyone already tried both the iAudio and Fuze? is there a noticeable difference on sound quality? (i'm far from an expert, i can't even tell a V2 from a FLAC file normally, and i rarely mess with the EQs)

Identifying files come from years and years of listening. I've been into audio for a few years now, and I still can't tell the difference.

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

cowon will be more fun from factory it has upped highs and bass, plus theres more you can do to it without making it sound crap

the fuze has a really bad eq. so u have to listen to it flat. however it has level highs , level bass and level mid

 

[RAQemUP]

While not fantastic, I find the battery run time acceptable on the Fuze. 15-20 hours is more then acceptable for 2 to 3 hours a day use and recharging it every few days.

If you have any doubts about using a touch interface, I would not get the D2. Not saying it is not responsive (its responsive for me at least), it's just a bit cumbersome to use the touch interface on such a small screen while on the go compared to say the large touch screen of an Ipod Touch or similar.

One thing I will mention, if you treat your mp3 players a little rough, I also would not recommend a D2. The screen will not withstand high pressure on its screen without a case that will protect its screen. I have had to replace mine once already because I pressed hard on the screen with my thumb when I was moving it out of my backpack. I actually felt the screen crack under my thumb. I don't know why when I grabbed it I pressed down that hard but it happened regardless. Now I use a leather case with a protective flap and everything has been all good.

 

[mudo]

I have been using my Fuze for the last 6 months or so.

The bad:

1. Use it plain equalized: Its equalizer degrades the sound, 100% true. I miss a better EQ, specially to get a bit more or bass from my Phonak PFE.
2. No lineout (unless you do a cable youself... but care and soldering skills are needed for the tiny pins).

EDIT: Today I rockboxed my fuze and the EQ works quite well. It doesn't degrade SQ noticeable. The procedure to change firmware was easy as pie (just copy&paste).

The good:

1. Original firmware works very well. Current version is more than enough to listen my music (fast and *very* stable, flac support, very good tag recognition, podcast resuming, easy scrolling among songs/albums/artists, etc).
2. It's practical. I do basic operations without getting it out of my jeans (pause, next song and previous). Things like changing the brightness (i.e.: to use in bed) or the volumen normal/high can be done easily.
3. Rockbox - 99% - ready: maybe you don't need it now, but this is a good point if case you want it tomorrow.
4. Good price and support (forum, firmware updates)

Battery life is quite decent, but I don't think mine could reach those 15 hours I read in this thread. I can use it maybe for 8-10 (?) hours without charging. Anyway it charges fast with the USB cable so that's not a problem for me.

Sound quality is good, no doubt, but not amazing. Anyway it's a portable device... don't expect a desktop rig in your hand.

Tip: get a case. I have the grey version 1 model and the outer plastic is like butter... it gets peeled too easily. I got a transparent plastic one from eBay. Ugly, but cheap and useful

In one word: I'm quite satisfied with it for daily use. Probably it is not the best among all, but it does well all is supposed to do.

Hope it helps.

 

[cathare34]

I own the d2 for 2 years and i don't want another player it has a great sound,great EQ too the only thing that may be anoying for the purists is the touch interface...but who cares it's the sound that cares for me..

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAQemUP /img/forum/go_quote.gif While not fantastic, I find the battery run time acceptable on the Fuze. 15-20 hours is more then acceptable for 2 to 3 hours a day use and recharging it every few days. If you have any doubts about using a touch interface, I would not get the D2. Not saying it is not responsive (its responsive for me at least), it's just a bit cumbersome to use the touch interface on such a small screen while on the go compared to say the large touch screen of an Ipod Touch or similar. One thing I will mention, if you treat your mp3 players a little rough, I also would not recommend a D2. The screen will not withstand high pressure on its screen without a case that will protect its screen. I have had to replace mine once already because I pressed hard on the screen with my thumb when I was moving it out of my backpack. I actually felt the screen crack under my thumb. I don't know why when I grabbed it I pressed down that hard but it happened regardless. Now I use a leather case with a protective flap and everything has been all good.

I would completely agree with the above, while they are fasntastic for sound, the cowon players break very easily,,,very easily

on the other hand the fuze will not break but scratches easily...very easily

trade off like anything on head-fi - the ony way to do it is to addd up the pro's and cons as above