[Fessy]

Hi,

So basically I'm going to get the Plenue R soon and I want to know the following, as I am not that technical, so bare with me please:

1) Apart from the Plenue L being the latest Plenue, does anyone have any information if there will be any more Plenue's coming out soon that I could wait for?

2) How does the "unbalanced" work on the Plenue R? Is it better than "balanced"? Can you tell the difference and is there a lot of difference between the two?

3) What's the best, decent priced cable I would need to use for "unbalanced"? (Assuming it's better than "balanced" and quite noticeable). I will be using my Fiio A5 amp with the Plenue R, if that helps.

4) This question goes with #3: Is there another good amp like the Fiio A5, decent priced but with at least 20-30hours minimum battery life?

I hope someone can help me ASAP, as I want to get the PR or wait for another 1, if there is another 1 in the works, soon.

Thanks in advance

 

[PaganDL]

Hi @Fessy,

Since I have the Plenue R, I hope I can answer your questions.

1) Apart from the Plenue L being the latest Plenue, does anyone have any information if there will be any more Plenue's coming out soon that I could wait for?

The best thing you can do is ask Cowon or an authorised distributor.

2) How does the "unbalanced" work on the Plenue R?

Unbalanced works on the Plenue R as it does every other device without balanced connection, as long as your headphone/IEM cable has standard 2 pole (two rings) on the 3.5 mm jack, it should be able to carry 'standard' audio signal & work fine.
That is, as long as you plug in the 3.5 mm jack to Plenue R & the connectors on cable are plugged in to IEM/headphone.

Is it better than "balanced"?

Better is a relative term, if you mean does it sound like any other unbalanced connection, then yes & no.
If you mean more powerful, on paper no but sonically about the same but that is my humble & subjective opinion.
There are certainly more 'powerful' devices but that is another story.
Also, from personal experience, depending on 2.5 mm jack, some are not as secure in PR 2.5 though this is only with excessive movement.

Can you tell the difference and is there a lot of difference between the two?

Only you will be able to answer that properly as I don't know how good your hearing is.
Basically, all a balanced connection does it make the audio signal stronger, whether that is a good or bad thing depends on preference, also, as a general rule, balanced connection can also introduce more hiss to low volume tracks or when no sound is playing but the player is on.
All depends on you, the player & your hearing.
I have heard some unbalanced, also known as single ended, which sound 'better' than balanced, in sound level, sense of space, headroom, dynamics, etc
Technically, there is one major difference between balanced & unbalanced.
Balanced connection, the 3rd pole or ring on the jack, serves as the extra ground for the left channel though sometimes this is also reversed which can make it confusing.
As long as all this is wired correctly, there is no issue, this also includes in the device circuit.

What's the best, decent priced cable I would need to use for "unbalanced"? (Assuming it's better than "balanced" and quite noticeable). I will be using my Fiio A5 amp with the Plenue R, if that helps.

Again, depends on your budget & what else you may be using that cable for, as everyone's best is different.
There are so many options nowadays, there are even adapter style cable which go from 2.5 to 3.5 or vice versa.
Fiio themselves make decent to good quality cables which are inexpensive, if you go the custom route, an inexpensive option is veclan.com but if you're new to this & asking what you're asking, I suggest just get some fiio cables till you are comfortable with your requirements.

4) This question goes with #3: Is there another good amp like the Fiio A5, decent priced but with at least 20-30hours minimum battery life?

Honestly, there are quite a few options & I can't think of one with that battery life for similar price off the top of my head.
Though Plenue R has good sound & volume levels on its own as long as you're not driving anything high impedence, above 80 ohms, IEMs &/or headphones, you should be more than fine.
If using anything within that impedence range, I don't have anything above 100 ohms, 60 db to 80 db is fine on the Plenue R is fine.

In closing, if you're not fussed about having decent BT, AptX, not AptXHD, I suggest getting the Cowon Plenue D, much more powerful than what it's supposed to be on paper, compared to Plenue R & while it only has 3.5 mm, this is actually a balanced connection (I found this out by accident a long time ago & it is not on specs)
Aside from listening at low to very low volume levels compared to most, especially with sensitive IEMs, I rarely go past 20 db.
Plus 100 hours battery life is very hard to beat.

Hope this is useful.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Fessy]

Hi @Fessy,

Since I have the Plenue R, I hope I can answer your questions.



The best thing you can do is ask Cowon or an authorised distributor.



Unbalanced works on the Plenue R as it does every other device without balanced connection, as long as your headphone/IEM cable has standard 2 pole (two rings) on the 3.5 mm jack, it should be able to carry 'standard' audio signal & work fine.
That is, as long as you plug in the 3.5 mm jack to Plenue R & the connectors on cable are plugged in to IEM/headphone.



Better is a relative term, if you mean does it sound like any other unbalanced connection, then yes & no.
If you mean more powerful, on paper no but sonically about the same but that is my humble & subjective opinion.
There are certainly more 'powerful' devices but that is another story.
Also, from personal experience, depending on 2.5 mm jack, some are not as secure in PR 2.5 though this is only with excessive movement.




Only you will be able to answer that properly as I don't know how good your hearing is.
Basically, all a balanced connection does it make the audio signal stronger, whether that is a good or bad thing depends on preference, also, as a general rule, balanced connection can also introduce more hiss to low volume tracks or when no sound is playing but the player is on.
All depends on you, the player & your hearing.
I have heard some unbalanced, also known as single ended, which sound 'better' than balanced, in sound level, sense of space, headroom, dynamics, etc
Technically, there is one major difference between balanced & unbalanced.
Balanced connection, the 3rd pole or ring on the jack, serves as the extra ground for the left channel though sometimes this is also reversed which can make it confusing.
As long as all this is wired correctly, there is no issue, this also includes in the device circuit.




Again, depends on your budget & what else you may be using that cable for, as everyone's best is different.
There are so many options nowadays, there are even adapter style cable which go from 2.5 to 3.5 or vice versa.
Fiio themselves make decent to good quality cables which are inexpensive, if you go the custom route, an inexpensive option is veclan.com but if you're new to this & asking what you're asking, I suggest just get some fiio cables till you are comfortable with your requirements.




Honestly, there are quite a few options & I can't think of one with that battery life for similar price off the top of my head.
Though Plenue R has good sound & volume levels on its own as long as you're not driving anything high impedence, above 80 ohms, IEMs &/or headphones, you should be more than fine.
If using anything within that impedence range, I don't have anything above 100 ohms, 60 db to 80 db is fine on the Plenue R is fine.

In closing, if you're not fussed about having decent BT, AptX, not AptXHD, I suggest getting the Cowon Plenue D, much more powerful than what it's supposed to be on paper, compared to Plenue R & while it only has 3.5 mm, this is actually a balanced connection (I found this out by accident a long time ago & it is not on specs)
Aside from listening at low to very low volume levels compared to most, especially with sensitive IEMs, I rarely go past 20 db.
Plus 100 hours battery life is very hard to beat.

Hope this is useful.

Hope you have a great day !

Hi @Fessy,

Since I have the Plenue R, I hope I can answer your questions.



The best thing you can do is ask Cowon or an authorised distributor.



Unbalanced works on the Plenue R as it does every other device without balanced connection, as long as your headphone/IEM cable has standard 2 pole (two rings) on the 3.5 mm jack, it should be able to carry 'standard' audio signal & work fine.
That is, as long as you plug in the 3.5 mm jack to Plenue R & the connectors on cable are plugged in to IEM/headphone.



Better is a relative term, if you mean does it sound like any other unbalanced connection, then yes & no.
If you mean more powerful, on paper no but sonically about the same but that is my humble & subjective opinion.
There are certainly more 'powerful' devices but that is another story.
Also, from personal experience, depending on 2.5 mm jack, some are not as secure in PR 2.5 though this is only with excessive movement.




Only you will be able to answer that properly as I don't know how good your hearing is.
Basically, all a balanced connection does it make the audio signal stronger, whether that is a good or bad thing depends on preference, also, as a general rule, balanced connection can also introduce more hiss to low volume tracks or when no sound is playing but the player is on.
All depends on you, the player & your hearing.
I have heard some unbalanced, also known as single ended, which sound 'better' than balanced, in sound level, sense of space, headroom, dynamics, etc
Technically, there is one major difference between balanced & unbalanced.
Balanced connection, the 3rd pole or ring on the jack, serves as the extra ground for the left channel though sometimes this is also reversed which can make it confusing.
As long as all this is wired correctly, there is no issue, this also includes in the device circuit.




Again, depends on your budget & what else you may be using that cable for, as everyone's best is different.
There are so many options nowadays, there are even adapter style cable which go from 2.5 to 3.5 or vice versa.
Fiio themselves make decent to good quality cables which are inexpensive, if you go the custom route, an inexpensive option is veclan.com but if you're new to this & asking what you're asking, I suggest just get some fiio cables till you are comfortable with your requirements.




Honestly, there are quite a few options & I can't think of one with that battery life for similar price off the top of my head.
Though Plenue R has good sound & volume levels on its own as long as you're not driving anything high impedence, above 80 ohms, IEMs &/or headphones, you should be more than fine.
If using anything within that impedence range, I don't have anything above 100 ohms, 60 db to 80 db is fine on the Plenue R is fine.

In closing, if you're not fussed about having decent BT, AptX, not AptXHD, I suggest getting the Cowon Plenue D, much more powerful than what it's supposed to be on paper, compared to Plenue R & while it only has 3.5 mm, this is actually a balanced connection (I found this out by accident a long time ago & it is not on specs)
Aside from listening at low to very low volume levels compared to most, especially with sensitive IEMs, I rarely go past 20 db.
Plus 100 hours battery life is very hard to beat.

Hope this is useful.

Hope you have a great day !

Thank you. I will try to keep my replies short as possible.

1) Ah I see. Well i just found out there is a Plenue D2 arriving soon, so I'm in two minds about the PR or PD2.

2) Ah OK. Well, I got it muddled up, sorry lol. I thought on a DAP it is "balanced" because it made sense to me that that's the norm on a DAP but apparently it's "unbalanced" lol.

What I meant to say was, does balanced make the music you're listening to sound "louder, clearer" etc than unbalanced?

3) So, since I am using a 3.5mm jack, what do I need to use the balanced side of things and to connect my Fiio A5 amp (I know you said I don't need an amp but I have had the PM as well as the PD and I like it loud lol).

4) I see.

I have no idea what any of BT, AptX, not AptXHD mean lol. I have had both the PM and PD but went back to the PD because of long playback hours. It wasn't as loud as the PM because of JE5 so that's why I bought the Fiio A3 amp and then I wanted more power so bought the Fiio A5. Wait what? The PD has a balanced connection AND it's more pwoerful than the PR? No way :S. I'm not an expert but judging from the specs, the PR sounds better by the JE7 alone, so that can't be true? :S. Well, I'm one of those who has the volume either on full or near to full lol but the battery on the PD still lasts me about a month or so. And that's having it on continuous play every other day at times, 4-5 hours a day on nearly full blast and with the amp. So the battery life is awesome on the PD.

Thanks for all your help. Just need a little more help, then I'm on my way.

EDIT: So I found out what BT, AptX, not AptXHD are lol. I don't use BT much, so don't need that. Plus I listen to all my files in FLAC, can't get any clearer than that, or can you? lol.

Oh, just 1 more thing (sorry keep remembering after lol). How good are Fiio players compared to Cowon's Plenue line? Because I keep runing out of space, so want to know how good they sound compared to Cowon. I know there's the new Fiio M9 out or coming out? It says ut has 2TB internal memory and upto 2tb external. I want it to be customisbale like the Cowon players, especially like the Plenue models and really loud as well. So if you can help, that would be nice.

 

[PaganDL]

Hi @Fessy,

Interesting reply, I will try my best to answer your points :

1) Ah I see. Well i just found out there is a Plenue D2 arriving soon, so I'm in two minds about the PR or PD2.

I am waiting for more info on the PD2 as well & as a side note, more than likely, I may swing for it if it meets my needs, I am just waiting on confirmation on this.
Though I would suggest, if you can spare your budget & find a good deal on the Plenue D, then get that as a 'backup'.
PR is more a niche thing as it serves its purpose for what it is but sounds like it doesn't fit your needs well.

2) Ah OK. Well, I got it muddled up, sorry lol. I thought on a DAP it is "balanced" because it made sense to me that that's the norm on a DAP but apparently it's "unbalanced" lol.

More often than not, most manufacturers in the last few years try to push balanced for various reasons though as stated, doesn't mean it's necessarily better though as long as it's not worse, everything is generally more than good.
To a certain extent, Balanced connections are relative to IEM/Headphone connected to cable to source, as it all depends on well everything 'synergises' together.

Some gear plays well & better with some than others.
As an example, subjectively & personally, some genres &/or songs sound flat, almost dull, on some 'high end' or at least pricey DAPs, Astell & Kern & Sony come to mind though this is also personal preference though saying that, I don't mind their sound, it is just not suitable for what I would consider 'Reference' as it makes me sleepy more often than not & hard to tell a IEM/headphone's true capabilities.
For me, neutral means an entirely different thing to what most would consider, usually this means NO EQ but a close to flat frequency response.

In answer to your question, sure, the sound may seem 'louder', 'clearer', etc over unbalanced or single ended though that largely depends on how everything is wired & implemented.
Also, Balanced connection in general, especially 2.5 mm has more noise or hiss output than 4.4 mm but once again depends on the source.
I have heard quite a few unbalanced connections, depending on source once again, which acoustically sound 'better' than standard 2.5 mm but really it all depends...

3) So, since I am using a 3.5mm jack, what do I need to use the balanced side of things and to connect my Fiio A5 amp (I know you said I don't need an amp but I have had the PM as well as the PD and I like it loud lol).

First of all, to have a balanced connection you need the relevant adapter, be it 3.5 mm to 2.5 mm/4.4 mm though I would also question why?

PD on it's own gets plenty loud, can't comment on the PM as never had or heard it & I don't comment on things I have not used.
What are you using IEM/headphone wise to feel the need to turn it all the way up unless if you don't mind me saying, you are just making yourself deaf.
I suggest getting your hearing checked if you feel the need to play things loud as regardless whether you like it or not, making yourself deaf is definitely not a good thing or advisable in any way.
Anything more than 60 to 80 db for even more than 1 hour on average to 2 hours is not advisable by medical authorities, especially with IEMs/headphones.
Speakers are another matter but same rule applies...

Unless the IEM/headphone you're using is above 80 Ohms, PD doesn't need to very loud.
But then I mostly use PD when out & about with fairly sensitive IEMs with good isolation & usually don't have it more than 18 db on average though I do use the JE BBE Headphone setting which gives a 3 db boost across the frequency spectrum.
I use this setting for the PR as well.
So the main question here is what IEM/headphone are you using?
This may clear up why you are finding your sound levels not sufficient.

4) I see.

I have no idea what any of BT, AptX, not AptXHD mean lol. I have had both the PM and PD but went back to the PD because of long playback hours. It wasn't as loud as the PM because of JE5 so that's why I bought the Fiio A3 amp and then I wanted more power so bought the Fiio A5. Wait what? The PD has a balanced connection AND it's more pwoerful than the PR? No way :S. I'm not an expert but judging from the specs, the PR sounds better by the JE7 alone, so that can't be true? :S. Well, I'm one of those who has the volume either on full or near to full lol but the battery on the PD still lasts me about a month or so. And that's having it on continuous play every other day at times, 4-5 hours a day on nearly full blast and with the amp. So the battery life is awesome on the PD.

Well done, you found out what the three BT codes are, I wasn't really about to explain that...
Actually, as personal preference, I have always been partial to .ogg , I have found it a very stable format.
Anyway, as stated PR is a different sort of player than you are used to which is why it doesn't suit you...just my humble observation...
Also, it all depends on your source material, what sound level it was recorded at, etc.
But as a general rule, I find personally, realistically, PD's volume really starts at 60 db, anything less than that, even with sensitive IEM/headphone is not worth it...
Average I have found which is personally comfortable for any length is 70 db.

I have said this in other threads & in real life, specs generally serve as a guideline more than any real measure where various devices are concerned, PR & PD both fit this nicely.
For example, PD has two things which I really like which are not on offical specs, a Balanced 3.5 mm connection & being louder than it actually is.
The third unquantifiable not on specs which I see more as a bonus is the sound quality is 'better' than most higher level DAPs I have looked into.

Personally, not a partial to Fiio except for their interconnect & adapter cables, for their quality at an affordable price.
I have demo the latest Fiio M series players & the only one I like & only consider if I had money to burn is the M 7 but that is more personal preference for sound as I think the UI is while terrible but passable & yes I know is contradictory but that is how it is.
For Sound Quality & Battery Life, which I value highly in DAPs, Cowon can't be beaten on how well they balance that.
While PD & PR are the only DAPs in Cowon Plenue range I have tried so far, I am well pleased overall.

Hope you find this useful, please feel free to ask me more if & when necessary.

Hope you have a great day !