JayG30
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
- Posts
- 16
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The Cowon D2 is a much better overall player than the Zen. The things you are worried about with the interface are made much better with a flash skin. It will reduce button pressing to get to what you want drastically. Also, you can pretty much operate the device blindly by using a combination of the hold button and the volume buttons. Going off the top of my head I believe when hold is off the volume controls (duh) volume. When the hold button is on they can control skipping songs, or if held down FF and RW. This minimizes the need to always pull the player out and touch it to do something like with just about every other touch device. I think it is the perfect mix of touch and tactile response.
And now consider the 16GB version just dropped to $209 new on Amazon with free super saver shipping, it is a absolute no brainer.
It handles a ton of formats. It sounds amazing (like all cowons do) and has a very powerful amp that will even drive those big power hungry cans. It has an expandable SDHC slot so you can add a 8,16, or even 32GB card whenever you want. And the SDHC cards integrate into ONE library (unlike the Zen). The D2 has TONS of support behind it from the community with flash skins and themes (check out iAudiophile). Battery life is FAR better than the competition. The device is deceivingly small, as the pictures I first saw made it look a LOT bigger than it is. The thing is TINY. It supports both UMS and MTP for getting your music on the device. File/Folder (you can delete things right from device) and ID3 browsing.
I could go on probably, but I think you get the point. There is nothing similar to the D2 that is as good. There are good players in other categories, like the clip/fuze or above it's category with bigger screens/bigger devices more suited for video (I don't think it is far these to a D2. Compare to an A2/3 or something). The Sony players are nice as well, but they lack some of the pluses you can get with the D2 (also think the D2 looks a lot better). There are certainly the D2's bad points. Playlists/shuffle are the biggest issue for people. They don't randomize enough and people say that the player almost has a mood to it. Although some people have experienced no issues with shuffle/playlists. Another thing I would really like to see is a remote. That could solve all complaints about having a touch device. All minimal issues when compared with what it does SO well and what the competition offers.
And now consider the 16GB version just dropped to $209 new on Amazon with free super saver shipping, it is a absolute no brainer.
It handles a ton of formats. It sounds amazing (like all cowons do) and has a very powerful amp that will even drive those big power hungry cans. It has an expandable SDHC slot so you can add a 8,16, or even 32GB card whenever you want. And the SDHC cards integrate into ONE library (unlike the Zen). The D2 has TONS of support behind it from the community with flash skins and themes (check out iAudiophile). Battery life is FAR better than the competition. The device is deceivingly small, as the pictures I first saw made it look a LOT bigger than it is. The thing is TINY. It supports both UMS and MTP for getting your music on the device. File/Folder (you can delete things right from device) and ID3 browsing.
I could go on probably, but I think you get the point. There is nothing similar to the D2 that is as good. There are good players in other categories, like the clip/fuze or above it's category with bigger screens/bigger devices more suited for video (I don't think it is far these to a D2. Compare to an A2/3 or something). The Sony players are nice as well, but they lack some of the pluses you can get with the D2 (also think the D2 looks a lot better). There are certainly the D2's bad points. Playlists/shuffle are the biggest issue for people. They don't randomize enough and people say that the player almost has a mood to it. Although some people have experienced no issues with shuffle/playlists. Another thing I would really like to see is a remote. That could solve all complaints about having a touch device. All minimal issues when compared with what it does SO well and what the competition offers.
