is kenwood 60gb media player worth at buying?

[waddragon]

Hi, I had an cowon X5L 3 years old. Right now I want to buy a new one instead of waiting for the cowon X7 which I don't know when it will be released.
I search on the forum and know that the sound quality of the kenwood is the best one. However, some buyers say that there is hiss and noise.
Does everyone have the same problem? How do you fix it?
I just need a player which can produce a very good sound without any problems and don't need the image or video option because I think why we need to watch image or video on a small screen player(above 5 inches is good for me).
I am gonna to combine it with my westone UM2 or shure E5000
Thanks

 

[MadDog]

I have about a week of usage of Kenwood HD60GD9EC which I got it through my acquintance (actually person who woks in our subsdiary) in Japan. In Japan, the unit is being sold at around $540 and I paid about $25 for shipping and handling which came out to be $565 total. I thought this was a good price as compared to about $680 which Bluetin.com currently charges.

Regarding the hiss I didn't find it anything unusal with this unit. Depending on the songs I play I do hear some hiss but I would hear the same hiss on other players (Zen & iRiver) as well. Perhaps, I have a dumb ear but I didn't find a hiss to be a problem with this unit. Kenwood said HD60GD9EC has a vast improvement over previous devices (30GB, 20GB & 10GB versions) so maybe they corrected the problem. Who knows?? Some said Supreme EX fixes the problem but I didn't really pay attention as it didn't stick out be a annoying factor so far (after listening to hundreds of tracks in all different genres).

If I have a gripe over this device, it wouldn't be a hiss but a user interface and/or usability. You are confined to a rather primitive, proprietary software called "Kenwood Media Application". By no means it is a buggy software but it is slow and let you do just the basic stuffs (transfer files, synchronize, create playlist, edit tag info individually - no mass tagging). Although you see the device as a hard drive under my computer, you cannot drag and drop the files. If you do it under windows explorer, you won't see the files in the player.

It is exremely hard to get the accessasories even in Japan. I ordered a leather case from Xigma.com in Japan and they just sent me an email telling me it will take about 3 weeks to ship it to me. Although this player has the english menu option and software supports english Windows but you will have tough time finding updating the firmware at Kenwood website (all in Japanese). I am not too exicited about the menu system in this player either (maybe I am not use to it but rather confusing and cumbersome to me). This has decent screen size but doesn't even play the video, so what's the point?

Just like any other said in this forum this player only does what it does best, which is to player audio tracks. This is little more than a just regular MP3 player when it comes to SQ (using SE530). It produces remarkable clarity, deep-down bass response with dynamic soundstage in such an elegant fasion but even then I honestly didn't find the overwhelming "wow" effect comparing to other MP3 players using the earphones. I guess there is a certain limit of satisfaction using the IEMs.

I thought I amlost got blown away after connecting the HD60GD9EC to Bose speakers in my car (thru just a regular cassette adapter). I reconfrmed it wasn't just a regular MP3 player. It has only been just a week with this player so I am still in learning phase...if you ask me if it's worth over $.5K,
I would say I am not sure...if you see my device in FS, you would know how I think about this device.

 

[waddragon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadDog /img/forum/go_quote.gif .if you see my device in FS, you would know how I think about this device.

I try to look in the For Sale and trade section but I don't see your post. What do you mean FS?

 

[selfdivider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by waddragon /img/forum/go_quote.gif I try to look in the For Sale and trade section but I don't see your post. What do you mean FS?

Read carefully: he said "IF" you see it in FS.

Anyways... my 2 cents about this? I don't think it's worth the $. The inconvenience (high import mark-up, unavailable accessories, the hiss, etc.) greatly outweigh its sonic capabilities. There are players made by Sony and Cowon which do not sound $300 inferior than the Kenwood. If I were you, I'd rather spend the extra cash toward a good headphone amp or headphones instead...

 

[Diesp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadDog /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...Although you see the device as a hard drive under my computer, you cannot drag and drop the files. If you do it under windows explorer, you won't see the files in the player...

Am I the only one to use the drag & drop to transfer the files and then use the "Update library" function with KMA ?
I find this "trick" pretty usefull...

 

[Night Surfer]

I never had a problem with hiss or noise on my Kenwood HD30GB9.

 

[MadDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesp /img/forum/go_quote.gif Am I the only one to use the drag & drop to transfer the files and then use the "Update library" function with KMA ? I find this "trick" pretty usefull...

Oh really, didn't try that...It may not be a good solution for transfering a small numbers of files because updating library take long times but as for large # of files transfer, it may be useful. Thanks for telling!

 

[MadDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Night Surfer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I never had a problem with hiss or noise on my Kenwood HD30GB9.

For those who think Kenwood players have a hiss problem, I would recommend them to upload the same file to other players and check out for hiss noise, I bet they would hear the same level of hiss on others. There is a possibility that since Kenwood player delivers much more clarity, the hiss and white noises may be unmasked little more to be more realistic as compares to other players which tend to be more muddy so the noises blend into music? That's just my theory but then again, HD60GD9EC has no worse hiss problem than others.

 

[En_R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadDog /img/forum/go_quote.gif For those who think Kenwood players have a hiss problem, I would recommend them to upload the same file to other players and check out for hiss noise, I bet they would hear the same level of hiss on others. There is a possibility that since Kenwood player delivers much more clarity, the hiss and white noises may be unmasked little more to be more realistic as compares to other players which tend to be more muddy so the noises blend into music? That's just my theory but then again, HD60GD9EC has no worse hiss problem than others.

Nope ^_^ It's the player.

Hiss goes away after 5-15 minutes of use (sorry didn't really time it)

The distortion is mainly in the high end.... also the HD contributes to the hiss as well..

 

[Aevum]

20gb kenwood, moderate hiss, hate the interface, and not much of a fan of the 2 level botton system, (you press a botton it goes halfway does one thing, you press it harder, it drops another level does another thing), but the thing that bothers me the most is that the interface reaction is somewhat slow for me, theres this half a second between when you press a botton to when the player reacts that just annoys the hell out of me,

i would not buy another kenwood player,

 

[lexnasa]

Overpriced, overrated, crappy interface, sucky Kenwood Lossless requires you to re-tag all your songs. Sound quality quite good, that's about it!

 

[MadDog]

Okay, you can say whatever but here's the final word from the actual owner of HD60GD9EC and a person owns/owned more than 6~7 DAPs in the past. This player has about the same level of hiss if any on some of the songs as others do. I believe the hiss has a lot to do with how the songs were recorded or remastered, too. Hiss's not an issue for me. As stated I am not too crazy about the user interface but I am not sure what the delayed button reaction you are talking about..

This is certainly not a cost effective device you can find but if you have some money to burn and you gotta have the best for your ears, hell go for it. There is a definite distinction in SQ compared to others. It is remarkable and gives you a sense of owning a DAP in different class level but you won't be insanely overhelmed by it with IEMs.

I bought this in search of the ultimate SQ player but did it give me the ultimate satisfaction in all aspect? I am afraid not...If you think your current player sounds good and like the interface/appearance/price, it will probably be the best one for you. Imho there is not going to be an extreme sense of euporia of hearing the differences among the players in the current market using the earphones.

 

[Assorted]

The idea that the hiss issue originates from the sound file is only inclusive to old/poorly recorded music. The hiss is very much there in music with a black background. You can check this out on your Kenwood by letting it playback a file, and having the volume 0/30. There should clearly be an audible hiss (with almost any non-amp requiring headphone).

The 60GD9'EC' would have to be dramatically different from the entire Kenwood line to be considered to have a non-issue with hiss. It is plausible that it would have a lower level of hiss compared to the rest of its line, which was reported on several occasions in Japanese blogs, but hardly a non-issue.

Here's the interesting thing about hiss on the Kenwood line. It is not related to the volume level, unlike a whole lot of other DAPs out there. It also sounds like it's clearly in mono island with the SPX, while without the SPX it has a wider stereo sound to it, accompanied by a high frequency. Only something like a 300 ohm HD 650 or >100 ohm impedance adapter would be able to cancel out all the extra noise.

In the context of the original question, if you're going to use it ampless with an E500/UM2, I highly suggest getting an amp, or look for alternatives. Just be informed that there is no such thing as a completely hissless DAP that's used with your earphones.


A Kenwood DAP would be close to a boutique portable equipment (before the fancy cables). If you have lots of cash and willing to go through the journey of looking for the ultimate synergy with portable amps/headphones, by all means go for it. It is also much less rigid than something like an iPod. The screen piece that is held onto the chassis is clearly moveable, and some dust is prone to go under your screen.

 

[MadDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assorted /img/forum/go_quote.gif The 60GD9'EC' would have to be dramatically different from the entire Kenwood line to be considered to have a non-issue with hiss. It is plausible that it would have a lower level of hiss compared to the rest of its line, which was reported on several occasions in Japanese blogs, but hardly a non-issue.

I am not implying that the hiss noise's completely gone with HD60GD9EC. It is definitely present but not much more than other Daps by comparison. Perhaps, I do not have that many old remastered LP tracks in my music collections or my Supreme EX took care of it..that's anyone's guess..After all I paid much more $$ for gold plated chasis, so I would expect much more, no?

 

[MadDog]

I am not sure if Kenwood will update the links any time soon but here are the links for recovery (maybe firmware) and Kenwood Media Application software update...I used the web translation software to read these pages.

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