ok so here is my short comparison, please remember I do not compare daps or dacs/amps without using eq, so if you are not an eq user or consider eq a sin, then do not continue reading. This comparison is more for people that are always using eq in daps or dac/amps.
cowon plenue s comparing it to mojo, ak380 and fiio x7 pairing them with Empire ears Zeus R iem:
the analogue sound signature that cowon plenue s offers is simply breath taking, the bur brown dac in the cowon is absolutely fantastic, and even though you get that analogue signature but you still get all the details in the highs with an amazing low end, and great full blown mids that are so rich.
With the cowon you simply say good bye to any irritating harshness in highs as that sound signature is simply spot on.
Its really a tough call between mojo and cowon s at the same time its not a fair comparison as with mojo you have endless options from players and eqs. The mojo without eq simply is useless to me, but once you engage all endless options through your access to many players and their perspective eqs its there where you can achieve great great results. The mojo offers more details in the highs compared to cowon s, but it does not mean the cowon s is lacking in that area. Sometimes this can be not that great especially with iems that are a bit bright and if the recording quality is not optimal. The cowon plenue s is more forgiving as i mentioned in highs .
Now since I am all about eq and dsp, hmm one thing I wished in cowon plenue is that the low end frequencies can reach lower than the 63 hz, and I do not know why their lowest low end frequency only goes to 63hz. With Neutron and mojo I can get a much more tighter controlled bass punch and quality as I am using a parametric eq where I am in total control, so yes the bass punch using eq on both I think the mojo wins.
Yes, I am all about eq as i never liked any dap or dac/amp I owned ( mojo, fiio x7 and cowon s ) without using eq, as I always feel the music without using eq simply sounds lifeless and dull, the only real exception where I liked the sound of the dap without an eq was with all honestly the ak380 and amp as it nailed it across the board and without eq it had great punch and amazing mids and highs, so if I have a great mastered album I simply can enjoy listening to it on the ak380 without even touching the eq, but if you have a recording where u need to add more eq touches to it then the ak380 eq simply is a disaster and its eq will not help you at all. Now with mojo, cowon s, and fiio x7 I always feel I need to use eq no matter what I am listening to, as simply without eq the sound always feels lacking ( again this is only me as I like to have great bass, full mids and good detail and non of those I mentioned without eq offers what I like so using eq is a must for me at least).
As much as I like the cowon dsp but 70% of the presets are gimics and of no use at all, so I have to dial in my own eq in cowon and then you find things are not as diverse as an eq in neutron or if you have viper4android and using it with android and mojo.
Now how the cowon plenue s compares with fiio x7 of course using eq is in the equation, as I will not compare daps without eq as I simply do not listen to music without eq, I like to compare things where I utilize all capabilities of a dap and the eq in a dap is going to be utilized to its full potential. Well let me say this, I believe and I do not care what others say. I feel that third party apps are having processing issues in fiio x7, they are processed differently in fiio x7 than stock music app, so for example neutron simply does not sound as good as a the stock app, or compared to neutron when I hook it to android and mojo, I tried to like 3rd party apps in fiio x7 but I am sorry they all suck, and that is why I like the stock music player app in fiio x7 only, with that being said and with the limited useless eq in fiio x7 the cowon plenue wins hands down across the board. The bass punch and quality is the first thing you will notice when u compare both, mids are much better in cowon than fiio, more full and enjoyable, the highs oh the highs, that was my grip with fiio x7 I always felt that the highs can get annoying at times and I wish I find the right word as something in the highs is not to my liking at all with fiio x7 ( using am5 and am3). So yes the cowon s with its dsp wins hands down no question compared to fiio x7, yes the sound stage is wider in fiio x7
Summary:
Without eq: ak380 and amp wins hands down compared to mojo, cowon plenue s and Fiiio x7. But only few albums I have that nail it in their mastering, so that is why I sold my ak380 and amp, as I need a solid eq for 95% of my music.
With eq: Mojo wins and cowon plenue s follow it so so so closely, remember that Mojo is not a dap, so I feel I am not being fair to cowon plenue s, as with mojo you have endless options, so that is why it can achieve better results than cowon plenue s especially when utilizing the parametirc eq in neutron and other eqs in other apps. Fiio x7 needs a lot of work to catch up
