[quetzacoatl]

Plenue M2 is released now and its specs are almost the same with S (without dsd 256 support and balance). How does it compare with the S? is the extra $1000 worth it?

 

[EagleWings]

Better Amp specs: higher output power, lower crosstalk level, lower THD level. Also, I believe PS has Parametric EQ, not sure about M2 though.

 

[jrazmar]

The M2 is just a Plenue 1 with a BB1795 DAC instead of 1792A like that of the PS and lower Output Impedance of 1ohm instead of 3 in the P1. THD and Stereo Crosstalk is a bit worse than the P1. Not sure though if all of these boil down to how it sounds. I'm guessing the P1 still sounds better overall.

 

[sonickarma]

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 eq 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, I know you can choose it to have a wide, normal and narrow option and that can have different effects to how that band extends in its effect. With Neutron and mojo I can get a slightly more tighter controlled bass punch and quality as I am using a parametric eq where I am in total control, so yes the for the bass I think the mojo wins but only very slightly


 


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 offered presets are gimics and of no use at all, but hey I can dial in my own eq in cowon and save them, yes things are not as diverse as an eq in neutron or if you have viper4android and using it with android and mojo, but no other dap out there offer a great dsp as cowon plenue s not even close. Cowon is the king of dsp in daps no question about that


 


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 slightly 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 slightly better results than cowon plenue s especially when utilizing the parametirc eq in neutron and other eqs in other apps, but rememner to get mojo to sound better it needs your experience in using parametric eq in apps like neutron, so if u do not like to bother with keeping on fiddling with eq settings then choose the cowon plenue s as its dsp is much easier to use and its a one device unit, and you are so close to get the same quality as the mojo with using parametric eq in neutron. As for Fiio x7 needs a lot of work to catch up


 


If had to choose only one source, I would choose the Cowon plenue s, as its a one small device that does all, and its dsp is so easy to use, its amazing bass quality, full mids and great details in the highs is breath taking. Pairing the Zeus R to cowon plenue s is a match made in heaven with its dsp being the main big big big advantage compared to all other daps I tried.

Thanks - what eq settings do you recommend as i heared the signature is a little thin out the box.

 

[sandalaudio]

  Plenue M2 is released now and its specs are almost the same with S (without dsd 256 support and balance). How does it compare with the S? is the extra $1000 worth it?

 
When I listened to the demo unit of the M2, it sounded quite good. The Cowon guy said it is basically a brush-up of the interface design on the original Plenue M, but the sound was little bit crisper and more Hi-Fi overall (I always found the Plenue M slightly too mild and wooly).
The output impedance of M2 has improved over the original Plenue M (1 ohm vs 3 ohms), so maybe the M2 drives low impedance IEMs a bit better.
 
Basically the pricing of Cowon is pretty straightforward.
Plenue M/M2 has PCM1795 with 2V amp
Plenue 1 is PCM1792A with 2V amp
Plenue S is PCM1792A but with 3V balanced amp and native DSD
 
The biggest advantage of Plenue S is the higher output power which is very useful for driving low efficiency, high impedance headphones. (I'm listening to Fostex TH610 balanced on Plenue S as I am writing this).
 
If you don't need that added output power, balanced, or native DSD then it's pretty subjective on which one sounds better, or whether something is worth extra $1,000.
 
Cowon is really good at making each model sound slightly better than the lower model (without changing the brand sound signature), which lures you right into the trap. I ended up buying the Plenue S after comparing with many other DAPs for many months.

 

[quetzacoatl]

Thanks a lot! I don't have much dsd right now so native dsd is not necessary. But I do like the balance output, AK have most of their products support of balance, why does plenue only support balance on their flagship?

 

[sandalaudio]

 
Thanks a lot! I don't have much dsd right now so native dsd is not necessary. But I do like the balance output, AK have most of their products support of balance, why does plenue only support balance on their flagship?

 
Balanced on portable players is only a very recent widespread fad, and it is still somewhat debated.
Aside from anecdotal tales, a lot of companies still hold ground that a good single ended (unbalanced) output can sound as good or better than the balanced output.
 
The fact that so many mainstream companies (Sony, Onkyo, etc) suddenly started adopting balanced on their portable players has some aspect of marketing buzz to it, because many headphone fans already own a good amp or two by now, and the next thing to buy is balanced.
 
Instead of saying whether balanced is good or bad, the most important factor to consider is that a balanced amp requires twice as many amplifier circuits compared to the ordinary unbalanced circuit.
This doesn't matter so much if a company wants to aim for a higher price point (e.g. one way for a company to justify putting a $2,000 price tag on their flagship), but for the affordable end of the product range (e.g. Plenue M), we have to ask, for the same price, would we want to have one good amplifier, or two mediocre ones to make it balanced.
 
One major advantage of balanced is the improved separation (reduced crosstalk) which makes for a better solid imaging.
One disadvantage of balanced is the doubled output impedance, (e.g. 1 ohm v.s. 2 ohms on plenue S), and also the lack of chassis grounding (which can lead to interference noises, such as when charging via USB).
In any case these things do affect how a same pair of headphones can sound different when connected via balanced or unbalanced.
 
Whatever the case, we can think positively and say that Plenue M and 1 doesn't have balanced because Cowon believed that it is better to spend the money on making one good sounding amp.
I bet when the design team was asked to make a super expensive flagship (Plenue S), they probably simply said "let's add another amp and make it balanced then".

 

[Sound Eq]

if anyone is interested in an effect audio eros 3.5 balanced cable for the cowon plenue s together with a 3.5 balanced to 3.5 single ended converter
 
see my add
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/821427/eros-occ-silver-occ-copper-hybrid-terminated-with-balanced-3-5mm-jack-suits-cowon-plenue-s-balanced-to-single-ended-converter-from-plus-sound

 

[boomtube]

Selling my Plenue S...need funds for a new laptop. 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/821245/cowon-plenue-s

 

[sonickarma]

Is anyone able to listen to the S with the case on ? As mine seems to get real hot and then freezes after 20mins
 
I can only use it with no case and clear air flow at the base 'heat sink' design?

 

[jmills8]

Is anyone able to listen to the S with the case on ? As mine seems to get real hot and then freezes after 20mins

I can only use it with no case and clear air flow at the base 'heat sink' design?

A case ONLY concern is looks.

 

[sonickarma]

A case ONLY concern is looks.

Not sure about that - 
 
If I put it in my pocket the base will be against material and heatsink will not be well vented - will it overheat and freeze ?  I will test today
 
If I get same scenario then makes the DAP a little unusable for on the go - it becomes desktop only
 
Anyone else experiencing overheating and freezing of screen all functions?

 

[vilhelm44]

Not sure about that - 
 
If I put it in my pocket the base will be against material and heatsink will not be well vented - will it overheat and freeze ?  I will test today
 
If I get same scenario then makes the DAP a little unusable for on the go - it becomes desktop only
 
Anyone else experiencing overheating and freezing of screen all functions?

 


I listen to mine all the time on the go with the case on, it's never froze or got too hot, even on the hottest day of the year in my pocket.

 

[sonickarma]

 

  Not sure about that - 
 
If I put it in my pocket the base will be against material and heatsink will not be well vented - will it overheat and freeze ?  I will test today
 
If I get same scenario then makes the DAP a little unusable for on the go - it becomes desktop only
 
Anyone else experiencing overheating and freezing of screen all functions?

 


I listen to mine all the time on the go with the case on, it's never froze or got too hot, even on the hottest day of the year in my pocket.

 
Ok just saw you said with case on - looks like mine is faulty if others dont get overheating and freezing issues- will get it returned
 
I am running from SD card - will see if same isssue occurs from direct installed tracks
 
Thanks for your reply

 

[sonickarma]

Its a bit strange that some people (me included) report their players getting really hot and others dont?
 
Are know faults/returns?
 
 

John2e
 Plenue in case generates too much heat. Especially when running 24/192 and DSD.  I am afraid it might damage the DAP or start a fire