[pinoyman]

Any impressions?

 

[someyoungguy]

Any impressions?

I'd be guessing it might take some time before anyone starts posting on the interwebs who has heard one - it's not even on the cowonglobal.com website yet.

I might be reading too much into things, but I'm starting to wonder if there isn't a method to Cowon's madness. Because madness was pretty much my first thought when I saw the V specs. A DAP which only has 3.5mm audio out, just like the Plenue J, and announced when J has barely made it to shops? Seemed crazy. And of course the form factor is weird - I agree with the earlier post it seems inspired by the original V television series.

But now I think about it, there could be some sense here. J is obviously the D mk II in a different case - in the J thread people have figured out it's basically exactly the same specs and components, and both have a WM8998 DAC chip. It may have a better processor, as the UI lag issue seems to be fixed, and the battery life is decreased (which would fit with a more power hungry processor).

Then the R seems to be exactly what Cowon say it is - an all-rounder. It's got balanced out, optical out, works as a USB DAC and has Bluetooth. But the specs on the PCM5242 DAC in the R aren't necessarily that great. It's only got 114 dB SNR. The Cowon website claims 123 dB SNR, but is that possible to have a higher SNR achieved through say, the amplification stage, than comes out of the DAC? On the plenue.cowon.com Korean site there's a series of reviews of the R, including measurements which come up with a 114 dB SNR, which seems more believable.

So here's what I'm thinking with the V - it's an audio only player, but with better quality audio specs than the Plenue D/J and maybe better than the R (although granted the R has JetEffect 7 vs JetEffect 5 in the V). The CS43131 DAC/AMP in the V is classed by Cirrus Logic as one of their MasterHiFi components (https://www.cirrus.com/products/cs43131/) and boasts a dynamic range of up to 130 dB. It's higher in spec on paper than their much-loved CS4398 DAC. The spec on the Cowon site for the V has an SNR of 126 dB, which seems more line with the underlying DAC/AMP specs than is the case for the R.

So I'm thinking the newer line up is:
J - the new Plenue D. The cheapest player in their lineup. 3.5mm audio only.
V - a step up from the D, 3.5mm audio only, but with a newer DAC/AMP chip with better specs on paper (how it compares on listening I'd be curious to know)
R - has more features than the V, although actually has lower specs on paper for the audio out. Whether this would subjectively sound better than the V with JetEffect is another question.
Up from this would be the M2 and P2 mk II as their latest higher tier DAPs.

Anyway, I could be completely wrong, but the thought occurred to me this line up might not be as crazy as it first seemed. If only Cowon would do some interviews and we could hear straight from them what they were thinking.

 

[Vitor Valeri]

Cowon Plenue V on Global Cowon website

http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_wide/PLENUEV/product_page_1.php

 

[Mython]

Well, one of the 'unique' features about this re-hash is that the strongly-tapered chassis design is perfect for slipping out of your hands and smashing onto the floor, everytime you try to hold it.

 

[iJay]

Well, one of the 'unique' features about this re-hash is that the strongly-tapered chassis design is perfect for slipping out of your hands and smashing onto the floor, everytime you try to hold it.

I thought it was for self defense like a flashlight strike-bezel!

 

[Raketen]

Have to agree the Cowon lineup is confusing, seems like they are trying to make a new DAP for every imaginable type of user instead of perfecting a few models.

Still, Jet Effects + 41, hrs battery life & Cirrus DAC in a funky case, I can dig it - unfortunate timing though, already waiting for Hiby R3.

 

[Raketen]

Advanced MP3 in UK appears to have the silver color in stock for £ 279, if anyone is looking.
Hope US gets the red color too.

 

[someyoungguy]

I just ordered one of these through minidisc.com.au - seriously for anyone in Australia/New Zealand, I can't recommend this store enough They don't have it listed on their site and aren't carrying it as regular stock but have put through a special order for me, as they regularly sell Cowon products.

It will take a week or two to arrive. I'll post a few first impressions straight out the box, and then leave it to burn in for a few more weeks and post a full review here on head-fi. I haven't seen any reviews on English language sites so far, so feels like I'm diving in a little blind! But damn I was just too curious and the specs look great, and a single 3.5mm audio out is maybe all I really need.

I did find a few reviews posted to weibo in Chinese, and with the help of google translate had a look over. Given similarities in the language and specific phrases used, and that both strongly mentioned the Chinese distributor it seems like these were reviews commissioned by the distributor with some pre-arranged talking points. But still there is some useful info in there, and some great photos - the V actually looks really small when you see in comparison to other things in real life photos (as opposed to the more solitary images on the Cowon site):
https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404232818363392228&mod=zwenzhang
https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404238824472471539

I have a Plenue R so will post comparisons. I've also previously owned the D, M and P1, although I've sold each of those, so I can offer some thoughts about how the V compares in general to those models, but I won't be able to offer any reliable comparisons about sound without having side-by-side listening.

I went for the silver version as after looking at other real-world photos I found via google images the red was too intense for my liking and the more understated silver/black combo had more appeal to me.

 

[someyoungguy]

Woohoo Plenue V arrived, head-fi'ers Xmas

This thing is small, and pretty! Here's a few shots next to a Plenue R and some Meze 99's in the photo for reference for size. You switch it on and choose a language, and with English get the option of choosing EU region or non-EU - bonus, no cap!

Straight of the box it sounds good. Nice detail, and some impressive deep sub-bass with the BBE setting on. It's going to take a while to do some real comparisons, maybe in the weekend I'll get a chance to compare, but only just got to open it up and have to rush out again then off to work for a few days.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

Can someone explain what this feature is or means? If it's "Beyond the limits of hearing" which means we will never hear it what's the point of it???

 

[someyoungguy]

Can someone explain what this feature is or means? If it's "Beyond the limits of hearing" which means we will never hear it what's the point of it???

Yeah that’s a badly thought out marketing phrase.

I got maybe 2 hours of listening in with the V last night, comparing it to the R, both single ended 3.5 mm and balanced 2.5mm on the R.

For the DAC filters, I was quite surprised at how noticeable the differences on sound were. Apart from slow/fast treble roll-off filters I’ve never found DAC filters to make much difference - on the Plenue R for example it feels like a blink and you’ll miss it difference (see Twister6’s review for a similar comparison). With the Plenue V the switch from to ‘phase comp’ versions noticeably changes the sound, hard to describe in words, maybe the decay is different and notes sound fuller, but maybe lose a touch in attack. I’d never heard a non-oversampling source before but have seen them mentioned here on head-fi. Very interesting change switching to the non-over sampling filter - sounds more like a live instrument, very real, but the lower bass is dropped a tad too. Which filter is ‘best’ will be a matter of taste and depend on the track being played.

For the rest of V initial impressions I’m seriously impressed. The Plenue R is no slouch and I like it’s sound, but had found the lower range lacking a feel of weight and impact to the bass. That improves to some extent by using the balanced out. But still the R is quite a bright player where it feels to me like focus or energy is quite mid/lower treble-centric, similar to the iFi sound.

The V sounds fuller in the low end, and feels like there’s a good spread of energy across the whole bass, mid, treble spectrum. Perhaps because of this when listening to busier sections of music it feels like the presentation on the V is more open and in comparison the R is more congested in busy sections- I would never have thought of the R as congested but the difference is there where the V has more control in complicated sections (not that the R is bad in that respect).

The detail retrieval on the V is fantastic, I get that clichéd hi-fi experience of noticing extra details, or at least, details audible on the R are more prominent on the V. Pity I no longer have a Chord Mojo to compare, but I feel like the detail retrieval of the V would be right up there. Very immersive sound.

The only downside I’m noticing so far is some vocals “S”s jump out of the mix. People usually call this (or something similar) sibilance, but I don’t hear any harshness of treble or cymbals that often happens with sibilant sources, just the vocal S prominence. It’s only on some tracks, but I hear it with the 99 classics and B&W P7s. I’m hoping that will improve with time as this is 2 hours of use straight out of the box.

The physical controls on the side are skinnier than the larger Plenues like the R, and even the P symbol, which forms the power button/screen on-off on the V, is relatively small.

All in all I can already see this will be a keeper for me, I had some of those great moments of feeling like it all came together and you connect with the music, putting a stupid grin on my face. If the sibilance/S issue wanes with burn-in this will give me exactly the sound I’m looking for in a portable player. I’ll have some more time to listen and compare at length tomorrow, can’t wait

 

[someyoungguy]

Got some more listening time in today, just threw it on and next thing a few hours had passed. Didn’t notice anything jumping out in the way of prominent vocal S’s, but it was track-specific the other day so maybe just the choice of what I put on.

This little thing sounds great, I think my search for an enjoyable little player with nice low end (and everything else) with good battery life is over - for me, this hits the mark and it’s a keeper

The UI isn’t as snappy as the Plenue R/M etc. From memory from when I had the Plenue D, the V isn’t as laggy as the D, but not as fast as the higher end Plenues. The main lag I noticed is going from menus back to the ‘Now playing’ screen on some albums/tracks and although I haven’t checked the jpg file sizes I think this when it’s taking time to render a high resolution cover art, so it could probably be improved by only loading on smaller jpgs as cover art files.

But even with this slight issue, it isn’t that much of a hassle and certainly doesn’t detract from the awesome sound quality. In all, I’m a happy head-fier.

 

[maira]

doesn’t detract from the awesome sound quality. In all, I’m a happy head-fier.

How does SQ compare to Penue R (or other devices you know?)

 

[someyoungguy]

How does SQ compare to Penue R (or other devices you know?)

I tried to do a bit of a comparison above. At the moment I only have the Plenue R as a direct comparison, but have owned various other DAPs/DACs in the past.

I find the Plenue R to have nice crisp sound - great detail and quite bright sounding. The only downside for me personally was I found the bass a little thin sounding. When I bought the R I also had an old Plenue M, and compared the R and M directly. I found the M to have a fuller low end sound (other people often call it an analogue sounding player). But, the M sounded more distant and veiled compared to the R.

I’m finding the SQ from the V is better than the R to my ears. It has slightly more detail and also has a fuller low end than the R. I haven’t compared the V directly to the M, as I sold it, but I’m not hearing the distant/veiled characteristics I had from the M, so based on my comparisons I favour the V to the R, and R to the M. But of course, different people hear different things.

 

[Music Enthusiast]

Yeah that’s a badly thought out marketing phrase.

I got maybe 2 hours of listening in with the V last night, comparing it to the R, both single ended 3.5 mm and balanced 2.5mm on the R.

For the DAC filters, I was quite surprised at how noticeable the differences on sound were. Apart from slow/fast treble roll-off filters I’ve never found DAC filters to make much difference - on the Plenue R for example it feels like a blink and you’ll miss it difference (see Twister6’s review for a similar comparison). With the Plenue V the switch from to ‘phase comp’ versions noticeably changes the sound, hard to describe in words, maybe the decay is different and notes sound fuller, but maybe lose a touch in attack. I’d never heard a non-oversampling source before but have seen them mentioned here on head-fi. Very interesting change switching to the non-over sampling filter - sounds more like a live instrument, very real, but the lower bass is dropped a tad too. Which filter is ‘best’ will be a matter of taste and depend on the track being played.

For the rest of V initial impressions I’m seriously impressed. The Plenue R is no slouch and I like it’s sound, but had found the lower range lacking a feel of weight and impact to the bass. That improves to some extent by using the balanced out. But still the R is quite a bright player where it feels to me like focus or energy is quite mid/lower treble-centric, similar to the iFi sound.

The V sounds fuller in the low end, and feels like there’s a good spread of energy across the whole bass, mid, treble spectrum. Perhaps because of this when listening to busier sections of music it feels like the presentation on the V is more open and in comparison the R is more congested in busy sections- I would never have thought of the R as congested but the difference is there where the V has more control in complicated sections (not that the R is bad in that respect).

The detail retrieval on the V is fantastic, I get that clichéd hi-fi experience of noticing extra details, or at least, details audible on the R are more prominent on the V. Pity I no longer have a Chord Mojo to compare, but I feel like the detail retrieval of the V would be right up there. Very immersive sound.

The only downside I’m noticing so far is some vocals “S”s jump out of the mix. People usually call this (or something similar) sibilance, but I don’t hear any harshness of treble or cymbals that often happens with sibilant sources, just the vocal S prominence. It’s only on some tracks, but I hear it with the 99 classics and B&W P7s. I’m hoping that will improve with time as this is 2 hours of use straight out of the box.

The physical controls on the side are skinnier than the larger Plenues like the R, and even the P symbol, which forms the power button/screen on-off on the V, is relatively small.

All in all I can already see this will be a keeper for me, I had some of those great moments of feeling like it all came together and you connect with the music, putting a stupid grin on my face. If the sibilance/S issue wanes with burn-in this will give me exactly the sound I’m looking for in a portable player. I’ll have some more time to listen and compare at length tomorrow, can’t wait