[PaganDL]

The more I listen to the Cowon Plenue D2 on my SoundMagic E1 in ears, the more I am amazed.

Partly this is helped by the Incredible EQ settings on the unit. On my John Williams (guitarist) excellent remastered CDs, ripped lossless, the separation of the instruments on his tracks from Travelling and Changes is incredible and the different EQ settings allow you to vary how far each instrument sounds across the soundstage. It really is amazing and has opened up my ears to how superb this little DAC is.

The headphone out port can also be configured as a line out for playback as you say, PaganDL, and I'm rather unbelieving that this little gem can indeed achieve this.

I'm beginning to ask myself whether I want or need anything else. For what it does, the price is incredible value.

No frills, no uneeded wireless clutter - just a great quality little music player. It even makes some of my more compressed CDs sound more bearable and absolutely helps my earlier 80s disks shine.

I'm quite a fan of this little Cowon as you can see. I had the PD first and that was great as well. This PD2 version adds the balanced and more internal storage, but feels very similar. Battery life is impressive - partly because it is wifi and BT free. Its also small enough to not make my jeans too bulgy - not a good look these days!

I might give .ogg format a go to see what it can offer. As you may guess, I rip with a Mac currently. The Cowons were my first escape once Apple abandoned iPods and, frankly, I have never looked back or felt the need to mourn my iPods. Freed from the big A, I have learnt to simply manage my music tracks myself and to think more universally, file transfer and tag editing being achievable by many different combinations. It has been liberating.

thanks

@Plutopants,

Enjoy, just enjoy...

I would suggest trying the BBE Headphone setting under Jeteffects.

Subjectively, .ogg is more stable than flac with the same bit rate & takes up far less space.

I would also suggest better IEMs, iBasso IT 01 would be a nice upgrade choice.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Plutopants]

@PaganDL
Thanks for the idea for other IEMs. For their price, the SoundMagics are superb and much better and more comfortable than more expensive ones I have. They leak very little as well, which mean I can groove out in bed without disturbing my partner.

I have some Fiio balanced ones but they are not as comfy and do leak sound. I possibly need to break these in a bit more.

We're a long way from those orange foam lightweight headphones that came with the early walkmans... Were lucky there is such a variety out there. The iBasso IT 01s I will look up.

Whatever, as you say, I shall enjoy, enjoy!

Best wishes and thanks for the encouragement.

 

[Cat Music]

Since they talk about files, do they know if Cowon D2 can play Opus files?

 

[taffy2207]

Since they talk about files, do they know if Cowon D2 can play Opus files?

Well it's not listed in the D2 manual so probably not.

 

[My Little Phony]

Im still reading a bit about the current Daps on the market.

I enjoyed the A&K70 MKII and the small Shanling M0 (my current Dap) but i want a new one. My head/in ear phones cables all got a 2.5 mm TRRS connector. The Cowon D2 would fit. I dont like using an adapter even if it has no negative impact to the sound quality.

As i mostly use the Dap while relaxing on the sofa and put it onto my stomach i like Daps that have the phones out on top. The D2 would fit.

I also like to sometimes lie on the sofa and send songs via bluetooth to my homecinema system. I owned a couple of highende stero stuff before but recognized that a good setup homecinema components can provide a good music listening performance too.

The D2 got no bluetooth so i will continue using the Shanling M0 for it.

On January 2020 i will push the order button for a new Dap. My tendency goes to the D2. I will write down my impressions as soon as i got it. It will run it with the headphones i nearly use all the time. The Denon 5200. Powerwise an easy to drive headphone.

 

[counterclockwise]

I enjoyed the A&K70 MKII and the small Shanling M0 (my current Dap) but i want a new one. My head/in ear phones cables all got a 2.5 mm TRRS connector. The Cowon D2 would fit. I dont like using an adapter even if it has no negative impact to the sound quality.

i have my IEMs recabled to 2.5mm but i still end up using an adapter plug with the D2 cause the single ended out just sounds much better. ^_^;

 

[PaganDL]

i have my IEMs recabled to 2.5mm but i still end up using an adapter plug with the D2 cause the single ended out just sounds much better. ^_^;

@counterclockwise,

Subjectively & personally, I find no difference between the two outputs though I agree, single ended has that little bit more but then I am also using 3.5 mm balanced.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Plutopants]

@counterclockwise,

Subjectively & personally, I find no difference between the two outputs though I agree, single ended has that little bit more but then I am also using 3.5 mm balanced.

Hope you have a great day !

Sorry to be naive, but I'm a touch confused by a couple of things:
- what exactly does " single ended out " mean?

- I use both sockets on my PD2 - different phones for each due to the size of the socket. The smaller socket is 'balanced' right?

- What adapter is being talked about?

- My Plenue is a PD2: I did have a PD1 previously (without the balanced output). Is the mentioned D2 different (e.g. is it the older Cowon model from 2007?)

Thanks
George

 

[counterclockwise]

Sorry to be naive, but I'm a touch confused by a couple of things:
- what exactly does " single ended out " mean?

- I use both sockets on my PD2 - different phones for each due to the size of the socket. The smaller socket is 'balanced' right?

- What adapter is being talked about?

- My Plenue is a PD2: I did have a PD1 previously (without the balanced output). Is the mentioned D2 different (e.g. is it the older Cowon model from 2007?)

Thanks
George

- "single-ended" refers to non-balanced output. called that way because the circuitry for both channels terminates in one and the same ground.

- the smaller (2.5mm) socket is the balanced one, yes. the larger (3.5mm) socket on the PD2 is single-ended (but note that some other players have 3.5mm balanced connections).
edit: just recalled that PaganDL said earlier in this thread that the 3.5mm out does balanced too. dunno about that tbh...

- the adapter i mentioned is a simple plug with a male 3.5mm (3 pole) connector on one end and a female 2.5mm (4 pole) connector on the other. it lets you connect 2.5mm balanced cables to 3.5mm single-ended gear.

- we're talking about the plenue D2, yes. the old (non-plenue) D2 doesn't have a balanced output. cowon's naming is confusing innit? ^^;

 

[Plutopants]

- "single-ended" refers to non-balanced output. called that way because the circuitry for both channels terminates in one and the same ground.

- the smaller (2.5mm) socket is the balanced one, yes. the larger (3.5mm) socket on the PD2 is single-ended (but note that some other players have 3.5mm balanced connections).
edit: just recalled that PaganDL said earlier in this thread that the 3.5mm out does balanced too. dunno about that tbh...

- the adapter i mentioned is a simple plug with a male 3.5mm (3 pole) connector on one end and a female 2.5mm (4 pole) connector on the other. it lets you connect 2.5mm balanced cables to 3.5mm single-ended gear.

- we're talking about the plenue D2, yes. the old (non-plenue) D2 doesn't have a balanced output. cowon's naming is confusing innit? ^^;

Thank you for the excellent clarifications. . Clear as it could be now. Sorry to have been a bit thick.

I guessed these were the answers but didn't want to make silly assumptions.

The little Plenue (PD) models are both superb little warriors. Whatever's inside is rather clever and belies the size of the player. Because the sound is so good for me, I forgive the less than slick interface.

I keep going back to my cheaper Soundmagic E10 earphones for comfort and everyday usage on the 3.5mm unbalanced output, which I also use for some RHA 750s (my third set as two developed faulty exposed cables but were replaced, so I treat them with gentle caution).

My Fiios on the 2.5mm balanced output I find not as easy on my ears. How long should burn-in take? Or is it that they amplify so well or are more sensitive I should be turning the volume down more on the 2.5mm output?

Thanks, G

 

[Iridescence]

My old Cowon model D just died so I ordered one of these. Was looking at the Zishan T1 which is a lot cheaper but I've really liked the Cowons I've had in the past and assume this one still is worth the difference in price over something like the Zishan? (using Tin P1s and a Fiio A5 with it)

 

[silverfishla]

My old Cowon model D just died so I ordered one of these. Was looking at the Zishan T1 which is a lot cheaper but I've really liked the Cowons I've had in the past and assume this one still is worth the difference in price over something like the Zishan? (using Tin P1s and a Fiio A5 with it)

You made a good choice. The T1 is a lemon in my book. The Plenue D2 has become indispensable to me. I love it’s sound and what it can (and can’t) do. Anything I buy in the future will be judged against this player’s sound capabilities.

 

[PaganDL]

@Plutopants,

Good @counterclockwise clarified for you though I do apologise for the short hand, even with fast typing, answering similar or same questions multiple times, it can be easy to lapse into that short hand, not really an exucse but human nature I suppose...

Anyway, as I was saying, personally, balanced or unbalanced, sonically, doesn't make a difference to me & since I have both PD & PD 2, I tend to prefer the PD for that longer battery life nor could I care less about the 2.5 mm which personally I have always thought as the dumbest designed balanced plug ever devised but that's just me.

Regardless, as also mentioned, as far as I can tell, without opening up either PD casing, the single ended output seems wired balanced (2 distinct channels) which is interesting as it is uncommon in most single ended circuit design.

In closing, as long as you are enjoying your PD2, @Plutopants, that's really all that matters.

Hope everyone has a great day !

 

[cliffjnr]

hello. just a query. ive bought the cowon plenue d2 and im happy with the ui / sound etc. however i do notice the player clicks and flexes at the bottom left corner when looking at it screen on if i apply slight pressure. i realise this doesnt effect the sound etc but is annoying for a 250 quid player. is this something common with the dap or just mine?

im coming from a fiio m3k which was totally solid.

cheers

 

[silverfishla]

hello. just a query. ive bought the cowon plenue d2 and im happy with the ui / sound etc. however i do notice the player clicks and flexes at the bottom left corner when looking at it screen on if i apply slight pressure. i realise this doesnt effect the sound etc but is annoying for a 250 quid player. is this something common with the dap or just mine?

im coming from a fiio m3k which was totally solid.

cheers

Mine does not do this. But, it is very easy to take the cover off by the small screws and a guitar pick. It could be that something is folded like a ribbon cable o some of the plastic electronic coverings are wadded? Maybe, just a guess, but you might just be able to see and reassemble it.