[Novice2020]

Hi guys. I'm in the market for new DAP( last dap I had was a 2007 Cowon D2).Please help me with advice. My main concern is Sound Quality, how is Cowon Plenue D2 compares to DX160 or other similar DAPs(200-400$ price range) in terms of SQ?
Thank you for reading my message

 

[Vruksha]

Hi guys. I'm in the market for new DAP( last dap I had was a 2007 Cowon D2).Please help me with advice. My main concern is Sound Quality, how is Cowon Plenue D2 compares to DX160 or other similar DAPs(200-400$ price range) in terms of SQ?
Thank you for reading my message

I have two daps both of which I love.
Hiby R3Pro Saber for the detail freak in me. It's very analytical and energetic, slightly brighter. It has great battery life 16+ hours and it can stream if needed. Comes around $200!
The second dap is my new PD2 which is my choice for smooth long sessions. I use these for night time listening, they have neutral sound. PD2 battery life is crazy good as well.
You should consider R3pro as an option as well. There are two varients of R3pro Saber and CS.
Ibasso DX160 is sonically very good but that battery life is very bad.

 

[Novice2020]

I have two daps both of which I love.
Hiby R3Pro Saber for the detail freak in me. It's very analytical and energetic, slightly brighter. It has great battery life 16+ hours and it can stream if needed. Comes around $200!
The second dap is my new PD2 which is my choice for smooth long sessions. I use these for night time listening, they have neutral sound. PD2 battery life is crazy good as well.
You should consider R3pro as an option as well. There are two varients of R3pro Saber and CS.
Ibasso DX160 is sonically very good but that battery life is very bad.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I`m looking for best sound quality DAP in 200-400$ range ( I understand that its a very subjective thing, but its nice to hear experience of people who owned multiple devices and can compare them in terms of SQ). Thanks a million.

Also I would love to know what kind of ears do you pair with Cowon PD2

 

[Novice2020]

I have two daps both of which I love.
Hiby R3Pro Saber for the detail freak in me. It's very analytical and energetic, slightly brighter. It has great battery life 16+ hours and it can stream if needed. Comes around $200!
The second dap is my new PD2 which is my choice for smooth long sessions. I use these for night time listening, they have neutral sound. PD2 battery life is crazy good as well.
You should consider R3pro as an option as well. There are two varients of R3pro Saber and CS.
Ibasso DX160 is sonically very good but that battery life is very bad.

From your personal perspective would you say hiby is better than cowon or vice versa (if we talking SQ only) , if you would have to pick 1 only , which one would you pick (only sound quality wise)?

 

[Vruksha]

From your personal perspective would you say hiby is better than cowon or vice versa (if we talking SQ only) , if you would have to pick 1 only , which one would you pick (only sound quality wise)?

Sound is a very subjective thing so my choice of sound might not match yours. I like both my PD2 and R3pro Saber. If it's value for money, I would suggest R3pro any day. Infact you even have 2 choice between R3pro Saber (ess dac) and R3pro vanilla ( with CS dac). So you can choose between those two for whatever sound you prefer. Display/features/functions on R3pro is much better than PD2 infact R3pro (vanilla) comes with the same CS43131 dac as PD2.
PD2 has double the battery life compared to R3pro but for a feature packed dap R3pro gives about 18-19hrs battery life. I chose Saber edition for the more detailed energetic sound.

 

[Novice2020]

Sound is a very subjective thing so my choice of sound might not match yours. I like both my PD2 and R3pro Saber. If it's value for money, I would suggest R3pro any day. Infact you even have 2 choice between R3pro Saber (ess dac) and R3pro vanilla ( with CS dac). So you can choose between those two for whatever sound you prefer. Display/features/functions on R3pro is much better than PD2 infact R3pro (vanilla) comes with the same CS43131 dac as PD2.
PD2 has double the battery life compared to R3pro but for a feature packed dap R3pro gives about 18-19hrs battery life. I chose Saber edition for the more detailed energetic sound.

So hard to decide without an opportunity to hear the difference

 

[Monkeyk2010]

So hard to decide without an opportunity to hear the difference

One thing to consider: jeteffect, cowon is the only one with this equalizer. It's still one of the best in dap land. Other have some kind of equalizer build in but this doesn't come close to jeteffect (in my opinion)

The hiby had Bluetooth and usb audio out, the plenue doesn't.

 

[Novice2020]

One thing to consider: jeteffect, cowon is the only one with this equalizer. It's still one of the best in dap land. Other have some kind of equalizer build in but this doesn't come close to jeteffect (in my opinion)

The hiby had Bluetooth and usb audio out, the plenue doesn't.

I don't need bluetooth or audio out I'm looking for best SQ for my money

 

[Vruksha]

So hard to decide without an opportunity to hear the difference

I have been there so totally understand. I spend over a month researching before getting a dap cuz no chances to try them out. I read 100s of pages on owner forums here. Came here to read more about DX160 and ended up getting R3pro and saved a bunch of money as well. It was the best decision I made.
What kinda sound do you generally like?

 

[Novice2020]

I have been there so totally understand. I spend over a month researching before getting a dap cuz no chances to try them out. I read 100s of pages on owner forums here. Came here to read more about DX160 and ended up getting R3pro and saved a bunch of money as well. It was the best decision I made.
What kinda sound do you generally like?

Although I'm not sound expert and kinda hard to describe but I think I do like detailed somewhat melodic ,bright sound. I like to hear the separation of instruments and clear vocal

 

[Vruksha]

Although I'm not sound expert and kinda hard to describe but I think I do like detailed somewhat melodic ,bright sound. I like to hear the separation of instruments and clear vocal

"I do like detailed somewhat melodic ,bright sound. I like to hear the separation of instruments and clear vocal"
That's R3pro Saber. If you want slightly lesser details and more smoother (warm) presentation go for R3pro Vanilla.
PD2 is for a certain crowd. You might not like it's sound out of the box it's quiet flat, have to eq it but even R3pro has option to eq. I have a certain attachment to PD hence I bought one even though I think it's overpriced for whatever it's offering. Not the best UI, it's laggy and you have 64gb + you can add 128gb external while R3pro has very responsive UI, better/bigger display no internal memory but you can add upto 2tb card. I don't stream or use bluetooth but still went for R3pro cuz they give the best sound for $200.
DX160 sound might be slightly better but it comes with its own problems. My friend has one, it eeps crashing on him at times and being an Android dap the battery life is around 9hrs. R3pro saber gives 16-17hrs and R3pro vanilla gives 18-19hrs.
I would get the R3pro saber and invest the extra 200 on an iem.

 

[Vruksha]

Although I'm not sound expert and kinda hard to describe but I think I do like detailed somewhat melodic ,bright sound. I like to hear the separation of instruments and clear vocal

You can check this forum and decide https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hiby-r3-pro-portable-bluetooth-dap.916299/page-74

 

[Novice2020]

"I do like detailed somewhat melodic ,bright sound. I like to hear the separation of instruments and clear vocal"
That's R3pro Saber. If you want slightly lesser details and more smoother (warm) presentation go for R3pro Vanilla.
PD2 is for a certain crowd. You might not like it's sound out of the box it's quiet flat, have to eq it but even R3pro has option to eq. I have a certain attachment to PD hence I bought one even though I think it's overpriced for whatever it's offering. Not the best UI, it's laggy and you have 64gb + you can add 128gb external while R3pro has very responsive UI, better/bigger display no internal memory but you can add upto 2tb card. I don't stream or use bluetooth but still went for R3pro cuz they give the best sound for $200.
DX160 sound might be slightly better but it comes with its own problems. My friend has one, it eeps crashing on him at times and being an Android dap the battery life is around 9hrs. R3pro saber gives 16-17hrs and R3pro vanilla gives 18-19hrs.
I would get the R3pro saber and invest the extra 200 on an iem.

Thank you for working with me. Means a lot for me

 

[Vruksha]

Thank you for working with me. Means a lot for me

You have no idea how much time I spend researching before getting my dap. It's confusing cuz everyone has their own opinions leaving you so confused at the end. I understand this very well so just trying my best to help another that's all.

 

[Novice2020]

You have no idea how much time I spend researching before getting my dap. It's confusing cuz everyone has their own opinions leaving you so confused at the end. I understand this very well so just trying my best to help another that's all.

Researching 2 days already. I'm torn between r3pro and pd2 now. Went to local stores they don't have neither one.