[limathy]

hi guys, i know its been discussed over and over, i've been reading the forum posts regarding the 2 players.

being in australia, i have to ebay my new mp3 player, and it was pretty much zune 80 all the way. till i started taking a liking to the D2.

so few considerations:
how is the navigation on the D2, with the touch interface and all, is it fiddly? i havent read too many complaints. currently i use a rockboxed ipod nano which is wonderful, i just need more space.

what should a D2 16gb cost relative to a zune? cause on ebay the price difference is about 40dollars.... which isnt a whole lot, especially if i was to buy a 16gb card for the D2.

sound quality of each appears to be good, neither currently has a line out. i'm oka with the battery on both of them. just scared of a hdd failure like my ipods in the past, anyone have any problems with it?

i use VBR mp3s so codecs etc not really an issue. just cant help but feel maybe the zune would give me more bang for buck, but the D2s battery life, flash memory and a whole lot of supporters is making it difficult to decide

anything else i need to think about when deciding?

 

[cyanbomb]

I can't give an opinion on the Zune, as I've never owned one; but I do have a D2, and it's a great sounding player. The D2 is a flash memory-based player, so there's no HDD failure to worry about. The battery life of the D2 is incredible--I've used it for 2 weeks, for about 2 hours a day, without having to charge it! I can't think of another player with that kind of battery life.

But either way, you're getting a quality player.


PS: Dilemma <--- correct spelling.

 

[limathy]

hahaha typo,
yeh thats the thing, theres several great choices out there
you dont find the navigation/controls too troublesome? thats my main concern otherwise it'd b D2 all the way

 

[Night Surfer]

I've had both players.
They both sound great.
The D2's touch interface works fine.
The D2's HP out will power a small city.
The D2 is a tinker's dream: you can customize everything.
D2 has great EQ and sound enhancements.

In the end I chose the Zune for the higher capacity, larger screen/album art and I prefer the SQ of the Zune (though the D2 is very good too).

 

[filipelli]

I have both currently.

I actually find flipping through my entire collection cumbersome. The twist interface on the zune, while visually stunning, can be annoying because of the wealth of selections you can make.

I looooove my D2. The touch screen is quite responsive.

 

[limathy]

thanks for that... so hard to decide....
ummmm D2 navigation, does that NEED the stylus? or will i be able to just use my finger when i'm on the move?

 

[nv88]

I use my fingers. I've only picked up the stylus a couple of times. The stylus is more precise when you are trying to jump to a specific place in the time line. Otherwise fingers work fine.

 

[limathy]

cheers guys, looks like i'm sold on the D2, any idea where i can find a nice case for it? one of those leather ones would be nice. ebay not turning up much

 

[filipelli]

Just got the one over at jetmall. Appeared to fit all my needs and nicest in my eyes.

The ultimate case guide: here you go.
the ULTIMATE d2 case info thread - iAudiophile.net Forums

 

[roebeet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by limathy /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks for that... so hard to decide.... ummmm D2 navigation, does that NEED the stylus? or will i be able to just use my finger when i'm on the move?

I also use my fingers - no problems. As for a case, I use a simple clear silicon one from eBay. I would also suggest a screen protector - I got that on eBay with the silicon cover.

 

[filipelli]

I use my fingers as well, but not a big fan of silicone cases. Too sticky, collects lint, and hard to put in my pocket.

But x2 on screen protector.

 

[Aimless1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by limathy /img/forum/go_quote.gif cheers guys, looks like i'm sold on the D2, any idea where i can find a nice case for it? one of those leather ones would be nice. ebay not turning up much

Here is the case I use Noreve - Etui cuir Cowon iAudio D2 Tradition
Very nice and I don't seem to need a screen protector with it. Only thing I have to remove the d2 for is to recharge it about once a week...and I normally play it for about 8 hours/day in the office.

If it helps, I have fat fingers and rarely need the stylus.

 

[limathy]

yeh i'm not a big fan of silicone cases, except mayb the apple ones for the nano, the quality on those was really quite good.

regarding sq, the forum has a few things about coldness, lack of dynamics and troubles in "busy" passages, is this general opinion or just a few people. the lack of dynamics being my biggest concern i guess. if anyone could compare it to say a ipod 5th gen or a 1st gen nano it would be really helpful

 

[ozjeff]

Hi limathy,

I was in the same vote as you. Cowon D2 16GB or Zune 80 and I'm also in Australia.

I opted for the D2 for warranty sake as you can get them at MP3 Players Shop - MP3 Player selection from Creative Zen, iRiver & Apple iPods along with cases, albeit the cases aren't cheap. Other reasons were not going for a HDD player and for us Aussies the Zune site isn't allowed to us 'legally' as yet. The D2 will take SD/SDHC cards for more storage and it plays FLAC and that a RockBox will someday be available.

The D2 arrived yesterday and about the only thing I don't like so far about it is the navigation if you have hundreds of artists it's going to take a while scrolling. Otherwise I love the info it displays (such as bitrate), the ability to edit the pre-set EQ's and quickly without having to go back through lots of menus even change the Q and frequency that your adjusting, a time line to click on to get to a part of a song and so on.

SQ wise it's way better than my previous iRiver X20, that 'cold' some people refer to is basically detail, it's not as warm as iPod (classic). I use westone UM2's and 1 thing I've noticed is you don't need to crank it up to hear decent sound.

The stylus is a tad weird (and not really required unless as previously pointed out for picking the time line more precise). It's neat that it can be used as a stand, but you can't slot it in anywhere to hide it.

All in all I'm happy with the purchase.


Cheers,
Jeff.

 

[limathy]

cheers ozjeff, that was really helpful, i think i'll get the D2, and one of those leather cases. found a good seller on ebay, D2 costs about the same, but getting a nice deal with the screen protector and a case, so i'll be all ready to go when it arrives.