[swilly]

I love Cowon. Even though I've never owned one of their products.

The time has come for me to change that, and I'm thinking about getting the S9 or the I9.

Basically, I could drop the ball and go with a 8gb S9 or a 16gb I9 (same price).

Both should have great sound quality, but of course, the S9 has that gorgeous screen. I guess I could plop some anime or movies, but I don't think I plan on watching too many things on this, it'll mainly be a music player.

On the other side, the I9 has 8gb more storage. Since I don't plan using the S9 for A LOT of movies and stuff, this could be really useful. Plus, a lot of my albums don't have album art.

In fact, if I end up choosing the i9, I'll probably be going with the 8gb model, I have too much music and to me, 8 and 16 gb are pretty much the same b/c I can't fit my whole collection on the thing either way.

Or, I could be getting the 16gb S9 (so I'll be throwing down about $30 more for longer battery life, larger, better screen, hmm now that I say that, seems worth it...). Though in the videos of the S9, I notice some lag. Is that true?

What would you guys say? Also, I plan on grabbing the Head-direct R0 (any other recommended portable buds/IEMs, under $100, PK3 is also under consideration) to use with the cowon.

Thanks.

 

[theKraken11]

Can't comment on the Cowon, but if you're looking for earphone recommendations too, I'd ask here for more responses:

Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

 

[JT Vanguard]

If you plan on using the unit JUST for music then go for the i9 its compact and you can get the 16GB (even though u say the extra 8 GB doesnt matter .. it will).
-> You like that shes fit and compact, shes willing to go anywhere cause she isnt high maintenance and your friends wont try to steal her from you.


If you dont care about carrying a bigger player, plan on watching videos on the fly and enjoy the fact you have an AMOLED screen your friends will wanna drool over - get the s9 16GB.
->You dont care she is a little big cause she more than compensates with her unique abilities, and although she can be a little high maintenance the fact that shes got a beautiful smile is icing on the cake.

 

[swilly]

Thanks for the reply! I'm thinking that you switched them around, but no matter , I understand what you mean.

 

[shigzeo]

How do you love a company you've never owned? They do have NICE screens and EQ's (for what it's worth) and BBE effects, but apart from those features, very typical sound. if you want a player which will hold up to the pressure of iems, the Clip, fuze, sony or apple products are better. If you want a usable EQ with low amounts of hiss, however, the Cowon players are your best bet.

 

[swilly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif How do you love a company you've never owned? They do have NICE screens and EQ's (for what it's worth) and BBE effects, but apart from those features, very typical sound. if you want a player which will hold up to the pressure of iems, the Clip, fuze, sony or apple products are better. If you want a usable EQ with low amounts of hiss, however, the Cowon players are your best bet.

So you're saying the EQs and BBE are what make the cowons sound "good"?

Also, what do you mean by holding up to the pressure of iems?

Thanks

 

[swilly]

Basically, I have about $178 that I'm ready to spend (maybe i'll tack on more if that extra little bit is needed).

I have a Sony NWZ-A816 that works, (it's almost been 2 years), and I guess I feel like an upgrade would be nice. Then again, maybe I don't and I should just use it until it breaks, and by then, some other great mp3 players will be out. The main stimulus for me to upgrade would be for Cowon's awesome sound quality (from what I've read), as well as the powerful output it has to drive the RE0's 64 imp. nicely, instead of the sony's weaker output.

The RE0 are tempting b/c the price is so great right now. So I was thinking RE0 + 8gb i9 or pk3+ 8gb s9 could be a good idea.

 

[swilly]

Well, just plopped the cash down on the RE0.

I guess I'll wait on whether or not I plan on getting another mp3 player.

The Sony is great, don't get me wrong, I've just gotten myself into the "ooh, shiny new gagdet, must have!".

 

[JT Vanguard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swilly /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the reply! I'm thinking that you switched them around, but no matter , I understand what you mean.

lol ya i totally switched it up - im glad you understood it

 

[swilly]

So, the question that remains is:

Does it make sense to upgrade from the Sony NWZ-A816 to the Cowon i9?

I'll have to see if I'm satisfied by the RE0 + Sony, but does anyone with a similar thoughts/experience as me have any input?

Thanks.

-Swilly

 

[tds101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swilly /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, the question that remains is: Does it make sense to upgrade from the Sony NWZ-A816 to the Cowon i9? I'll have to see if I'm satisfied by the RE0 + Sony, but does anyone with a similar thoughts/experience as me have any input? Thanks. -Swilly

It makes sense to upgrade to the i9 (or S9 for added videos on the go) IF your an EQ fan. If not, stay with what you have. Cowon is known for their amazing plethora of EQ settings and sound enhancements, and the Cowon lineup totally dwarfs any other brand in this area, and they're quite high quality at that.

If this isn't EXACTLY what your looking for then enjoy what ya' got. Cowon is an amazing brand, you'd not go wrong.

Just an FYI,........

 

[swilly]

ah, that's a really good answer. Thanks!

In the end, it'll boil down to whether or not I'm satisfied with RE0 + Sony. I do use some of sony's sound enhancements, like clear stereo, dynamic normalizer, DSEE, though I haven't played around too much with tweaking EQ. If i do plan on getting the Cowon, I might start tweaking the EQ on the Sony for "practice"... haha.

 

[tds101]

The Sony EQ is nowhere near as good, or complex, as the settings on a Cowon. And, FWIW, I use the EQ and other sound enhancements on my Sony as well.

 

[swilly]

Alright! thanks for the help. Though, now I can't decide if i want to get an iBasso D2+ or the Cowon i9 16gb. I mean, I tend to listen to music at my computer the most, now that I'm in college. I have a decent computer, but I'm pretty certain that my soundcard is really cruddy. So an upgrade with the ibasso should be excellent, especially since it is still pretty portable and should work well with my sony.

What's going against the ibasso is the fact that my computer speakers aren't really that good, just some Altec Lansing Computer speaker things, http://www.greedydaughter.com/altec%...0speakerws.jpg

So pretty much, I am happy with my sony, but an upgrade to a cowon is great. I can use the sony until it's dead, and in the meantime, use the ibasso with it and my computer. Or, I could have the Cowon ready when the Sony dies, and have another excellent portable source (b/c in the end, source is more important than an amp in between) But I don't know if sound quality will increase much if my computer speakers aren't good to start with. I could use the RE0 + iBasso + Computer, but if I'm doing computer listening, I think I'd rather use speakers, it's still the most comfortable possible.

Any thoughts? Who would supports the iBasso and who supports the Cowon?

Thanks.

 

[JT Vanguard]

If listen at your comp and you listen via speakers because its comfortable - Then focus on that for now. Your sony as you said is "good" but your comp setup is not where as good right?

So id recommend focusing on your comp setup. And yes you will need decent speakers for good sound.