Which has the BEST Sound Quality: The Sony Walkman or the Cowon D2?
Dec 22, 2008 at 2:12 PM Post #32 of 43
simply bring yr single familier hearphone go audiopile shop plugin test both(Sony S73x/63x Series with D2:

-flat EQ setting(off all enchancement)
-then test bass EQ
-test mid EQ
-test high EQ

listen with sound volumn to 20%, 40% 60% and 80%

i believe majority will vote the answer:

sony
 
Dec 23, 2008 at 4:06 AM Post #33 of 43
I find the sansa fuze to be more neutral than the Sony. Although the s639 is not bad, it is definitely not neutral and is rather "hyped" and sounds too loud. I expect music to be able to go up and down in volume. The Sony sound seems to be loud evenly even in quiet passages. It is fun to listen to and it is fast too and the audio is very clean, but I can't say that it is better than the cowon d2. I actually prefer the cowon d2 when paired with my er4p headphones.
 
Dec 23, 2008 at 4:29 AM Post #34 of 43
would be nice if someone could find out how to unhack the sony so that it can play nice with sonic stage. if so, you get atrac lossless, gapless, recording from line in and line out signal as well.

sony have dumbed down their products for north america and europe so that they can sell cheaply and compete with other cheap alternatives like cowon etc. who don't seem to care for real audiophile qualities like gapless and proper internal amplification but rather fun spec sheets and a name that sounds superior, 'iaudiophile'
 
Dec 23, 2008 at 5:11 AM Post #35 of 43
the dumbing down of products is clearly iPod's fault and at the same time the reason for iPod's commercial success. Even grandma can use an iPod, but oh iPods are so crappy in terms of sound quality.
 
Dec 23, 2008 at 6:25 AM Post #36 of 43
i really don't think so. ipod did not come to market with less features than other players. they were equal except that they were very very tied to one system: only mac and only firewire. the only features missing from ipod that many other players have is the radio. and even that is really a big if. even if they have it, they may have a poorly receiving implementation such as the d2 for instance or grainy.

no, the ipod is not the reason. north america has not really ever been a haven for high quality gadgets. it has been the hand-me-down spot from various places around the world and has not shaken that image yet.

so, enter the poor-man's sony's that come to our shores with half their feature list gone. if an ipod as you seem to really hate them is a dumb down, it is also a product of a company who are entrenched within this dumb market.

while cheap can be good, it really is throttling an industry.
 
Dec 23, 2008 at 6:36 AM Post #37 of 43
Does the current Fuze come with the upgraded firmware, or do you download it and load it on. It is not listed as having it on their web site but i see it as a new firmware on engaget.
 
Dec 25, 2008 at 1:53 PM Post #38 of 43
I don't know about the D2 as I am waiting for the prices to fall, but I have the
Sansa Clip and a new Sony NWZ-S615F and it sounds GREAT! It has
displaced my beloved Clip my default player. I really do like the sound
enhancements and the EQ is better than the Sansa.
 
Dec 25, 2008 at 3:07 PM Post #39 of 43
I don't get it. Sony = expensive = bad. Sony = cheap = bad.

While the S630 doesn't have extensive features, it does sound great, have an outstanding built quality, have a great battery life and I can legally download and watch Top Gear on it (for free!). All that really matters to me really.
 
Dec 26, 2008 at 12:25 PM Post #40 of 43
I'd love to be able to use ATRACK, the size and sq are supposed to be far better than mp3 at comparable bitrates. Smaller file size and better sq, plus the enhanced battery life. Damn, Sony can be a beouch sometimes.
 
Dec 26, 2008 at 4:31 PM Post #41 of 43
atrac has been 'proved' by an 'independent' company (actually just sony netherlands) to be much better than mp3 at 128 whilst at 64kbps. the test however was done from a cd: was it volume matched? were the files actually atrac? were they actually mp3? no one knew.

atrac have never been proved to sound better than mp3. go to hydrogrenaudio.org to check out real independent tests and see that atrac usually falls in the last 4/5 of encoders but sometimes does very well.

it is antique, has had amazing marketting and a cult following but not sound that matches the original. some have said it sounds better than original: that means huge loss of original sound.
 
Dec 26, 2008 at 4:45 PM Post #42 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by walkingman /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I don't get it. Sony = expensive = bad. Sony = cheap = bad.

While the S630 doesn't have extensive features, it does sound great, have an outstanding built quality


The battery life is really good, but the build quality has been greatly hyped. I think it is just built like any other Sony product for consumer use. But the most important aspect is sound. The player does sound decent. My main complaint is that it seems as though Sony boosts the lows and highs the audio with all audio settings flat. The result is that the audio material sounds very loud and very very very artificial. I usually get bored very quickly listening to my S639.
 
Dec 27, 2008 at 3:02 AM Post #43 of 43
we can use different earphones to plugin our player to judge the sound...but just impossible to copy the "same song" to the different player(audition at audiophiles shop) and use a single earphone to test it!

To audition player SQ much more difficult then earphone SQ, so i guess only the owner/staff those work in audiopiles shop may have better understanding towards which brand player the best for flat setting and player for responsive EQ.

other then no FLAC and APE which miss it so much, my sony S739 never fail me when compare others player..
 
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