i get a f2 but sound is bad?help?

[konya]

i buy a cowon f2...but sound is terrible...i use original iaudio headphone...is that headphone bad or cowon s sound is bad????? if i buy a sennheiser cx300 or ie4,can i like sound??????*help please...sorry for my very bad english...

[GSV3MiaC]

The headphones you get are invariably not very good. Take your player to headphone shop and try some others. Not sure how bad the F2 ones are, but the I7 ones are diabolical** .. previous G3 / M5L ones were just 'poor', so Cowon must have found a new, even cheaper, Chinese supplier.

** I've had better HiFi from two cocoa tins and a piece of stretched string.

[Saffron]

the I7 ones are diabolical** .. previous G3 / M5L ones were just 'poor', so Cowon must have found a new, even cheaper, Chinese supplier.

** I've had better HiFi from two cocoa tins and a piece of stretched string.

So they are not shipping with Cresyn headphones anymore? Interesting, but not in a good way. The included Cresyn 'phones was one of the things Cowon used to advertise. They weren't bad sounding especially for included 'phones, which are usually so much junk. Too bad the ear pieces on them were so huge, made for Dumbo sized ears unfortunately.

Over on Cowon's JetMall site they are still selling replacements of the old Cresyns they used to include, but now there's also a more inexpensive and much more cheaply built set as well. Perhaps those are the ones they are shipping with the newer players. Not much difference to serious DAP fans, who normally never use included 'phones anyway. But casual users are likely to be somewhat disappointed, as it is they who most tend to use included phones and there are simply more casual than serious users.

[GSV3MiaC]

They (the I7 at least) seems to ship with

http://www.jetmall.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=263

near as I can tell, which while only $2 cheaper than the Cresyns, perform about $20 worse (bear in mind the Cresyns are only $9.99 and you get the picture .. although why there is a $4 difference between black and white is a bit mystical).

A really dumb move on a $200+ music player, IMNSHO. Ditto the lack of a lanyard/case of any kind, even the 10c piece of plastic you got with a G3.

Maybe our F2 sufferer can pick his phones out from that site .. they may be the better ones (but I doubt it). Fwiw, I normally use Sennheiser PX100 and they are fine (I dislike things stuffed in my ears anyway).

[Saffron]

The ones pictured at your included link are the ones, second page also has an even worse pair. Perhaps it's those shipping with the i7 and F2?

What a shame! Concur completely that it is a poor decision to ship the cheapest 'phones with expensive players capable of excellent sound quality. Customers just run into exactly the original poster's complaint. I have always thought it wise of Cowon to include Cresyn AXE599 'phones and iRiver to include Sennheiser MX400. Not the best sounding phones but still far better than what competitors include, and the practice of including better 'phones does a better job of demonstrating the superior sound quality of these players.

As to the price difference between the white and black Cresyns, I can only imagine the black are more popular. Most DAP buyers who choose something other than iPod would like, in varying degrees, to distinguish themselves from the masses of iPod owners with their stock white 'phones. Many choose to do this by choosing 'phones in any color other than white.

To the OP: I second GSV's suggestion to try a better pair of 'phones. Cowon is known for sound quality so it would seem the included 'phones are to blame in this case. Good 'phones can't make bad hardware sound good, but bad 'phones can easily ruin the sound of a quality player. Try better ones and report back, good luck!

[GSV3MiaC]

Re the price difference .. Yes, I imagine black maybe are more popular (and are what Cowon mostly ships?), but it's the WHITE ones which are $4 cheaper!

[Saffron]

but it's the WHITE ones which are $4 cheaper!

Yes, saw that, and it fits with the black being more popular.

Higher demand commands a higher price per unit. Lower demand subsequently lowers price as manufacturers attempt to increase number of units sold to make up for the lower demand.

Can't imagine there would be much demand for those normally-included headphones anyway. But there are users who want things to "match" or want to replace stock headphones in the event the originals end up broken or lost.