Brief iAudio U5 Review [Archive] - iAudiophile.net Forums

ranma172

02-11-2008, 18:12

Hi,

I've been using the U5 for a few days. Here's a brief opinion. I'll compare it to the U3, and also to the iRiver S10.

Size:
+ The U5 is very thin; it fits well in your jean pockets.
- It could be smaller. There's enough space even for another control pad.
Winner: iRiver S10

Buttons:
- They're not well designed. The RIGHT button is too tiny so I frequently push UP/DOWN (volume) button by mistake when I'm not careful.
Winner: U3 (its pad is the best)

Options:
- There are some missing options comparing to U3 (bookmarks, dynamic playlist, etc.)
+ It adds search by artist/album/genre/etc. (but also lets you browse folders)
Winner: U3

Display:
+ It's clear, really easy to read. The main screen has a lot of info.
Winner: U5

Sound:
+ Well, for me it's like the U3. The S10 is very similar too.*
Winner: U3/U5 have better sound enhancements (if you like to use them)

* Compared using Sennheiser PX100.

Connection
- It uses a micro USB cable (http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=19851); no mini adapter supplied... [no]
Winner: U3 (standard mini USB)

Formats
- No OGG, FLAC, etc. (future firmware?)
Winner: U3 (OGG, FLAC)

Mr. Black

02-11-2008, 18:19

Formats
- No OGG, FLAC, etc. (future firmware?)
Winner: U3 (OGG, FLAC)

Would you be willing to try the korean FW? it's supposed to support flac and ogg...

Cheers for the write up BTW... I have an S10 also.. lovely lil thing, rarely used nowadays though.

MaxSt

02-11-2008, 18:20

Does the advertised support for M3U really works?

Who Am I?

02-11-2008, 18:41

I want some pics. of it lol. nice write up. nice of someone to actually buy the U5.

ranma172

02-12-2008, 18:52

Would you be willing to try the korean FW? it's supposed to support flac and ogg...

Cheers for the write up BTW... I have an S10 also.. lovely lil thing, rarely used nowadays though.

I think I'll wait for the "normal" firmware. Anyway I usually don't listen to flac/ogg...
S10 is great, although it has some stupid flaws (I hate the volume buttons lock system).

Does the advertised support for M3U really works?

Yes. I've copied a M3U file to the root folder (I suppose I can copy it anywhere) and it appears in the playlist menu.

I wants some pics. of it lol. nice write up. nice of someone to actually buy the U5.

What do you want to see? Just in case you don't know, there's a video at youtube.

The U5 is yet another iPod clone. It's a fever. Of course I didn't buy it because of that. In fact I hate the "iPodisation" of everything (http://ijam.es/).

Regards,
ranMa

Who Am I?

02-12-2008, 19:27

What do you want to see?I would just like to see some nice shots of the device. i've seen the video that you have mentioned.

4ki

02-13-2008, 03:22

Must be rockboxed. Now.

Good comparison, but hardly a review. Run some tests when you have the time, and post your own pics (since company videos are so vague). The only thing limiting this player is the firmware; battery's relative due to price, but good god, the bang and potential is so far out.

Just a quickie. Is it good for blind-use? My d2's pretty darn great at this with it's manual buttons, but it looks like the U5 can only be controlled w/the front panel.

Pepso

02-13-2008, 06:23

A lot of U5 pics: http://product.pcpop.com/000066028/Picture.html

marmitt

02-14-2008, 09:42

well, since i don't use flac and ogg, only mp3, i can't see any reasons to avoid U5... it's VERY cheap

I will probably buy one!

Who Am I?

02-15-2008, 17:21

Remember , Amazon lowest price!

inti4444

02-18-2008, 01:21

I only would buy if it had an sdhc slot

remsar72

02-18-2008, 04:00

hmm.. i will not buy a u5, because of it lacks of new features in comparsion with other cowon dap player with ogg, flac, ape, mpc and so on...
the only thing is the price...but by the way..
the next player i buy, will be the clix2 or nwz-a818 and of course i have an eye on the a3..mayby i see one time a cheap modell at ebay or riccardo:-)...
i have enough dap/pmp from cowon and now i wan't something different from sq experience...
by the way: i love cowon....

ataru_moroboshi80

02-18-2008, 12:20

Hi,

I've been using the U5 for a few days. Here's a brief opinion. I'll compare it to the U3, and also to the iRiver S10.

Formats
- No OGG, FLAC, etc. (future firmware?)
Winner: U3 (OGG, FLAC)

What about the korean firmware?
It can be easy installed?
And what about lyrics support?

Pleaz give us more details [help][help]

ranma172

02-18-2008, 16:01

Just a quickie. Is it good for blind-use? My d2's pretty darn great at this with it's manual buttons, but it looks like the U5 can only be controlled w/the front panel.
I thought the D2 was no good at blind-use but it seems it has manual buttons... Well, the U5 is not bad at this, but the RIGHT button is a little small so you'll sometimes turn volume up or down.

the next player i buy, will be the clix2 or nwz-a818
But Sony forces you to use their software to transfer songs, no? Do Sony people know what UMS is?

What about the korean firmware?
It can be easy installed?
And what about lyrics support?
I think the korean firmware is still a beta.
I don't think the U5 supports lyrics.

MaxSt

02-18-2008, 16:03

And what about lyrics support?

http://www.cowonglobal.com/zeroboard/zboard.php?id=C08&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&bmenu=download&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&bmenu=download&desc=asc&no=240&bmenu=download

MaxSt

02-18-2008, 16:05

I think the korean firmware is still a beta.

No.

http://board.cowon.com/zeroboard/zboard.php?id=C08

ataru_moroboshi80

02-19-2008, 01:46

I think the korean firmware is still a beta.
I don't think the U5 supports lyrics.

look at here: in the features, there is "Lyrics Display"

http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_wide/product_U5_feature.php

instead on the Cowon USA site , this feature lacks;
so i think it is present only on the Korean version

kegeruneku

02-20-2008, 18:49

I just bought one from Jetaudio at Amazon and will probably have it in a couple of weeks.
One of the main reason I bought it (beside the U.S. price) is the FLAC support, so you can bet I'll do everything I can to get the Korean firmware on it. Even if there's no English language support.

I'll post some pics of everything (from the package to the little ™ on the player :P) once I get it.

remsar72

02-21-2008, 05:20

I thought the D2 was no good at blind-use but it seems it has manual buttons... Well, the U5 is not bad at this, but the RIGHT button is a little small so you'll sometimes turn volume up or down.

But Sony forces you to use their software to transfer songs, no? Do Sony people know what UMS is?

I think the korean firmware is still a beta.
I don't think the U5 supports lyrics.

that's not correct...with the new nwz modells, you can put the music/videos via drag and drop on the player....no sonicstage[cursing]

ill3

02-21-2008, 13:10

What did the iAudio U5 1.10 firmware add? Cowon's site lists "improved features".

I ordered this thinking it had bookmark support (as described in the manual). Oops. My U3 is broken (shuts off at times, menu button doesn't work), so maybe I should just get another U3 instead.

Perhaps the Korean firmware has bookmark support..?

Who Am I?

02-21-2008, 13:15

Korean Firmware always has more features and supports more.

2.12 (http://download.cowon.com/data/C08/U5/v2_12/U5_2.12.zip)

remsar72

02-21-2008, 14:05

Korean Firmware always has more features and supports more.

2.12 (http://download.cowon.com/data/C08/U5/v2_12/U5_2.12.zip)

but why???we pay the same or more for the players from cowon and we wan't the same as they[yes][devil][surrend]

ill3

02-21-2008, 14:16

Korean Firmware always has more features and supports more.

2.12 (http://download.cowon.com/data/C08/U5/v2_12/U5_2.12.zip)

But does it support bookmarking?

Who Am I?

02-21-2008, 15:15

but why???we pay the same or more for the players from cowon and we wan't the same as they[yes][devil][surrend]Korean takes pride in there DAPs so they get the better support and more add ons. Korea gets more Color choices then we do as well (for the D2 that is). the only light difference is that the Korea Firmware supports Flash UI and the useless Dictionary. Bug fixes for 2.xx and 3.xx are the same. for the U5 the 1.xx and 2.xx are different. 2.xx supports 2 or more formats.

But does it support bookmarking?i'm not sure. try it out and see.

remsar72

02-22-2008, 04:48

i'm also very pride of my cowon players:-)
so, cowon.......look at this wonderfull forum here, then you see, that you can be really pride of us:-)
so give us the same features!!!!!!!!

ataru_moroboshi80

02-22-2008, 06:04

i'm also very pride of my cowon players:-)
so, cowon.......look at this wonderfull forum here, then you see, that you can be really pride of us:-)
so give us the same features!!!!!!!!

But the Korean firmware can be installed easily on the US player?

If this procedure should be simple, so there wouldn't be any problem for us ...

Who Am I?

02-22-2008, 09:49

Correct. the installation is the same. just drag the two files into the U5's Root.

remsar72

02-22-2008, 10:02

But the Korean firmware can be installed easily on the US player?

If this procedure should be simple, so there wouldn't be any problem for us ...

yeah..of course you can do that...but that's not the point..
i don't wan't that cowon remove/add different ultilitis or new stuff for each area in the world.
the amis have lyrics and that, but the korean fw has flac,ogg but not what the american fw or european fw has.....[cursing]
so, if i wan't that, i must reinstall a fw..and when i wan't audible, i must change again????
that's sucks too me really[thumbdwn]

ill3

02-22-2008, 15:59

I plan on trying the Korean firmware when my U5 arrives on Monday. But if it doesn't have bookmarking, I might return it and get a U3 instead.

ranma172

02-23-2008, 08:35

I've installed the corean firmware v2.12 but now I can't see the texts... I will go back to the US one.

ranma172

02-23-2008, 08:46

Ops, TAKE CARE, after upgrading to the corean fw now my U5 doesn't work. I can't use it and I can't access its file system so I can set the previous firmware.

I've formatted the unit drive and accessed the file system, but after setting the 1.1 US firmware it doesn't work. Like before, it doesn't display text...

Do you know how to completely reset the device (return to the initial state)?

Help!

ranma172

02-23-2008, 09:33

Please can anyone do me a favor and upload the default files that come with the U5?

I think there's a SYSTEM folder and maybe something else (the ipodcast folder is not necessary).

Thank you very much

kegeruneku

02-23-2008, 10:53

I've installed the corean firmware v2.12 but now I can't see the texts... I will go back to the US one.
You should have written down how to access the "Languages" menu and tried to switch the Korean firmware to English. At least that's what I would've done. I mean even if you could see the texts, it would be in Korean...

MaxSt

02-23-2008, 14:26

Like before, it doesn't display text...

Copy the font file again?

ataru_moroboshi80

02-25-2008, 12:56

ill3

02-25-2008, 16:01

So, I got my U5 today. I immediately installed the Korean firmware 2.12.

At first, the text was missing. So I plugged it back in and realized the drive was unformatted. I formatted it as FAT32.

The text was still missing. Solving that problem was also easy; I just had to copy the u5_font.bin file back to the device and power it on. It rewrote the fonts and now I've got my U5 running 2.12 with the English language...

...and I've got bookmark support! I can add bookmarks through the menu, or I can hold down the center button to get an option to add a bookmark.

Outside of the different USB connector, I'm satisfied so far. (the port is the same as my Panasonic digital camera - but it's not a standard mini USB and it's different than my cellphone's wider micro USB port)

ataru_moroboshi80

02-25-2008, 16:11

kegeruneku

02-25-2008, 16:27

I just had to copy the u5_font.bin file back to the device and power it on. It rewrote the fonts and now I've got my U5 running 2.12 with the English language...Did you take the u5_font.bin from the 1.10b U.S. firmware or did you keep the one from the 2.12 Korean one ?

ill3

02-25-2008, 19:14

I used the u5_font.bin from the Korean firmware.

There is a lyrics option if you hold down the center button while playing a song (pic (http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=e9x3wz&s=3)).

ranma172

02-26-2008, 14:07

I used the u5_font.bin from the Korean firmware.

There is a lyrics option if you hold down the center button while playing a song (pic (http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=e9x3wz&s=3)).

I restored my U5 using the SYSTEM folder from my U3... [wacko]

I tried what you did and it works like a charm. Thanks a lot!

[thumbsup] Thumbs up for you and Korea!

ranma172

02-26-2008, 15:43

It seems that the Korean firmware disables tag (artist/album/etc.) browsing. That's good for me since I always browse folders and disabling tag browsing makes the player startup much faster (no more startup loading progress bar).

But, on the other hand, this FW also disables M3U playlist support (don't know why because it has nothing to do with tag browsing). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

It adds dynamic playlist though.

regards,
ranMa

LostPhil

03-13-2008, 09:08

It would be nice to know if this has the same bass issues as the D2 with low impedance headphones...

If it doesn't and the sound quality is good then I think I'd rather this... But then I'd have to switch to mp3 to use m3u playlists or stick with ogg and do without playlists... Why is nothing ever simple!

jv7

03-20-2008, 20:44

If you format your U5, and then install the Korean firmware 2.13, it should work, with english font and all (at least mine did).

And yes, Korean firmware disables sorting by the tags, but gives you dynamic playlist and bookmark instead (which I prefer).

ranma172

07-28-2008, 08:53

After all this time using the U5 I have to say I'm quite satisfied with it. I haven't found a better mp3 player for me yet, besides the U3.

However, it's not perfect. I wish it used standard mini USB (like U3) and had a better RIGHT button (just like the LEFT button would be fine).

The only reasons I don't use the U3 are because the U5 is thinner and its display is easier to read. Well, maybe also because my U3 is dead...

But I wouldn't mind buying another U3/U5 if they get better. Come on, Cowon! Yes, you can!

kingbuzzo

08-13-2008, 04:24

I got one for my gf and compared it to my D2 using Qjays latest korean firmware for both. Tried to use 320kbps mp3 where I could and then some 192kbps oggs.

is it just me or does this thing lack a lot of detail compared to the D2? I'm just not getting much clarity in anything at all. I first noticed the low detail and harsh nature of the highs and mids, and then just didn't even notice bass at all. This is probably expected from using Qjays afaik. I feel as though the D2 is much warmer and detailed after my first hour of comparison.

Can anyone else compare? am I just crazy?