Cowon D2 vs Sony A818

[Jimbo3b]

Have any of you been watching the Cowon vs. Sony poll over at Head-fi?

Link: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f15/co...y-a818-269526/

I'm a little irritated that voting is running 60/40 against my favorite. But on the other hand, doesn't this simply reflect the buying patterns of the people reading the forum? In other words, users will vote for whatever they bought, instead of the poll being a realistic assessment of likes and dislikes. I'm gonna guess that for the most part, those who voted haven't heard both units side-by-side (uhm, like, including me).

Let me know what you think.

--Jim

[wader]

I was in that topic a little.

When Dominic said the SQ was good and how so, it made sense to me. It's apparently a different SQ, better for some tastes vs. others - just like for the D2.

I thought that some of the D2 dissing was a little thicker than it needed to be, but no big deal. The only think which bugged me - and, maybe it was a different thread there, not sure - was the mention that the D2 couldn't handle trance music without becoming globby in the bottom end. I understand what was being described, but didn't get a response which had enough detail to try and reproduce with either of my two D2s. If it's a general problem, that would be good to know. But, if the former D2 owner had the EQ pumped up with some heavy effects . . . yeah, I could see that happening without question. In any DAP, frankly.

I hoping to try a Sony in some local store with my PX100s, just to check it out. Regardless, the D2 meets more of my needs on paper, before even looking at the A818 in person.

- wader

[TedJ]

...or you could just say, "Hey, I'm happy with my purchase, who cares what others say."

I'd hate to see this thread turn into another example of fanboism...

[LostPhil]

I would chip in with my view but it wouldn't be wanted anyway. I'm sure the Sony units do sound good and I have no idea if they are better than the D2 so I can't comment.

One guy on there insists on those RMAA tests, which although can give a hint as to the sound of a player, it only takes into account the frequency response and nothing else... Strange if you ask me.

Personally I don't find it too cold... I've changed my jeteffects yet again and found that the best way to reduce sibilance is to have the rightmost band set at 9khz, not the highest and nock it down a couple of db's.

Oh well, personal opinion I guess. I like having the detail there. It's like arguing with my dad that his Bose Triports weren't worth the £120 he paid for them.

[Martin82]

I bought a Sony NWZ-A818 a while ago. I found it overall better for me and my needs. I miss the converter tool, JetAudio, though and the simple "rename the cover image to Cover.jpg"

And I also need a program that converts avi -> mp4 for the machine :/ TIPS?

[wader]

I think the "cold sound" notion is more of a viral opinion over there, rather than from a conglomeration of truly objective opinions. It can have a precise sound and doesn't come out burning rubber from the initial presets, necessarily. Not everyone comes here to learn about the impact of effects, how EQ actually works on the output, which phones will lead to different sound emphases on the D2, etc. I'm guessing from what is being said by some folks over there that they never experienced how the D2 can really whomp your phones.

I admit to still being bugged about this notion that the D2 can't keep up with trance on the low end. I'd really like to hear that for myself - any recommendations? I listen to some electronica varieties, but maybe not what is being implied.

From the way it sounds by those who have experienced it, the Sony comes out from the gates with a sweet spot sound that many folks go for - good play by Sony, if so.

- wader

[wader]

WinFF can help with that conversion, using ffmpeg under the hood.

- wader

[Martin82]

Originally Posted by wader

WinFF can help with that conversion, using ffmpeg under the hood.

- wader

Thanks!

I found another good program, Xilisoft Video Converter,
http://www.xilisoft.com/video-converter.html

[mrsmr2]

Does this Sony player output (unamped) flat or do Sony still colour the sound?

[LostPhil]

Originally Posted by mrsmr2

Does this Sony player output (unamped) flat or do Sony still colour the sound?

From what I read on Head-Fi, they colour the sound slightly but by how much I couldn't say.

[mrsmr2]

Thanks, I haven't read the post (will do soon) but Sony's have always changed the sound via the headphone so it's hard to do a fair comparison just by A-B listening.

[4ki]

Originally Posted by LostPhil

From what I read on Head-Fi, they colour the sound slightly but by how much I couldn't say.

The D2's flatter than the Sony on the low-end and a bit more "shrill" on the high end, but the difference otherwise is quite meager, especially if you adjust both players to sound as alike as possible (which is actually tougher to do than one can think if their headphones are sensitive enough). I have always like the sound quality of sony's music players, though it's certainly not enough to shore up the D2s strengths: battery (more than the sony), format friendliness, and expandability (which is quite a monumental advantage considering the eve of 16gb and 32gb cards).

With my super.fi 3s, they sound much less "flat" on the Sony at default settings than the D2 and warm up just a little. Okay, that's pretty good. However it's notable that the amplifier in the player is much weaker than the D2, so I had to shore up the volume a bit to keep things even. More volume needed = less battery life. Hur. No big deal though, for anyone with an amp/headphones less than 32 ohms.

So yeah, I agree with Tedj. I'm happy with my purchase, give or take. At 4gb and less, it's too bad that Sony hasn't released a mainstream HDD player, though; surely they could be the next ramp-up against both Kenwood and Cowon

[Punnisher]

It's common knowledge that it's all about the headphones, especially when it comes to the D2. In my opinion, any more bass than my PX100's or even my SR60's would just be excessive. The D2 is extremely versatile, and anyone that thinks otherwise either uses junk headphones, or didn't take the time to configure their EQ correctly.

With that said, I won't deny that sony (in general) makes some great sounding gear. Also, my PX100's that I received today remind me so much of the amazing headphones that came with my Walkman about 5 years ago. They make me happy

[omega215A]

I have the A818 and Creative Zen and of course my D2.

In terms of sound quality the Sony and Cowon rate the highest with the Sony sounding less harsh on the high end. The Zen rates last because it isn't as clean but it is still good and the radio on the Zen sounds much better than the one on the D2.

The Sony has a 2 inch screen which is much smaller than the D2 or zen but still all of them look great. The Sony lacks a memory slot to expand the memory but it is really thin and hardly noticeable in my pocket. I find myself needing around 12 - 16GB for my music collection.

Shame though that my Zen went to my sister and the Sony is with my bro after their iPods broke. I'm left with the D2 which I am still pleased with, with the playlisting still bothersome.

I use my Shure SE310 and Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro with my players, both of which add plenty of Bass even with a flat EQ and the D2 Mach3Bass and BBE at 10.

What can I say, I love electronics.

[tabv]

Now that poll is really tight...51% for the Sony and 48% for the D2...

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f15/co...y-a818-269526/