3 questions: hiss with ie7 iem, bricking, breaking

[extrabigmehdi]

hi,
I'm considering to purchase a cowon S9.
But I'm concerned by three questions.

First , I have sennheiser IE7 iems (impedance of 16 ohms) , does someone know if they'll hiss in conjunction with the cowon s9.
In fact I have currently an ipod shuffle 2nd gen, and what annoys me is that at low volumes , I hear a background white noise which is quite annoying. I like to listen music at low volumes before sleeping, and that's definitely hard with my shuffle. I don't want to upgrade to this "top of the range" player, and still have the same problem.

Two: how this player can be easily bricked ?. I've read thread of people complainning bricking their player after transferring files (especially mac & linux, but someone complained with xp too) . This is annoying.
Should I format from begin the player , with panasonic tool (mentioned in abi forum) ? Or do a regular format under windows ? Something makes me think , that there might be defective cells on the embedded flash memory, that only a full formatting could fix.

Three: how this player can be easily breaked ?. In other words , durability of the player. I 've read people breaking the glass screen, with the player falling less than 1 meter from the ground. It seems that the glass doesn't resist much to shocks . Is a protection like "body gard" "leather case" enough to minimize such risks ? (offered now for free with player ). In comparison, there's a concurrent touch screen from samsung (P3) that resisted to relative extreme shocks ( throwing it away in a wall , enough hard to "bounce" ). At least that's what I've read.

Also buttons on the side doesn't seem much resistant.

By the way, what would be the life expectancy of the included amoled screen. This technology is relatively new...

thanks

[Lunatic Wolf]

When no music is playing, I can hear a background hiss with EP 630s

However, as soon as the music starts playing, even at volume 1, it goes away.

[gee frizz]

I have a pair of IE8s and the hiss is barely even noticeable, particularly when music is playing. "Bad" hissing came from the UE Super fi vi's when I used them with my iPhone, there is only a tiny fraction of a hiss by comparison.

I say this assuming that all things are equal. My advice would be to fire off an email to either Sennheiser or Cowon.

When I nearly bricked my S9, it occurred as I made an attempt to upgrade its firmware. Make sure the FW download includes three files before transferring them to the player. Also, as a precaution, you should dl the Panasonic reformatting tool. Hopefully you won't need it, but if you run into the same problems I did, you should have no trouble resurrecting your S9.

Durability is a bit of a concern of mine as well, which is why I will be buying another DAP for the gym! The build quality could indeed be a lot better, even Creative players seem more sturdy. Dust, reportedly, easily gets under the screen. A protective case is a must. The tactile buttons feel good to the touch and responsive however it's hard to say if they are durable or not. If I had seen the S9 in the flesh before purchase, I would most certainly have ummed and ahhed about its durability.

I often do battle with my trackpants' pockets when trying to take the S9 out and I know, even when one is doubly careful, that dropping such an item at least once in its lifespan is almost an inevitability.

Hope this helps.

[extrabigmehdi]

thanks for your answers but not very reassured. I guess I have to take a risk at the end if I want absolutely be "amazed" by a new player, but I might just be disappointed by the durability.

@gee frizz
It would have been more useful for me, if you've done comparisons of hiss in iphone & cowon with same iems. And I'm not sure that iphones & ipods provide same SQ.

[SemRumo]

i have the i7 and s9, i dont hear any hissing at all.

[gee frizz]

I do wish I had kept hold of my vi's if only to see how they perform with the S9.

Some say that the amp within the touch and the iPhone is exactly the same. Flat EQ/EQ off produce a similar level of SQ but the touch has far better EQ enhancements (as good as it gets with Apple). Meanwhile, from memory the Classic has somewhat better overall SQ.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by extrabigmehdi

First , I have sennheiser IE7 iems (impedance of 16 ohms) , does someone know if they'll hiss in conjunction with the cowon s9.

Originally Posted by Lunatic Wolf

When no music is playing, I can hear a background hiss with EP 630s

However, as soon as the music starts playing, even at volume 1, it goes away.

Originally Posted by SemRumo

i have the i7 and s9, i dont hear any hissing at all.

The S9 does hiss with my IE8, there's no denying it. However, it's only audible between tracks and in very quiet passages.

With the overblown specs the Sennheiser IEs have (16 Ohm, 125dB/mW!), you're hard pressed to find any player of any brand that doesn't hiss with them - that's why I'm using a headphone amp with IEMs like the IE8, UE11, SE530 to 'tame' these phones.

Originally Posted by extrabigmehdi

Two: how this player can be easily bricked ?.

It can't, at least on Windows. You have to try really really hard - and you still won't manage to brick it. Rule of thumb: don't try lots of weird unsupported UCIs, unmount properly, use MSC, not MTP.

Originally Posted by extrabigmehdi

Three: how this player can be easily breaked ?. In other words , durability of the player.

Just take care of your stuff, then it won't break. Cowon has good build quality, it's all up to you, how you treat your player.

Originally Posted by extrabigmehdi

Also buttons on the side doesn't seem much resistant.

They are sturdy enough.

Originally Posted by extrabigmehdi

By the way, what would be the life expectancy of the included amoled screen. This technology is relatively new...

Longer than before you want a new player anyways.

[SemRumo]

dfkt, do you recomend getting a amp, if yes? what kind?

[dfkt]

Well, the bad thing is that cheapo amps hiss as well, and have some crosstalk - a FiiO, iBasso, GoVibe, and such won't help. The one amp I have that is dead silent (and still affordable) is the Corda Headsix. This is a really good amp, not some Chinese toy. The volume potentiometer could be better, but for that price it's probably not possible.

[extrabigmehdi]

Finding a cheap amp, is just too complicated for me , so I'll try to remove hiss (if too serious) with a volume attenautor the one from ultimate ears.
I'm interested to listen at low volumes.

@dfkt
You've done interesting comparisons of all iems in your website. I'm curious, if you wouldn't rank sennheiser ie7 , as better value to ie8.

[dfkt]

Personally I wouldn't call the IE7 a better value, since I find the sound of the IE8 much more appealing for my ears, not to mention the replaceable cable.

But since the IE7 are quite a bit cheaper (real store prices and MSRP), I guess they could be called a good value. The IE8 price sure can hurt, in comparison - especially for Americans. In Europe the IE8 are cheaper, which doesn't happen with a lot of products.

[SemRumo]

i got the i7 for 260 usd, because the i8 were 460 usd, what do you think, should went for the i8 instead?
What about the westone 3????

[dfkt]

It's all one's personal preference, I can't say what's better for you.

[extrabigmehdi]

I remind a guy at head-fi owning both ie7 & ie8 . He said that ie7 was better for background/ relaxing music, while ie8 better for anything that could be "exciting".
I'm considering getting the westones um3x, because of radical different sound signature to ie7, but they are hard to find in any french store. Also I'm curious with audio technica stuff too.

[dfkt]

A lot of people say a lot of things on Head-Fi... that forum has some weird group dynamics, and a lot of unfounded rumors are born there. I would take care with anything that's written there, those "audiophiles" sure love their placebo effects and big descriptive words. Just trust your own intuition and ears.

Saying it without Head-Fi lingo: my take is that the IE8 have bigger and more realistic bass and a better soundstage than the IE7. They may have a bit more forward treble as well, but certainly not by much. Both phones work for all kinds of music, the whole "relaxing" vs. "exciting" thing is bullshit, in my opinion. If you drop that much money for either the IE7 or IE8, you'd expect that a phone from the world's biggest headphone manufacturer just works and handles every kind of music, despite what some random Head-Fi member rambles.