Prospective Sony X-1050, iPod touch, or COWON S9 buyer.

[may1]

Hi,

My 4 years old sony MP3 player is breaking apart, so I need to get a new one very soon.
To be honest, I just want to get a new one of the one I have right now but there arent any being produced, so Im forced to get a new model. So I have the option of getting the Sony X-1050, iPod touch, or the COWON S9.

Any suggestions and comments would be helpful.

 

[MEgamer]

check what hi fi , for reviews sony x series have very good sound, but then so does the cowon

if ur choice of media player is cos of softwares, and apps, then obv the ipod touch is the way to go,

however if u prefer quality of sound, then its either the sony or cowon.

id go for sony, but idk about cowon, all i know is that they also have very good sound too.

 

[jaguarskx]

I have a 32GB Cowon S9. It's awesome for both audio and video.

Too bad there's no 1TB flash based version with a SDHC expansion slot... then again some people may consider me insane...

 

[may1]

yeah, thanks for your comments.

You see, Im not sure whether I should go for softwares, or for music yet.

So maybe, if anyone can write some pros and cons about the ipod touch, it would help.

Also, if I went for audio, which one is better? the COWON, or the sony_x??

Cheers.

 

[jaguarskx]

If you Google reviews about the Cowon S9, they will basically say it simply produces the best sounds for a portable player. Of course I recommend buying separate headphones since any included headphones simply suck.

 

[jaguarskx]

I just read a review of the Sony, it seems interesting I guess due to the internet browser.

I guess with built-in WiFi, internet browsing is free???

All the reviews basically stated this is the absolute worst feature in the Sony. If this was everyone's first experience web browsing, then there would be no internet...

 

[may1]

>jaguarskx

Could you tell me your pros and cons of the COWON S9, compared to the X?
Sony is boasting great sound and also noise cancelling features, while the COWON is proud of its sound features only. That makes me want to ask about how does the COWON achieve great sound through its softwares, and if, you have tried out the X, which do you think has a good sound overall>?

 

[jaguarskx]

I cannot tell you how the Cowon S9 compares to the Sony X; I only skimmed through a Sony X review.

I can tell you the pro & cons of the Cowon S9, however I have yet to install the latest firmware upgrade which adds some functionalities and changes the appearance. My S9 has firmware version 2.21 so...

Pros:
- 32GB of internal Flash
- Long Battery Life - rated at 30+ hours (accidentally left it playing while in the office for 9 hours, power still indicated nearly a full charge)
- Supports FLAC (I encode all my music files with this codec for best sound quality)
- Great sound quality... it also helps if you have good headphones (Cowon is known for sound quality)
- 3.3" OLED screen 480 x 272 resolution with rich colors. Much better than iPod.
- XviD support and it play back video with higher resolution than 480 x 272. Example, one of my video files is 688 x 432 resolution; of course the S9 shrinks it down to fit the screen.
- Ability to delete audio files w/o being connected to PC.
- Built-in radio is pretty good, but reception depends on your location in the US (kinda like cellphone service).
- I use it to read e-books that I converted to TXT files. Not for everyone, but I kinda like being able to read on my S9.



Cons:
- They do not have a 64GB or larger version.
- No SD expansion slot
- Korean 20-pin USB mini-plug. This type of USB mini-plug is common in Korea, but not anywhere else. If you want a spare USB cable, you must buy it from Cowon or any other e-tailer that sells Korean cables
- DviX playback is choppy (I believe it has been resolved with latest firmware) It could be my encoded vid files, but I used very generic settings.
- The screen loves finger prints.
- User interface could use a bit more polish.
- Cannot delete video files w/o being connected to PC.
- Cannot create playlists on the fly.

 

[jaguarskx]

Sound quality is mainly based on hardware which includes the audio processor chip, capacitors and audio jack amongst others.

Software can be used to "sculpt" the sound to your liking, but it takes a backseat to the actual hardware.

If you want to do a comparison, then you will need to find a store which carries both of them and use the same headphones to listen to them. Headphones can really affect the sound quality as well. Listening to the same music would help too, so that means you should bring a laptop (if you have one) to transfer the music files.

 

[Amg]

Hello

I Do belive that if you will be wanting sound quality you should be looking towards the Sony X and cowon S9. Also these two have better screens( althrough smaller in size)

if you want internet and all that than you may be wanting the ipod.

If you want something that is easy to use you defo want to be looking at the IPOD/sony X the cowon looks quite complex on its original interface, however cowon have kept it open so you can change it.

Out of the 3 I ll probley go for the cowon, its got a better battery life, better screen than the ipod, defo better sound/video quality.