Cowon iAudio 9 and iAudio E2 media players make the scene stateside
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Nov 4th 2009 12:37PM
posted Nov 4th 2009 12:37PM
Cowon-heads of the world, you are in for a treat today. It looks like not one but two of the company's snack-sized media players are finally hitting the big time. First off, the iAudio 9 PMP is due to hit the states within a week. Available in 8GB and 16GB denominations, for some reason the domestic version will be available only in black. Aside from supporting the usual compliment of media files (MP3, FLAC, Ogg, WAV, APE, WME, XviD, and WMV videos) this guy sports composite video out. Get your hands on the 8GB version for $129, or go wild with 16GB for $169. If video isn't your bag, the enigmatic iAudio E2 (all 2.5-inches of it) is also available. Sporting a bevy of EQ presets, 4GB of storage and a not entirely terrible 11.5 hours of battery life, this is the keychain you've always wanted -- but never wanted to pay $65 for. Additional glamor shots after the break.
iAudio?
STOP NAMING EVERYTHING WITH AN 'i' AT THE BEGINNING PLEASE!
Thanks.
iDont think iWill buy anything prefixed with a flippin' i.
To be fair, Cowon has been using the "iAudio" moniker since October of 2000. Yes, that predates the iPod.
I remember my old Cowon iAudio i5 with its hilarious slogan "color sound". It sounded pretty good, and it actually still works five years after I bought it...but I've obviously upgraded since then.
Wasn't anything against Cowon, but rather every electronics company in general.
and yes, I figured as much Cowon predated Apple, but sadly, only Apple made it popular.
Looks like the Moto rokr EM30
iDiots will still prefer the iPod Shuffle.
(paying) More is (getting) less.
Bunch of uglies
It's in your pocket, what do you care what it looks like?
I'm a Media Player, and the Cowon iAudio 9 and iAudio E2 was my idea.
Hmmh. $129-169?
Thye might not know there's a little thing called the iPod nano with smallest video cam on the market. Not to mention accelorometer n games. $149. With a solid year warranty. As much as I like to support underdogs. This will tank.
Apple Nano 8gb = 149
Cowon iaudio 9 8gb = 129
hmm, your profile is set to private, which usually means you are a troll.
this may tank, it may not. but people usually don't buy Cowon's for their price (although the S9 is pretty friggin cheap by now).
people buy Cowon's PMPs to avoid iTunes, get the most awesome-est sound quality, and to fit into a unique group.
also, Cowon's PMPs actually do what advertised.
@word:
You are an iDiot. I'm not even going to explain why. It should be apparent to yourself by now.
Actually cowon's iaudio line released in 2000 before apple released ipod.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAUDIO
iThink Apple is going to iSue Cowon.
On a side note these things look like cell phones lol
People buy cowon over apple for superior SQ.
does it really have better sound quality or does it just come with better earbuds?
Since this, most likely, will be used in the middle of the street with all that outside noise - why sound quality is such an issue?
I personally hate iPods for variety of reasons, but I dont understand why would anyone prefer cowon over ipod just on the basis of sound quality? This is portable media player, not hi-fi-audiophile-mega-system in your basement.
If I dont understand something, could you enlighten me? Thanks
If you are using stock headphones i would see how SQ wouldn't matter much. But most people get better headphones that are sound isolating so most outside noise blocked out.
You're right about the noise of the environment playing a significant role in the user experience, but that variable affects all DAPs. Part of the better SQ has to do with the loudness you can achieve with the right headphones, while retaining good balance and without distorting (high SNR, or signal-to-noise ratio). As r12m says, IEMs can block out most noise, to the point where it can be somewhat dangerous to walk around wearing them. I personally own Etymotic ER-4P's, which are great in noisy environments, including on airplanes, trains, etc. IEMs aren't for everyone, but the only alternative would be closed can headphones, which IMO don't sound as natural as IEMs.
I'm no engineer, but I do look at the numbers for headphones and DAPs. Apple *never* reveals technical specifications for audio performance, which IMO makes them little bitches. Instead Apple thinks that the statement, "it can store thousands of songs!" is a technical specification.
Of all Apple's products, the original iPod Shuffle had the best SQ of them all, and it was known to have a different headphone jack than their other products. According to my loose subjective scale, the SQ of the iAudio 5XL was 100x better than that of the iPod 2G, my first DAP. The iPhone 3G is about 10x better than the iPod 2G, which means that the iAudio 5XL, circa 2000, would still be 10x better than the iPhone 3G. The original iPod Shuffle was maybe in the same range as Cowon SQ. I've randomly listened to the last two or three versions of the Nano and some of the Shuffles, using my own pair of headphones, and none of them have come close to Cowon's DAPs for SQ, although they are much improved over the past 10 years.
In short, all DAPs sound better with great headphones. But only some DAPs make good use of great headphones.
Cowon also gives you the choice of drag-and-drop management or synchronization and playlist support. And for those few who insist on lossless, Cowon has the best track record with that as well.
If you want to try out good headphones, look around and see what people are recommending and why. High quality IEMs seem to start at $150 and up, and there seems to be a limited cost-benefit around $300. But if you have a relatively quiet listening environment and don't want to spend that much, Grado S60s are extremely cost effective, and Koss Porta-Pros with the folding design that has the potential to rip out some of your hair, which have been around since the 80s, are an unbelievable bargain. The last two headphones are open, which give the most natural sound but let in outside noise. But in spite of the interference of ambient noise, they'll still sound better.
I'll be getting this, because I know that cowon has superb audio quality. I have a scandisk 2GB clip which is too small and a creative zen 32 GB that I never use because the ui is terrible and button placement is abysmal.