Sansa Clip+ or Cowon iAudio 10

[Black_Hawk]

Hello Folks

I'm in the look out to buy a DAP for my portable audio setup and have a few queries regarding that, I would really appreciate if someone can shed some light on the queries that I have. My current portable audio rig consists of the following components:

1. Samsung Wave GT-S8500 Phone (no longer used as a phone, only for holding and playing music).

2. FiiO E11 Amplifier.

3. Sony MDR-XB90EX IEM's (Sometimes when I'm at home I also use my JVC HA-RX900 cans).

I wanted to replace the Samsung Wave and want to either go for the Sansa Clip+ (or Clip Zip) and Rockbox it or get the Cowon iAudio 10 (8GB). I do realize there is a significant price difference between the two, thus was wondering how well the Sansa Clip+/ Zip will be when compared to the Cowon iAudio 10 as regards to sound quality? Will the extra expenditure on the Cowon be worth it or it just better to go with the Clip+/Zip, specially due to the considerably extra storage space and Rockbox features? Also, does Cowon's JetEffect and BBE make a significantly noticeable difference or is a Rockboxed Clip+ pretty close to what the Cowon will sound like?

I will be connecting either of the players to the FiiO E11 and then to my IEM's or headphones and my preferred genre's of music are: rock, soft rock, alternative rock, country (got in this offlate), 80's tracks, contemporary instrumentals (Yanni in particular), and occasionally smooth jazz.

TIA
Regards,
Black_Hawk

 

[FaH33m]

For pure VFM factor nothing beats a Sansa Clip+ / Clip Zip when it comes to Sound Quality .- Clean , extremely close to neutral sound with good amount of driving power . Out of the box to me the Sansa sounds much better than the Cowon's and I am sure a lot of others will agree to it . Detailing wise there's not a major difference between the two.

The Cowon on the other hand has advantage of BBE+ EQ/enhancements which help you tune sound as per the IEM/headphone . Out of the box Ive never found Cowon to be neutral and the Clip+ has always been my preferred player out of the box. The Cowon D2+ though has much more driving power than Clip+/Zip/Fuze I have used . Have never felt the need to crank up the volume anywhere close to max . Not sure same applies to the power of iAudio 10 since its a cheaper model and my experience with it has been very limited.

So if you would love to tweak the sound , customize it for different IEMs etc you could go for the Cowon or else get a Clip+ / Zip or new Clip Sport . Rest decide on the basis of screen size , UI etc whichever suits you best.


Above opinion is based on my current usage of Clip Zip / Fuze , Cowon D2+ and iPod .

 

[blr_p]

Yay! still a ringing recommendation for clip+ that was all the rage on this board...back in 2010

 

[esanthosh]

Clip Sport does not support Rockbox yet. It uses a different SoC and there are no firmware updates so far (which is required for a Rockbox port).

Clip+ / Clip Zip - Durability, portability, sound quality, Rockbox with Parametric EQ, ease of use

Cowon - BBE Hardware EQ, Battery Life, Driving power, Slight sub-bass roll-off (which is a feature), UI Customization (Depending on popularity of the model with iaudiophile members), Screen size.

In general, Sansas sound the same barring a few dB difference in volume (Clip+ louder than Clip/Fuze v1, Clip Sport supposedly louder than Clip+/Clip Zip. Have owned Fuze v1, still own Clip+). Cowons generally have the same signature (owned S9, own X9). Both have support for microSD cards. Cowon tends to release many players, thus cutting off firmware development for older players, but they are generally stable. Sansa has a longer cycle and there's Rockbox to depend on.

Sound wise - Fah33M has it covered.

 

[blr_p]

I was wondering what is the need for a clip etc or cowon in this day & age with smartphones that have micro-sd card slots.

Hasn't the smartphone killed off the portable media player to a certain extent ?

 

[ev1lb0ygen1us]

@blr_p To a certain extend, yes. But the built-in DAC even in the most expensive phones simply doesnot perform so well against the DAC of a dedicated DAP. I thought things were changing when Samsung introduced Wolfson DAC in Galaxy S.

 

[srkmish]

I was wondering what is the need for a clip etc or cowon in this day & age with smartphones that have micro-sd card slots.

Hasn't the smartphone killed off the portable media player to a certain extent ?

i have not seen any smartphone's sound quality being as good as my rockboxed sansa clip plus' sound quality. some of us wont settle for anything less than stellar sound quality.

also the small size makes it great while running. and not to mention when u r listening to ur fav song on a mobile, a call comes, the music pauses and all u want to do is smash the phone to pieces

 

[blr_p]

Just so its clear i own a clip+ and don't want to part with it.

So it amuses me that smartphones have still not managed to at least match if not beat this, budget priced (when it was available), 4 yr old device

 

[eternoMind]

And they probably never will. The Clip is extremely ergonomic, nimble and portable as well as awesome sounding.
Modern day smartphones fail on at least two of those counts!

 

[blr_p]

@blr_p To a certain extend, yes. But the built-in DAC even in the most expensive phones simply doesnot perform so well against the DAC of a dedicated DAP. I thought things were changing when Samsung introduced Wolfson DAC in Galaxy S.

Galaxy S was a long time ago, are you saying the current iphone 5 series or galaxy s4 or xperia Z still don't match the clip or cowon ?

 

[raksrules]

I had planned to sell my clip+ but then decided against it. I really like this tiny player.

 

[ev1lb0ygen1us]

Galaxy S was a long time ago, are you saying the current iphone 5 series or galaxy s4 or xperia Z still don't match the clip or cowon ?

Yes. Qualcomm DACs are still way inferior than most DAPs. Exynos version of S4 has Wolfson DAC which should do more justice for comparison with DAPs. Not sure about iPhone 5 series.

 

[blr_p]

ok, so it seems that smartphone manufacturers have not gotten around to improving DAC's on their flagships, it isn't a priority or differentiating point as yet, like say cameras are today. It will happen one day but until such time the ipod, touch , clip, cowon and their like are still relevant.

How do nokias fare here btw ? if they're using qualcomm chipset then in the same boat as the HTC, xperias etc.

 

[srkmish]

I only have had ipad but it has amazing sound quality, almost as good as my clip plus. But i cant afford iphones

 

[kenpachiroks]

Things are definitely changing, If we are talking about pure sound quality. The Note 3 sounds brilliant. So does my LG G2, which I can say sounds as good as my Clip Zip. The LG G2 + PowerAmp EQ > Sansa clip + RB EQ. The G2 can play all my 24/96 "Hi res" files, which my Clip Zip downsamples.
However the Clip is the King of portability. The lack of fine volume control on my G2 is a bummer at times.
Both have their benefits. And one gains favor over the other depending on the situation.

 

[Black_Hawk]

Thank-you guys for all the feedback and input and special thanks to @FaH33m.

I ended up getting the Sansa Clip Zip and Rockbox'd it last evening after using the stock FW for a few days. Must say Rockbox just unleashes so many options and details that the stock FW on the Zip did fade in comparison. I did have fun with all the theme settings and other stuff but finally was a bit overwhelmed with all the plethora of EQ settings after Rockboxing this tiny thing! I messed around with the different EQ options but eventually reset them back again and presently have Bass at +6 and Treble at +7. Everything else is untouched. The music sounds very, very good indeed and it's frankly surprising to see what this tiny player is capable of!

I'm not saying I'm completely going to forget the Cowon iAudio10 (I blooming love the screen on that thing!) but for now the Sansa Clip Zip has me in it's grasp completely with it's pristine, clean sound quality and portability POV.

Here are a few photographs of my present portable audio rig:

Cheers guys!

 

[blr_p]

I messed around with the different EQ options but eventually reset them back again and presently have Bass at +6 and Treble at +7. Everything else is untouched. The music sounds very, very good indeed and it's frankly surprising to see what this tiny player is capable of!

Those in ears look quite chunky, you need bass at +6 ?

with the beyer dynamics and clip+ bass at +1 is already too much for me. 0 is just right for both. Flat EQ.

 

[Black_Hawk]

Those in ears look quite chunky, you need bass at +6 ?

with the beyer dynamics and clip+ bass at +1 is already too much for me. 0 is just right for both. Flat EQ.

The XB90's are a tad bigger I agree but they fit perfectly without any gripes. Awrite, today I'm going to reduce the bass and treble and see if I like the results. Will post back later in the day.[DOUBLEPOST=1395852925][/DOUBLEPOST]@blr_p: Reduced the Bass to +2 and Treble to +1. Noticed a world of difference instantly. The sound quality is way more soothing to my ears now and the vocals are much, much cleaner. Bass is spot on and the highs aren't overbearingly bright either. Perfect. Thanks mate, for your post!