Cowon C2, Sansa Clip+, IEMs

[Avythus]

Hi there!

I plan to buy a dedicated MP3 player, and have been searching for almost a month now. The choices eventually narrowed down to the Cowon C2 and the Sansa Clip+ (with the D2+ being a close competitor).

I currently own a Galaxy S II & iPod Touch, pairing them with my Klipsch S4i's, which offers quite a pleasing music experience. I'm not an audiophile but love music, and would like to step my game up a bit and venture further.

It would be great if you could let me know whether the Sansa Clip+ or the Cowon C2 would be a better option over my current setup. Also, I would use the Sony MDR EX57 LP with the C2 (the S4i's didn't work with my friend's Cowon V5).

I listen to almost all genres of music. I'd like to keep the cost below INR 8,000. Size is a constraint, and I'm satisfied with what the Clip+ & C2 offer, and I don't really plan to run with them, maybe walk a few kilometers, but mostly desk use.


Thanks!

P.S.: Please let me know if you need any more information to help me out


EDIT: For anyone looking for a final response to this thread - I finally bought the Cowon C2 and love it. The Klipsch S4i work well with it.

EDIT 2:
My impression of the Cowon C2

I expected the device to be small, after having watched several videos and comparing the size with my other electronics. Although, after unboxing it, it appeared smaller than I had anticipated. That wasn't a problem though, it's just what I wanted.

The few quirks I've read about the UI and loose Korean-connector are true. Since I expected this, I was neither surprised nor disappointed.

On to the UI, what did surprise me , was the fluidity with which I navigated through the UI. I have a couple of YouTube videos to thank for this, which I watched before making my purchase. It hardly took me 5 minutes to come to terms with the interface. If you haven't watched any videos, you might end up very frustrated. Once you start using it, it seems intuitive, because you know your way.
Try not to think about the various steps you have to go through to switch between Folders, etc. and it shouldn't be a problem.

The sound quality, is stupendous. Not in any sense of the word am I an Audiophile, but I can most certainly notice the difference in the sound quality between my SGS2+Klipsch S4i, Touch 3G+S4i, and Cowon C2+S4i. The C2's are unbeatable, but that's if you use the Equalizers. I didn't find a significant, rather - any difference, if I used them in their "Normal" setting. But then again, I carry the disclaimer of not being an audiophile
There are numerous reviews about the sound quality. You might want to look up anythingbutipod.com, or even engadget.com.

Watching videos isn't as bad as you might expect it to be. Of course, the screen's small, but the images and colors are clear, and my eyes can't see any distortions.

To load the music, all I did was connect the C2 to my laptop (Win 7 64-bit, if interested) and it was recognized as a mass storage device, and popped up 2 Drives (I'd already inserted the microSDHC without any problem). It's as simple as that. You need to be careful that you don't upset the cable even by a millimeter, because you lose connection.
I use Folders instead of Playlists, so I haven't tried the latter. I'm uncomfortable with playlists

Oh, what does annoy me is that the C2 switches off everytime I unplug it from my laptop, but I guess it's just a 'feature'.


Overall, I'm quite pleased with my purchase. I haven't tried using custom UIs yet, although, I might give it a shot later.

 

[sukant]

Dont know about C2 , but Clip+ is better than SII and Ipod touch in SQ , have done a A B of SII vs Clip+ not too much with the Ipod touch , found Clip+ way better , i personally feel Clip+ produces much better overall sound than the other two. Biggest advantage beings it portability and SQ and disadvantage its low battery life(10-12 hrs) and ultra small screen .

 

[Avythus]

Thanks Sukant!

I hope the C2 doesn't really weigh enough to push my trousers down with that and the S2 in my pockets! I'm leaning more towards the C2 after having read a lot of reviews, and the price difference isn't really a concern.

But it would be nice to know that I'm going for something better (if I am)

In most of the reviews & comparisons I've come across, some people say they're the same without modifying the EQs, whereas the C2 have unparalleled SQ otherwise.

 

[sukant]

You are comparing Touch and Clip + right ?? , yes the differences are not like a huge amount but are very noticeable .
But looks like even i will have to stay with a touch now that my Clip+ got lost yesterday night :/

 

[Avythus]

You are comparing Touch and Clip + right ?? , yes the differences are not like a huge amount but are very noticeable .
But looks like even i will have to stay with a touch now that my Clip+ got lost yesterday night :/

Ah, sorry to hear about the Clip+ :/

As to the first part, I was going through reviews & comparisons of the Cowon C2 and Clip+.
However, between the Touch and Clip+, I've found all websites to unanimously declare the Clip+ to be the winner in terms of SQ

Btw, what IEMs do you use?

 

[sukant]

Yeah SQ wise Clip+ is better but not by like a very huge margin thats what i meant to say, given a Ipod and Sansa Clip+ i would prefere Clip+ for music any day .

Currenty using RE-262 and Brainwavz M3 , have used Brainwavz m1,Nuforce NE 7m ,CX-180 and EP-630 , ended up selling M1 and cx-180 for cash and NE7M has gone bad and EP-630 i still own .

 

[Avythus]

I finally bought the Cowon C2, and it's like a teensy box of magic sounds. The Klipsch S4i work great with it, and I've got a pair of Comply foams on the way.


Thanks Sukant for all your responses

 

[warrior047]

I finally bought the Cowon C2, and it's like a teensy box of magic sounds. The Klipsch S4i work great with it, and I've got a pair of Comply foams on the way.


Thanks Sukant for all your responses

Howz the interface? is it that bad as proclaimed to be so?

 

[sukant]

@Avythus
You are always welcome , if you give a small review/impressions about the C2 it would be great .

 

[Avythus]

My apologies for the late reply, I've been a bit busy.


@Sukant
I'll update the first post with my impressions of the C2.

@Warrior
I've answered your question in the updated post.