Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)First of all, FIRST! XD
When I started looking for a new player a few months ago, my requirements were simple: A small DAP with very high sound quality. After reading lots of reviews on different web forums, I learned about Cowon.
Of course, Cowon website made me drool at the J3, S9 and V5. But they were kind of expensive and bigger than what I was looking for. You see, I'm more interested on listening to music than watching videos on the go. They also offered features that I sincerely don't need, like bluetooth and such.
Thus, little C2 catched my eye. And now I'm very happy that I got exactly what I wanted, with a little extra in some aspects.
Sound Quality: EXCELLENT.
I heard about the JetEffects and thought "I'm not into sound effects anyway", but I was mistaken. These combinations of EQ, MP, BBE+ and stereo enhancements really bring your songs to life with all detail.
I was tired of muddy mids and high frequencies getting mixed together on my lower end players. With the C2, all my songs shine with excellent instrument separation. It's like the player adapts to any music genre I throw at it!
I'm currently using the C2 with Sennheiser HD555 open headphones. Every little detail in the music is clear and present, with rich low frequencies and balanced mids and highs. So far I've noticed that acoustic music takes the most benefit from the audio quality.
Shape, size, weight and built quality: EXCELLENT.
The C2 looks a bit plastic-y in the product pictures. You really have to have it in your hands to realize how nicely it is built.
The back is a beautifully mirror-polished stainless steel cover, which is really a fingerprint magnet. No biggie there, you can wipe it with your shirt anytime.
The size is ridiculously small (in the good sense). I had seen pictures before, but again, you can't tell until you have it in your hands. It weights nothing and it's very comfortable to operate.
The physical buttons are solid and provide an adecquate pressure feedback when pulsed (you get this inaudible click-sensation on your fingers).
Screen and image quality: PRETTY GOOD.
You don't buy the C2 for its screen. It's not AMOLED, just LCD. It's not multi-touch, in fact it is a resistive touch screen.
How does it perform? Colors are very vivid for a tiny LCD screen like this. Video playback is good, although the screen size is just too small for enjoying a whole movie or show episode. The resolution is very good, although it's not retina-display.
The system displays anti-aliased text by default, which is welcome in a player that will hold thousands of songs for you to navigate through.
Features: GREAT.
The C2's got more features than you would expect from an audio player: Lots of supported file formats (even AAC - m4a files, which are not stated in the specs), audiobook playback, bookmarking/resuming function, excellent EQ presets and customization, music and file browsing, music search! FM radio, voice recording via internal microphone or line-in (you need an optional usb accesory for line-in), internal speakers, picture and video playback, micro SD card port, text document reader, calculator, notetaker, alarm clock and stopwatch. You really can't ask for more.
Oh did I metion it is GAPLESS? the D2 wasn't, but C2 is.
Graphic User Interfase: GOOD
I don't know why there's so many people complaining about the UI on Cowon products. It's not a bad UI, it's just different. Once you get used to it, you don't even think about it. You just browse your media and play it.
Some criticize the Daily Life color motifs with cute phrases. If you don't like them, you can always select the simple clock as default. As for me, I like it.
Accesories included: COULD BE BETTER
What's in the box? Just the player, cowon earbuds (above average, but not top class), a USB cable for file transfer and recharging, and a quick start guide translated to many languajes (the complete documentation is actually loaded in the player's memory as PDF files).
For the price, they could have included the AC adaptor. Not only because with it you can charge the device without the need of a computer, but because you actually NEED it if the player's battery gets completely depleted (a USB charge won't do when dead).
It would be nice to include a very basic cloth bag for it (so you don't have to wrap it inside a sock before you buy/find/make a proper case).
The D2 included a triangle-shaped stylus, while the C2 doesn't. I'll have to go and buy one somewhere, because I have greasy fingers and I would rather use a stylus than my fingers on the screen all the time.
CONCLUSION
A tiny digital audio player packed with outstanding audio quality, Cowon C2 is a great product. I'm very happy with my purchase and I recommend it to anyone new to Cowon. If you already have a D2 or one of the bigger cowon models, I doubt this could be considered an upgrade. If you're looking for a travel or desk hi-fi companion that fits your pocket, this is your #1 option.
Click Here to see more reviews about: COWON C2 16GB Black
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