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10 out of 10 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Fabulous if expensive gadget with awesome sound"
Pros: build quality, screen color/resolution, sound management, GUI, controls, file system
Cons: 4 gigs not enough, controls a bit confusing in the beginning, pricey
Summary: 1st the GF (geek factor): this gadget is a marvel of electronics/electromechanics. To have all these features and capabilities in a device this small is very hard to believe, but there it is! Build quality is also 1st rate and the metallic back is a nice touch.
2nd the sound: the multitude of sound controls, sound enhancements and corrections is amazing, and they are very effective! Even the pre-set equalizations are adjustable (take notice, Apple!). 3D sound enhancement, bass booster, and loss compensation circuitry (BBE) all work wonders to provide the kind of sound very few other players can achieve.
3rd the display: though small, the display is dazzling with its rich OLED colors and fine resolution. It is a pleasure to watch. Both stills and movies display very well, and the screen doesn't seem to scratch easily!
4th the controls: I was surprised to find out that the touch slider on this unit works much better than the one on the Creative Zen:M. While it is very easy to end up in the wrong place when navigating the Zen, the iAudio6 is much less prone to such mishaps. It isn't perfect, but I would say it's second only to the iPod Click Wheel - and that says a lot! True, it does take a while to master the various navigation steps, but just playing with this gadget - even when you make the wrong move - is still a pleasure, and the GUI is very nice indeed!
5th the contents storage system: most people prefer ID3 tagging over the regular file/folder system, but this unit provides both. Classical music lovers will appreciate the latter since ID3 for classical music just doesn't work.
6th the storage capacity: while the 0.85" HDD is another technological marvel, 4 GB of storage capacity is just not enough even for music alone, let alone photos, movies and FM/voice recordings. One way to get more mileage out of this device is to encode all music in WMA which takes less space than MP3, but even then one can quickly run out of storage capacity.
7th the battery: Cowon claims 20 hours per charge. I haven't tested it yet but even after several hours of usage all bars are still lit - very promising!
8th the price: not so good... for about $50 more one can get a 30 GB player - but lose the geek factor. Whether this is worth the cost or not is an individual decision.
9th in summary: a geek's dream, this tiny, well-built player has one of the most gorgeous displays, very nice GUI, excellent sound manipulation capabilities, and choice of ID3 tagging or file system. Learning to navigate the device takes a little while, and if 4 GB of storage are enough for you and you don't mind the price - check out this gadget.Updated
Good news to non-classical music lovers, bad news to those who do love classical music. Stations carrying the latter tend to be weaker than the rest, resulting in spotty, low-fi reception, often losing the stereo effect. Stations carrying the former type of music usually have more powerful transmitters, resulting in strong signals and good reception.
(BTW Firmware Version 1.20 is available from Cowon).
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