For three years I have both recommended and castigated Cowon’s original Plenue D. It has great battery life. It is small. It is robust. It plays loads of files. But its interface, abstruse from day one, got worse. And, through sensitive earphones, it hissed a lot more than most of the competition; in fact, it hissed more than some late-model Minidisk players and recorders. It held signal well under load, but lost quite a bit of stereo separation under loads both meagre and highly resistive. My mate, Ryuzoh, offered to mod mine. I can’t tell if it sounds better, and neither can he, but my unit is super unique. And it’s one I’ve kept because the plusses I mentioned above really bowled me over.
Read moreRMAA: Cowon Plenue J 24-bit
The Plenue J makes about as little line and hiss noise as the Plenue D. It sounds great, holds signal well across most metrics, and is easy to use. It is more responsive than the Plenue D, slimmer, and has a slightly better screen.
Read moreRMAA: Cowon Plenue D 24-bit
In the spotlight
Even tacked down, my still-shiny Plenue D slid off my photography table, hit the tripid, hit the c-stand, hit the floor. Thank the gods the screen didn’t shatter. The series of accidents gave me and excuse to pinch and prod, the summary of which is this: Plenue D isn't as solidly built as the original AK100. It is nicely machined though, and attacks its user with fewer Korean corners. More so than the Astell&Kern, plates in its face and ass flex under mild thumb-and-finger pressure. Cowon prettied up little D by adding glitter to its polished flanks before sliding it in a brushed back capping it in a fully polished cap. Basically, they covered portable audio design trope but the serrated logo.
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