Customer Reviews

Cowon S9 16 GB Video MP3 Player with Touchscreen (Chrome/Black)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The sound quality of this device is better than any mp3 player I've ever used before. Even with no equalizer changes the sound quality is better than most mp3 players out there.
But using a preset equalizer setting (BBE) I can notice a huge change in the sound quality of this device, the sound becomes clearer and warmer.

The user interface can be changed for a custom interface created by yourself or other users. I've been using a custom interface that really shows off the AMOLED screen.

The screen is incredible, I've compared it to that of the Ipod touch's screen and the Ipod doesn't even come close to the beauty of this screen.

As expected the screen is a fingerprint magnet, but you can clean it off with your shirt of a microfiber cloth. A screen protector is not needed unless you want to be extremely protective of the device, the Corning Gorilla glass on the screen that is used is scratch resistant, but a screen protector would help with fingerprints.

The biggest downside I had with this mp3 player was that it did not support Audible's audio format, but a few days ago a new firmware with Audible support was released.

I ordered a refurbished Cowon S9 (chrome/black) and received it within a week but it was defective out of the box (hey, this happens sometimes with electronics). Called JetAudio and had it RMA'd - they emailed a prepaid return label immediately and told me they no longer had the chrome/black available in a refurb and would I accept a titanium/black in its place. Received it a week later and couldn't be happier. The replacement I received works flawlessly. Great customer service from JetAudio/Amazon. I've had the unit for 2 weeks now.

It is incredibly easy to transfer files to the Cowon S9 - just drag and drop. The AVI videos I already had from my Archos 5 worked perfectly (they were converted to AVI using Handbrake, a free download video converter). I tried a few other AVI files from other conversions than Handbrake and they worked perfectly as well. Music transferred easily as well but I did have a few problems with album art. By adding an album art photo in the song file and naming it cover.jpg it worked perfectly. Now every one of my music albums has perfect cover art.

Some have complained about how hard it is to understand this player. I had no problems and did not even have to read the manual (although I downloaded it - there is more info in that manual than the one that comes with the player). I would say I'm average with understanding MP3 players and I figured out all of the functions and set mine up how I liked it, loaded all of my video/music/photos that I wanted and was off and running within a few hours.

The screen on this player is beautiful - best looking video of any MP3 player I've seen. Sound is awesome even with junk headphones. The player is lightweight but a solid piece of electronics. Very easy to carry around. I actually had a leather case (bought for $1 at the dollar store!)for an IPod touch and the Cowon S9 fits perfectly in that case. It's durable enough to just carry around in your pocket without a case

Battery life is fantastic. I ran the video for over 7 hours with lots of changes and playing music in between as well, including a lot of fooling around with the touchscreen. Based on that I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the battery life for video hit the 10-11 hours that is in the specs. Haven't tried the 50+ hours just for music but based on the video I would believe it.

I've tried several different MP3 players and the Cowon S9 is by far the absolute best.

Pros:
-Sound Quality is the best I've heard personally from a portable music player.
-incredible battery life 11 hr video 55hr music.
-The video quality from the AMOLED screen is amazing.
-Strong but very light.
-CORNING GORILLA GLASS covers the screen, not plastic. Incredibly strong

Cons:
-Default user interface is poor in places (coverflow, but that can be disabled now) and good in others. However, there are many user interfaces being made by owners and designers already, so they can be changed.

...if you're checking out this page and reading this review, you're already familiar with the Cowon S9 on a basic level. Chances are, you already know about the features that are available on this little gem, so I don't have to mention the broad file format support, top notch audio and video quality, and stunningly gorgeous OLED screen.

Chances are, you're familiar with all of this, but you've read one too many unfavorable comparisons to the iPod touch, and you're nervous about the interface - just like I was a week ago, before I took the dive.

Well, I'm happy to say, there's no need to fear. The Cowon S9 delivers a touchscreen based interface that, while not quite as simple as the iPod, is both intuitive and packed with features. The capacitative touchscreen is incredibly responsive, and it must be said, easily the most gorgeous screen on the market. Best of all, the Cowon S9's UCI is completely customizable. Users who are familiar with Flash can even write their own UCI to use on the player, and for the rest of us, there's a large and dedicated community of Cowon fans who have already turned out some great work. I recommend checking out the forums at www.iaudiophile.net - the user base is friendly, knowledgeable, and more than willing to help you get the most out of this PMP.

What else needs to be said? If you're looking for the best sound, the best video, the best screen, the most flexible interface, you've found it.

I had a SanDisk Sansa that I really liked, but due to my glaucoma getting worse, I just could not see the small print on the Sansa anymore. I then went on a quest for a great Mp3 player, that I could read. My husband has a Cowon D2, and really likes it. It definitely has great sound quality, but again, the print was just a little bit small. Then I went to the anythingbutipod web site, and began looking at the S9. I can now make the print bigger on this Mp3! It is great for someone like myself, who has issues with vision!

The sound quality on this Mp3 is absolutely incredible! I have never heard sound like this, and certainly not out of something so small!

I likely won't use the video capabilities, but I am sure they are excellent as well.

Perhaps the only downside to this Mp3 player, is there is no lighter areas on it, so it is a bit difficult for me to find the on/off button. Also, I would have put it on the top of the player, and not the bottom, but that is just personal preference.

About the only problem I am having with it, and that is because it is still so new to me, is that I have music files mixed in with audio files, and when I have the music shuffled, it goes from music to audio files. I need to learn how to move the audio files to a different place, so I can listen to the music without interruption.

Get this Mp3, you will NOT be disappointed!

The Cowon S9 is a very good media player with a few minor issues. Here's my summary:

Physical Design - It's nice and sleek, fits well in your hand, and is light weight. The body is plastic, but it seems solid enough to me.

AMOLED Display - Just fantastic - blows anything less out of the water. I am an amateur photographer and my pictures look like high quality prints on the S9. Videos also look great.

Audio Playback - As others have said, great audio quality, and open standards support. It also supports the audible.com format, which was important to me.

Video Playback - Excellent. The video conversion software can convert most formats, except for it appears to me HD.

FM Radio - Good, seems to work better than the D2, although this is not a big feature for me.

Battery Life - never had it run out - seems long enough for almost any purpose. One thing to note is that the unit must be returned to Cowon to replace the battery, when that becomes necessary.

Firmware - The firmware that came with my S9 was a little disappointing - but I upgraded and now it's pretty good. Cowon appears to be improving the firmware all the time. If you buy, upgrade and check the site frequently for updates.

Usability - Good, but not great (with 2.30 or higher firmware). It would be nice if it were a bit more responsive, but you get used to the occasional pauses.

Flash Player - Not a strong point. The player is slow and can only play simple flash programs, and I've had it lock-up for some files and had to reset it. There are folks on the net who have tested and listed flash files that work with the S9.

Non-standard USB cable - Agreed this is annoying - just don't lose the cable.

Overall its an excellent unit, and Cowon appears committed to improving it with frequent firmware updates.

I really enjoy listening to music, my previous player was the Palm TX using Pocket Tunes software this was good for the last two year. But, after upgrading my wife to the Coby 8g mp3 player and listening to my son ipod Touch. It was time for daddy to get his groove back!

I own a great set of high-end speakers "the Paradigm Monitor system". So for me it's all about the sound quality,that being said my mp3 player must also have high-end audio and video sounds. The Cowon S9 really, really shine as a music and video player the sounds coming from the player are high-end. No matter what's your music taste the Cowon S9 GOT YOU COVERED!

Having high-end audio sound is the best way to enjoy music. My friends, after listening to my player called me a walking stereo. So here's my recommendation buy the Cowon S9 player and the Grado Labs SR 60 headphone, and like myself you will be in music heaven!!!

Go PHILLIES, beat those Yankees

If you're someone who listen to music all day long, this is it. Great sound quality. Customizable interface. If you want anything you can go to [...] for updates, games, etc. It has a great battery life (I charge it about twice a month, listening to music only).

Here's my list of pros & cons

PROs:
- Great battery life
- Radio feature (can add a few dozen of channels)
- Can read TXT files
- Flash games (you can actually get a bundle of games off [...])
- It has a little notepad (Type up to 200 characters / I use it to jot down business addresses/phone numbers on the go...)
- Watch Videos on an AMOLED screen (Videos lasted up to about 6-7 hours for me depending on the resolution size).
- Customizable interface (I also added the NYC Subway Map to this thing)
- Light and durable.

Some CONs:
- Does not support PDF file
- No Wi-Fi (but that's ok since I'm more of a music person)
- Can't see the screen under the sun.

Overall I would give this mp3 a 5/5 because it has all the common features I needed. I was deciding between this, the Samsung P3, and the Ipod touch. But I wanted something unique that not everyone had or even heard of....so I got the Cowon S9 (also because of the AMOLED screen). It take about 4-5 hours to get a full charge on USB (if it's completely out of battery). The battery life is excellent. I usually don't charge it until it alert "Low Battery" because the battery meter is inaccurate (I remember listening to music for about another 2 hours after it says 0% battery left).

I got this for my boyfriend's birthday and I was really skeptical at first because I'm so used to having an ipod and thought this was one of the wanna-be's. However, i was very pleased to see that my gadget geek boyfriend loved playing with this little toy, changing apps and displays by downloading from a very active online community specifically for Cowon products. I gotta say, once i saw it too, it looks really cool and it's very neat, and different!

This is the best sounding mp3 , my daugther has ipod 4g , i compared both i connected to my JBL professional speakers and Mackie mixer ,, wooooo Cowon s9 is the clear winner , crispy , detailed sound i even drop in my toilet still working , great product .if you are looking for the best sound this is for you , no regreats trust me