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PCMag reviews the Cowon F1 (2.5/5.0)
comment: 15 | Thursday, February 02 (2006) 10:46PM | Posted by Robert Sinke
Somehow, we always feel the urge to add "vroom vroom"-like remarks when Cowon's F1 is passing by. PCMag tried figuring out whether this flash DAP is any good, which sounds like a useful task. Vrooooom... vroooom!

Bottom line: With its cool matchbox-car design, the Cowan (no, it's spelled "Cowon" ) iAudio F1 should appeal to younger music fans, but its subpar battery life, weak bass, and lack of WM DRM 10 support hold it back.

Pros: Broad feature set. Cool design. Compact and lightweight. Lots of sound enhancement options.

Cons: No WM DRM 10 support. Bass is a bit weak. No AC adapter. Battery life isn't what's claimed.

Verdict: 2.5/5.0

LINK
Comments

Hyper_Noodle

Comments: 226
 		Feb 02 (2006) 11:03PM  

Lack of bass? Really? I've never heard that about a Cowon product. Maybe they used some audio processor that's not as high quality as their normal one?



undesign

Comments: 786
 		Feb 02 (2006) 11:35PM  

Weak bass? Well, ipods have weak bass too.
Subpar battery life? iPods are notorious for this.
Lack of WM DRM 10? iPods lack this too.

So, why does iPod score so highly?



Swifty McVeigh

Comments: 27
 		Feb 03 (2006) 12:36AM  

cause the iPod's looks and feel (erganomics) overrule al lthose limitations *rolls eyes*



608zz
Location: DC metro area.
Comments: 270
 		Feb 03 (2006) 01:47AM  

The F1 uses the same CPU and Mach3Bass as what’s in the U2/i5/G3.

I call BS on PCMag.



Martinp

Comments: 299
 		Feb 03 (2006) 03:38AM  

Me too!



te2rx

Comments: 10
 		Feb 03 (2006) 04:21AM  

when people try to subjectively discern subtle differences in quality, usually they just end up imagining things. If you (even subconsciously) have some vague preconception that the iPod will have more bass or whatever, then that's proabably the result you'll placebo yourself into believing when there's no actual difference. Reviewers need to learn the importance of taking real measurements when it comes to things like that.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Feb 03 (2006) 04:29AM  

I'm pretty certain PCMag is run by a group of chimps.



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Feb 04 (2006) 03:42AM  

i also believe this ssj



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Feb 04 (2006) 12:19PM  

did you read the review te2rx? they do actual measurements


608zz
Location: DC metro area.
Comments: 270
 		Feb 04 (2006) 04:30PM  

Te2rx, if PCMag did use some way to measure the bass on the F1, I believe they would’ve thought of some other disparaging thing to say about it instead. Cowon products will never get a fair review by PCMag until they pay the protection fees (ad fees) that bigger companies like Samsung are able to fork over.



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Feb 04 (2006) 06:02PM  

I dont much dig the car design... but maybe thats because I just got out of an accident avoidance class...



608zz
Location: DC metro area.
Comments: 270
 		Feb 04 (2006) 07:16PM  

Car design? I thought it was supposed to be a spaceship (you know, like Force-1, Federation-1, etc). LOL.

Whatever the casing resembles, what’s important is that the F1 has all the goodies of the iAudio U2, plus a spectacular screen. If they offered a version powered by a AA battery, I’d be all over it.



ratbird
Location: Bronx, New York
Comments: 35
 		Feb 04 (2006) 10:33PM  

PC mag is a piece of shit

undesign is correct all the way (as usuall)

dapreview > pcmag



pcmmike

Comments: 1
 		Feb 06 (2006) 04:44PM  

The editor who added the misspelling of Cowon to my review has been appropriately flogged by the chimps in charge of punishments here.

And yes, we really do test these things with an oscilloscope. Although the same chips may be used across devices, the output stages are usually not identical, which has an effect on the frequency response.

Thanks again for reading!



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Feb 06 (2006) 05:31PM  

thanks for posting. including more technical info on your testing of the outputs would probably be a worthwhile contribution to the articles. if you want to keep the reviews cleaner, they could be a supplement.



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