Cowon P1 Plenue High Resolution Audio Player USER GUIDE

Cowon P1 Plenue High Resolution Audio Player

Before you start

Precautions

As these precautions are provided for the correct use of the product as well as user safety, be sure to familiarize yourself with them. The company will not be held responsible for any accident that may occur due to the failure to heed these precautions. The following information applies commonly to all products manufactured and produced by COWON SYSTEMS, Inc.

• Do not use this product for other purposes than those described in this manual.

• Handle manual, product package materials, accessories, etc with care to prevent cuts and injuries to your body.

• Do not view videos, pictures and texts stored in your player while driving a vehicle for your safety. Operating other features of the player is also dangerous and may
  cause fatal accidents while driving.

• The wearing of earphones while operating a vehicle, exercising, or walking may impair, mask or prevent recognition of emergency signals, alarms, and announcements.
  Doing so may also be unlawful depending on the region.

• Do not use detergent or other chemicals on the product surface as it may cause fading. In this case, wipe the soiled area carefully with a soft cloth.

• Do not expose the player in either cold weather of under 0℃(32˚F) or hot temperature over 40℃(104˚F) such as inside automobiles. This may cause fatal damages
  to your player.

• Do not expose the player to water or keep it in a damp or humid location for an extended period of time. If the player is damaged from moisture as described above,
  product failure is then classified as a user’s misuse.

• Take extra care not to apply external shock or pressure when using products with displays(LCD, AMOLED, or Touch Pad). Warranty may be voided if damage occurs
  due to the aforementioned circumstances.

• Do not attempt to disassemble the player.

• Disassembly will void the warranty and the unit will be permanently disqualified from any warranty services.

• Do not mix directions when connecting cables to your player or PC. Connecting cables incorrectly may damage your player or PC. Also, do not bend or press
  connection cables with heavy objects.

• If you smell something burning or feel excessive heat while using the product, press the RESET button to stop operation and contact the place of purchase.

• Touching the player with wet hands may cause damages and malfunctions. Handle the power plug only with dry hands (otherwise an electric shock may occur).

• Listening at high volume(85 dB and above) for an extended period of time may harm your hearing.

• For your protection, use the player in a well lit area where LCD screen will not overly strain your eyes.

• Using the player in places with high occurrences of static electricity may cause malfunctions.

• In case of using this device primarily for a storage device, it is recommended to back up all data before use. COWON SYSTEMS, Inc. is not responsible for any data
  loss due to hardware failure.

• All data stored in the player may become deleted when being serviced. Our Service Center does not back up files while repairing players. Please note that COWON
  SYSTEMS, Inc. is not responsible for any data loss from products entrusted to us for service.

• Keep the player in cool and ventilated places, away from direct sunlight as it may cause deformation and damages to internal circuitry or LCD screen.

• For your own safety, it is recommended that customers use the USB power adaptor and USB cable approved by COWON SYSTEMS, Inc.

• If you are using a product that comes with an AC power adaptor, please use the genuine charger offered by COWON.

• When connecting to a PC, use only USB ports on the mother board or a USB Host card. Using an external USB hub may not guarantee proper operation(e.g. USB
  ports on a keyboard or an external USB hub).

• When formatting the built-in memory, select the file system specified in the manual(e.g. FAT32 / FAT16 / NTFS).

• Be sure to disconnect the power supply to the PC and USB power adaptor during lightning or thunder storm, to prevent danger to the user or the risk of fire hazards.

• Keep the player away from magnets and direct magnetic fields, as they can cause malfunctions.

• Do not drop or expose the product to hard impact. This may result in malfunctions and/or unit failure, voiding the warranty.

• If you find any abnormalities with the battery such as swelling, press the RESET button immediately to stop the operation and contact the place of purchase.

• The price of the product may fluctuate due to unexpected commercial conditions. COWON SYSTEMS, Inc. accepts no liability to compensate for any price fluctuation.

• ‘EJECT’ procedure must be performed when removing the product from the Mac.

Package Contents

Names of Parts and Functions

Buttons

1. Power On/Off : Press and hold the button to turn on the product. While turned on, press and hold the button to turn off the product.
   Hold On/Off 1), 2) , Display On/Off : Press the button briefly to activate Hold mode. Press the button twice to turn off the screen.

2. Volume Up/Down : Adjusts the volume in 140 levels. Each level adjusts the volume by 0.5dB. Press and hold the button to quickly raise or lower the volume.

3. Play/Pause : Press the button to play the track. While playing, press the button to pause the track.

4. Previous Track/Next Track : Press briefly to select the previous or next track.
   Rewind/Fast Forward : Press and hold to rewind or fast forward.

• Hold Touchscreen Mode and Hold All Mode are available. Hold Touchscreen : The touch display is locked, and only the physical buttons can be used. Hold All : The touch display and physical buttons are locked except for the Power/Hold button.
• Hold mode can be adjusted in‘Settings ▶ System ▶ Hold mode’
• If the buttons or touch screen do not respond during use, press and hold the volume + and – buttons to reset for 6 seconds or more.
  ※ If the screen is turned off while the product is turned on, the LED will blink blue.

Power Connection and Charging

1. Micro USB cable connects the PC and Micro USB port.
2. The LED indicates the status of the battery charge. (Red – Charging, Green – Charging Complete)

• PLENUE 1 can also be charged with an authentic Micro USB DC adapter for smart phones. If 5V/2A or higher Micro USB DC adapters are used, charging will be finished in approximately 4 hours. The charging time may vary if the product is in use while charging.
• Be sure to connect the device directly to a USB port located on the back of the PC.The device may be unable to establish a connection or be charged as the power supply from a front USB port or a non-powered external USB hub may be unstable.
• Fully charge the product before using it for the first time or after a period of disuse.
• For your safety, do not charge the product in an enclosed space such as under a blanket or inside a bag. Charge the product in an open space.

Basic Use

Connecting and Disconnecting from the PC

1. Use the Micro USB cable to connect PLENUE 1 to your PC.
2. The connection image appears on the PLENUE 1 screen.
3. Also make sure to check My Computer or Windows Explorer to see if PLENUE 1 is properly connected to the PC.
4. Use PLENUE 1 to copy the track you wish to listen to.
5. When done, click the icon on the system tray to safely remove PLENUE 1 from the PC.
6. Click the popup message.
7. Make sure that PLENUE 1 has been safely disconnected, then remove it from the PC.

• The maximum number of files and folders that can be recognized by the product: 70,000 + 70,000 (microSD)
• Disconnect the product after performing‘ Safely remove hardware’ function.
• The following message may appear randomly, but it does not indicate that the product is malfunctioning. Please try again.
• If your operating system does not display the‘ Safe To Remove Hardware’ window, disconnect the player after all transfer operations are completed.
• Only simple file transfer operation is available for Linux and Mac OS.

Inserting and Removing the microSD Card

1. Properly place the microSD Card in the microSD card slot as shown in the picture. Gently press the card to insert it.
2. When the database is automatically refreshed, the music files on the microSD card can be viewed.
3. When removing the microSD card, turn off the power, then press the microSD card again to remove it.
   ※For data protection, always turn off the power before removing the microSD card.

Using Headphone Mode

PLENUE 1 provides‘ Headphone mode’ to increase output for use with high impedance headphones.

1. Turn Headphone Mode on and off in‘ Settings ▶ Music ▶ Headphone mode’.
2. The icon in the upper right corner changes based on Headphone mode.
   ※When Headphone mode is turned on, the output will increase, so please use caution.

Firmware Upgrade

The firmware uses built-in programs in the hardware and upgrades to improve product capabilities and fix bugs in the software. PLENUE 1 may use the firmware to adjust product performance or methods of use without prior notice, and minor malfunctions in the firmware may occur.
How to upgrade the firmware

1. Download the latest firmware from the SUPPORT section of the website (http://www.COWON.com).
2. Use the Micro USB Cable to connect PLENUE 1 to the PC.
3. Unzip the downloaded firmware and copy it to the root folder of PLENUE 1.
4. Once the product is safely disconnected, remove the Micro USB cable.
5. When the product is turned on, the firmware is automatically upgraded in twice.
6. When firmware upgrade is complete, turn on the power and go to Settings ▶ System ▶ Information to check the version of the installed firmware.
   • Fully charge the player before upgrading the firmware.
   • Do not turn the player off before the firmware update has been completed. It may damage the product, and will void any warranty.
   • Back up any important data before the firmware upgrade as any data stored on the device may be deleted during the process. COWON accepts no liability for any loss of data.

Using the Product

Playback Screen

• Play/Pause the track.
• Press briefly to go to the previous track. Press and hold to rewind.
• Press briefly to go to the next track. Press and hold to fast forward.
• Drag the bar to the desired point in the track.
• Navigate to the Music Selection Screen.
• Adjust the playback settings.
• If this icon is displayed, click on the album artwork to see the lyrics in the album information screen.
• Enable looping.
• Enable shuffling.
• Choose to play a track, all tracks, or a folder.

Music Selection

Select a folder, artist, or album to view the corresponding track list.

• View track lists by folder.
• View track lists added to Favorites.
• View all tracks saved in the product.
• View track lists by artist.
• View track lists by album.
• View track lists by genre.
  ※ In the Track List Screen, press and hold to navigate to the Initial Track List Screen.

Playback Settings

• Navigate to Detailed Settings.
• Add the current track to Favorites.
• Select the preset for JetEffect 7.
• Replay a section of the track.
• Activate auto rotation.
• Show time elapsed or time remaining.
• Set the skip interval in various units. (Extended function of ‘previous track/next track’)
• Set the Rewind/Fast Forward speed.
• Remember the last played track and resume playback when the power is turned on.
• Skip the silent part of the beginning and the ending for a track. (max 500ms).
• Select the type of level meter.
• Select the skin on the playback screen.
  PLENUE 1 provides Gapless Playback to remove gaps between tracks during playback. Gapless Playback is applied in all situations without additional setup.

Detailed Settings

Jet Effect 7 Settings

1. In Detailed Settings, select Jet Effect 7 .
2. Select User 1 / User 2 / User 3 / User 4 and set the user presets.
3. EQ : Change the tone by adjusting the level of each frequency.
4. BBE+ : Select and apply BBE sound effect.
5. SE : Select and apply Chorus and Reverb effects
   ※ Press the button to set the EQ and EQ filter values for all 10 bands. Touch the desired value to quickly change the settings.

Select from 50 presets for JetEffect 7.

| Normal / BBE / BBE ViVA / BBE ViVA 2 / BBE Mach3Bass / BBE MP / BBE Headphone / BBE Headphone 2 / BBE Headphone 3 / Rock / Jazz / Classic / Ballad / Pop / Club / Funk / Hip Hop / Techno / Blues / Metal / Dance / Rap

/ Wide / X-Bass / Hall / Vocal / Maestro / Feel the Wind / Mild Shore / Crystal Clear / Reverb Room / Reverb Club / Reverb Stage / Reverb Hall / Reverb Stadium / Reverb Chamber / Reverb Room 2 / Reverb Club 2 / Reverb Hall 2 / Reverb Auditorium / Reverb Cathedral / Reverb Stadium 2 / Reverb Canyon / Reverb Long / Chorus 1 / Chorus 2 / Chorus 3 / Unison 1 / Unison 2 / Flange

---|---
You can manually adjust BBE, 3D Surround, etc. using 4 different user presets.|

User 1 / User 2 / User 3 / User 4

JetEffect 7 is the most sophisticated and powerful sound technology. It brings listeners closer to the natural presence and impact of a “live performance” than ever before.

| BBE| Sound effect that refines the sound quality
Mach3Bass| Provide deeper, tighter, and more musically accurate bass frequency.
3D Surround| Provide the three-dimensional surround sound effect.
MP Enhance| Restore and enhances the harmonics lost through compression.
Chorus| Sound effect that enriches the audio
Reverb| Maximize the natural and live presence of the sound.

• You may hear distortion or noise when using extreme settings of JetEffect.
• For detailed information about BBE, please see the introduction to BBE on our homepage(www.COWON.com).

Music

• Skip interval : Set the skip interval in various units. (Extended function of ‘previous track/next track’) Choose an interval of Track/2/3/4/5/10/20/30 seconds.
• Seek interval : Set the search speed for Fast Forward/Rewind. Choose an interval of 3/5/10/20/30 seconds for the search speed.
• Resume : Turn the setting on/off to resume the last track when the power is turned on.
• Remove silence : Turn the setting on/off to skip the silent part of the beginning or the ending for a track.
• Headphone mode : Select Headphone mode to increase the output for use with headphones.
• DSD gain : Set the gain to 0/6/12dB when playing DSD files.

Display

• Language : Select the system language from 17 different languages.
• Brightness : Adjust the brightness of the screen in 10 levels.

Timer

• Sleep timer : The product turns off after the set amount of time.
• Auto off : If there is no activity for a set amount of time, the product automatically turns off.
• Auto display off : If there is no activity for a set amount of time, the screen automatically turns off.

System

• Hold mode : In Hold Touchscreen only, the touch display is locked, and only the physical buttons can be used. In Hold All, the touch display and physical buttons are locked except for the Power/Hold button.
• Audio L/R : Adjust the stereo balance of the audio.
• LED : Turn the LED light on or off on the upper power button when the screen is turned off.
• Database update : Refresh the internal database in the product.
• Load defaults : Reset all settings to the default.
• Format internal memory : Internal memory can be formatted by pressing and holding for 5 seconds. Formatting deletes all data in the internal memory, so please use when necessary.
• Information : Check the firmware version, available memory, and memory used.

Product Specification

Audio

| File Formats| DXD/DSD/FLAC/WAV/AIFF/ALAC/APE/MP3/WMA/OGG

Audio Codecs

| DXD : ~352.8/384kHz (1/2 Sampling) DSD : ~5.64MHz (DSD64, DSD128)

FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC : ~24bit/192kHz (352.8/384kHz FLAC, WAV 1/2 Sampling)

MP3 : MPEG 1/2/2.5 Layer 3, ~320kbps WMA : ~320kbps, ~48kHz

APE : Fast, normal, and high (16-bit) compression rates

OGG : ~Q10, ~44.1kHz

Lyrics| LRC, LDB, Lyrics3, ID3 Tag Lyrics (Time Information Yes/No)

JetEffect 7

| 54 Presets (50 Presets + 4 User Presets)
EQ| 10 Band Equalizer (EQ Filter)
BBE+| BBE, Mach3Bass, 3D Surround, MP Enhance
Special Effect| Chorus (8 modes), Reverb (9 modes)

Audio Characteristics

| DAC| Burr-Brown PCM1792A
---|---|---
SNR| 120dB
THD+N| 0.0006%
Stereo Crosstalk| -134dB
Output| 2Vrms
Output Impedance| 3Ω
Volume| 140 levels
Clock| Precision Clock TCXO (Phase Jitter 1.0ps)

Battery & Power

| Battery| Built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery 3,000mAh / 3.7V
Playback Time| Approximately 8 hours and 30 minutes2)
Charging Time| Approximately 4 hours (with 5V/2A or higher Micro USB DC adapter)
Output Port| Earphone Jack (3.5mm) / Optical Output (3.5mm)
Player| Various skins for the playback screen, analog level meter, matrix browser, multi-favorite

System Requirement

| CPU| Pentium lll 500MHz or higher
OS| Windows 8 / 7 / Vista / XP / 2000 / ME : All functions supported MAC OS 10.x / Linux v2.4 or higher: File transfer supported
USB Port| 2.0 High Speed (recommended)

1. Actual capacity may vary due to system memory used by the product.
2. The playback time is based on the company’s own test standards, thus it may differ from the actual playback time.

Troubleshooting

• I am still confused even after reading the manual.
  COWON website(www.COWON.com) provides support for users of COWON products with FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Users are strongly encouraged
  to check out the website for further information regarding product usages and firmware upgrades. For individual inquiries, please contact us on-line as we will try to help you as best as we can.

• The player does not turn on.
  Verify the battery level or that the device is connected to a power supply.
  Charge the battery for a certain period and turn on PLENUE 1 if the battery is completely discharged.
  If the buttons or touch screen do not respond during use, press and hold the volume + and – buttons to reset for 6 seconds or more.

• I can’t hear any sound.
  Check if the volume is set to “0”. Check if there is any file available in the player. If there is no file in the player, you will not hear any sound. Please note that corrupted files will result in a noise or discontinued playback. Make sure the earphones are connected properly. Impurities in the earphone jack can cause a noise.

• Files that I have stored do not appear in the list.
  Each mode shows you a list of playable files only. To view all files that you have stored, select the Browser mode. Please note that System folder will not
  appear in the Browser.

• Computer cannot recognize the player when connected.
  If connection is unstable due to frequent disconnects, connect directly to the USB port on the main board of the PC.

• Memory capacity of the player is different or smaller than specified.
  The memory capacity indicated by Windows may be different from that indicated by the memory manufacturer. The actual capacity will be reduced from the original size because some space of the memory should be used as the system area for normal operation.

• The player does not play properly when memory is full.
  Part of the memory is used for settings and system memory in the product. If files are saved in this space, the product may not function properly. Therefore, please keep a minimum of 100MB of free memory while using the product.

• After formatting the product on my PC, it can no longer be read by my PC, the memory has been reduced, or the file transfer rate is slower.
  The built-in memory of the product is already formatted and does not require additional formatting. However, if it is necessary to format the product, please use internal memory formatting function in the product or connect the product to PC using USB cable and use utilities that support large capacity FAT32 formatting to format the default allocation size as 32KB to avoid decline in size and speed of memory. This product does not support the format of MAC OS.

www.COWON.com

FAQS

Is this compatible to 220v outlet?

The Cowon cames without an USB charger. You will need to provide one. All of the USB chargers I got, have an input of 100 – 240 V. So, it will compatible with an 220 V outlet.

Does it play gapless music?

there, yes it does as far as I remember.
You might want to check out iBasso DX200 which to my ears are more value for money.

Has anybody made a comparison between the cowon p-1 and astell kern ak100ii?

Try www.head-fi.org. Both are covered extensively there. I had a Cowon Plenue 1 (made a Christmas gift of it to a friend) and I currently have an AK120II. Both are awesome. I find that the source file matters much more than the imperceptible difference in sound between the two. There’s not a whole lot of difference sound-wise in my optnion. Both have the same internal storage size and both accept one microSD card. The P1 has a faster interface response by far–very fast, but the AK has a nice cradle for connecting to the computer, wifi, and it updates itself when new firmware updates are available. The Cowon Plenue S with cradle goes one step farther by allowing you to connect to computer & home stereo receiver at the same time. That would be my choice over the P1, but either the P1 or 100II will be a good choice.

does it have a built-in speaker?

No, it doesn’t have any built-in speaker.

How can the optical output (same as headphones jack) be used to connect to a “audio in” inanother player? Any special cable?

Use a 3.5mm S/PDIF (Sony Phillips Digital Inter Face) adapter to a regular fiber optic cable!

Is there no owner’s manual?

Built in manual… when you connect it to your computer the manual is in the directory.
Online PDF here….. http://www.pdf-manuals.com/pdf/cowon-plenue-p1-high- resolution-audio-player-p1-128bl-b-h-photo-278042-user-manual.pdf

What’s the difference between the Plenue 1 & Plenue M2

The M2 is newer and has a newer DAC (not better, but newer). Some people on head-fi.org have said that the DAC chip in the P1 is still the top performer. Cowon says the Total Harmonic Distortion of the M2 is 0.0007, while the Total Harmonic Distortion of the P1 is 0.0006. I don’t know if that difference is discernible to the human ear. The M2 also has lower output impedence, meaning it should theoretically drive higher-impedence ear/headphones with less hiss. However, people on head-fi.org have said that the P1 is capable of driving even their higher-impedence headphones with no discernible hiss, so in practical use there is probably no difference in most situations. The M2 has the same internal memory as the P1.

How would you compare this media player’s quality to a recent phone at the same price?

No comparison at all!!!!! I would never play my favorite music on a phone, simply because the Cowon media player has certain hardware that provides a better sound quality than any phone in the market. If sound quality is not that important, then you’re right, it doesn’t really matter.

Does this device have playlist support?

The Playlist Support for the Plenue 1 is in the Favorites functionality. From the Features description on the Cowon Web Site: “Multi-Favorite offers the convenience of saving your favorite music in multiple playlists…”

Does it can drives 600 ohms headphones and orthophonics easily (with authority)???

Yes

Does the p1 better sound than hifi man hm650?

While the sound in it’s own forth right between the two IMHO is truly good, I tend to try and stay away from telling others that this one is or sound better than the other, it’s so very subjective. I like the Hm650, but my first love has always been with\for Cowon, they’re a hard little entity to beat, and if I were to purchase one of the two for sound only it would be the P1 because I have so many ways to alter\shape the end sound product

Do you need a special earphone?

Almost any earphone would play I guess. For best sound you may consider earphone with impedance over 24 ohm and also capable of producing hi res sound to hear all niceness that this player delivers. Using mee audio pinnacle p1 with it, happy with the combo

Can you listen to the player when it is being recharged by a portable battery recharger?

Yes you can. If you charge from a computer or a device (e.g., my car) where the usb connection loads a drive, then you cannot listen and charge (or more correctly be a connected drive) at the same time. However if you charge from an wall outlet or a portable battery charger, then you can listen and charge at the same time. In other words if your device sees the Cowon as two drives, then you will not be able to play music.

what is the internal memory?

Internal memory is 128 Go. But it can be extended to 256 Go by a 128 Go SXDC card.

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