Full Review

The Cowon D2+ is an update of the earlier Cowon D2 MP3 player. This premier 16GB variant is a solid alternative to the Apple iPod Touch when it comes to sound quality and battery life.

The Cowon D2+ is similar in size to players such as the Archos 5 and the iRiver Spinn. A 320x240 pixel, 2.5-inch-touch screen covers most of the 78 (W) x566mm(H) face. Supplementary controls are the side. The player has a chunkier feel than we expected—but this is understandable given it’s based on the D2—measuring 17mm thick. The screen of the Cowon D2+ isn’t as good as the iPod’s, with a slightly washed-out look. Brightness is good though and the image is consistently crisp.

The main selling point of the Cowon D2+ is its sound quality. With a pair of expensive headphones, lossless music files and sound enhancement enabled, the Cowon D2+ really shines.

The user interface is Spartan, but we like its simplicity and familiarity. It is easy to navigate, though scrolling through the song browser can get tedious if you have a large library. Overall, operating the touchscreen is not as smooth as what we experienced with the iPod Touch but manageable.

The files supported are MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, WAV and APE. Video playback supports AVI, XviD and WMV — but not DivX. The usual set of extra features is included: FM radio, photo and text viewing and voice recording make an appearance. We liked the inclusion of an sD/sDHC card slot for expandable memory.

The main selling point of the Cowon D2+ is its sound quality. With a pair of expensive headphones, lossless music files and sound enhancement enabled, the Cowon D2+ really shines. Sound is crisp and rich, with plenty of bass and treble extension audible. There’s a whole raft of sound enhancements available to tailor the sound output to suit your musical tastes. Lossless FLAC files and could bring out the true nature of the iAudio D2. While listening to Hip-Hop and Trance, we could hear the deep and solid bass with no compromise on the vocals and higher frequencies. Overall, the audio is top-notch.Video playback is acceptable with 30fps playback also supported.

Battery life is rated at an impressive 52 hours for audio and 11 hours for video. However, we managed to achieve a massive 54 hours of continuous audio playback at a moderate listening volume. The Cowon D2+ may not have the most colorful screen or the slimmest body but it is proof that in the MP3 player world, looks aren’t everything.

Bottom Line

The new D2+ from Cowon has superior audio playback with top notch battery life which makes it second only to iPod Touch.