Cowon iAUDIO U5 MP3 Player

U5

By Angry  Aug 7, 2008

Pros: Audio presets

Cons: The USB cover doesn't stay in place, non-swappable battery

I'm writing this review from the perspective of having owned an iAudio G3, an iRiver X20 and having used lots of iPods. The U5 is smaller than I thought it'd be after having seem pictures of it. The menus are straight forward and navigation ...is easy. The LCD is large enough to display all the information you need about the currently playing song and quite easy to read. There's 2 types of firmware available. The 1.** version which supports (I believe) MP3, wav, and WMDRM10 files, and gives you the choice of also connecting via MTP. With this firmware you can browse your library via tags and folders. The 3.** version adds support for FLAC and OGG but removes WMDRM10, the MTP connection protocol, browsing via tags and support for M3U playlists. It supports creating your own playlists from the player itself though, which the 1.** firmware doesn't. I use the 3.** version firmware as I prefer ogg support and don't miss any of the other lost features. I can't comment on album picture or lyric support as I don't use either of those things. The number one advantage the U5 has over other players for me is the ability to set your EQ and other effects as you like them, then save that as a preset. This is great if you're swapping headphones frequently or plugging the device into an external amplifier etc. The frequency of each of the 5 EQ bands can be changed, and also set to either narrow, normal or wide. This is also saved as part of the preset. Sound quality is quite good, enhanced even further by the BBE sonic effect if used sparingly. I use it on it's minimum setting as for me that's where it gives the appearance of "wider" stereo without adding noticeable "negative" changes to the audio, but "negative" for me might very well be preferable for someone else. I run the bass enhancer close to maximum however, as with the headphones I'm currently using at least, it does a great job of boosting the bass and giving it some extra punch without making it "muddy". If, like me, video and jpg support is something you'd rather not pay extra for because all you want is a good quality MP3 player, then the U5 is definitely worth a look and for me it fits the bill perfectly. The only real negatives for me (there's always a few minor "why nots" with any MP3 player that are more personal preference) are the USB cover, which doesn't lock in properly and tends to fall out and hang dangling from the bottom of the player, and the fact that it doesn't have a user-swappable battery (one that can be swapped out with a spare). I guess making sure you recharge the player regularly should solve the latter problem, and for the first... I'm thinking about simply cutting the USB cover off as this won't detract from the "look" of the player in any way. I've only hesitated as it's held to the player by a plastic "wire" and I'm thinking the half of that wire which remains in the player might rattle around inside it a bit. Removing the rear cover and taking it out look like it's be easy (two screws) but I might wait till I've owned the player a bit longer before i get brave enough.... Conclusion.... The U5 is a player I'd recommend to anyone who only wants a device for playing MP3s which comes at a good price and produces good quality audio. Like most MP3 players though, be prepared to buy a decent pair of headphones to replace the ones which are supplied with the player. Something which I found disappointing when purchasing the U5, only because the headphones which came with the G3 I bought years ago were of quite good quality. Read more Less