iAudio A2 & Iaudio XS (60GB)

daveg

Has anyone any links to either products (Cowon iAudio A2 30GB & Cowon iAudio X5 60GB)? Cheapest I've found is actually from Cowan in the US. I could use shop the states to get a US address (they don't ship to Ireland) but I wonder would I get hit for duty using this method? Anyone bought direct from Cowan before?

Louisiana

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=316356

this is where i got mine. not so cheap now. itwas the standard price 6 months ago.

Audioslaven

i got mine off http://www.mp3-player.de 20 euro or so for delivery

daveg

Thanks for the reply's guys. Komplett works out at €560 including postage. mp3-player.de works out at €512.90. However an eBay seller (US seller) called grupare sells them for $399 + $40 for postage (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9725805915&sspagename=ADME:B:AAQ:US:1) (he is an authorised reseller in California). Comes with usual manufacturers warantee. So that's €342 all in. Was a bit concerned about the low price at the start but if you check Cowan's iAudio site in the States they sell direct for less. Seems there is a "huge" markup in Europe.

comet

I bought my iaudio x5 60GB from mx2, its the cheapest if you don't want to chance the post from the US

http://www.mx2.co.uk/prodpage.asp?type=prod&sub=MP3IA

daveg

Just to feedback I bought from that seller. Shipped with low value/marked as gift which avoided Duty. No problems whatsoever. Very impressed with the A2. Superb unit.

davehey79

heres one ive found seems quite reasonable
http://www.iaccessorise.com/?product_id=&page=shop%2Fbrowse&country=IRE

daveg

davehey79 wrote:

heres one ive found seems quite reasonable
http://www.iaccessorise.com/?product_id=&page=shop%2Fbrowse&country=IRE

Jesus thats very reasonable. Good site too...

mechanic75

Yeah I got mine at www.iAccessorise.com too. I went for the A2 30Gb.

http://www.iaccessorise.com/mp3-players/iaudio/country=IRE

Very Very happy with the unit. Would recommend it highly.

daveg

mechanic75 wrote:

Yeah I got mine at www.iAccessorise.com too. I went for the A2 30Gb.

http://www.iaccessorise.com/mp3-players/iaudio/country=IRE

Very Very happy with the unit. Would recommend it highly.

I have mine about 4 weeks now. One of the nest toys I've ever bought. Plays nearly anything you throw at it.

t-hairy

Couldn't agree more - the A2 is the best media player out there bar none and iAudio are constantly expanding its functionality, like DMB radio and TV (Not available here yet, of course):
http://www.pvp4u.com/archives/2006/02/dmb_tuner_addon.html
Plus, they've mentioned development of a GPS add-on.
Got the 20g unit in Seoul last year for under 300 quid.

DéiseGirl

Got 20GB A2 in Peats early last year, best thing I ever bought (and I'll be saying that until the day I get my own house I think ). It was €470 + postage...probably could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere but I'm very impetuous and just wanted it STRAIGHTAWAY!! Was on train yesterday watching eps of the Royle Family. Used to hate long journeys but the A2 makes them all go by so quickly and the battery life is excellent as well

daveg

D&#233 wrote: »

Got 20GB A2 in Peats early last year, best thing I ever bought (and I'll be saying that until the day I get my own house I think ). It was €470 + postage...probably could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere but I'm very impetuous and just wanted it STRAIGHTAWAY!! Was on train yesterday watching eps of the Royle Family. Used to hate long journeys but the A2 makes them all go by so quickly and the battery life is excellent as well

The 12 hour battery life for movies is amazing. No other player comes near. My last player only had 2-3 max. Also the A2 plays nearly everything you throw at it. It's brill.

Tony

Just got mine off the ebay guy and brought it back from the states. Anyone having problems getting it to switch on at times? Sometimes it takes four or five tries to get it to power up, tried firmware upgrade but it starts the process and then cuts out. Anyone have similar experiences?

Thanks

DermoMIO

daveg wrote:

Just to feedback I bought from that seller. Shipped with low value/marked as gift which avoided Duty. No problems whatsoever. Very impressed with the A2. Superb unit.

how long did postage take ? and did you get any acceseries(spelling) with it i see the dude says they are availible but say how you can get them

Tony

Mine is faulty so has to go back to states, this is the downside on the savings you make so worth thinking about if you can get a good deal here

DermoMIO

thanks dave that is a downside might still take the risk tough

Tony

Dave?

DermoMIO wrote:

thanks dave that is a downside might still take the risk tough

DermoMIO

sorry mate scrolled up to see who last posted thought it was a dave but he psoted b4 u sorry about that.

daveg

Tony sorry to hear you had troubles with yours. It is a great peice of kit though. I thought mine was faulty too when I got it. Transfers from PC to Iaudio were painfully slow and kept disconnecting. Turns out I had the USB cable plugged into host. Beware of this when you get it.

DermoMIO wrote:

how long did postage take ? and did you get any acceseries(spelling) with it i see the dude says they are availible but say how you can get them

Dermo only took about a week. Didn't get any accessories. Email him and ask. Really sound chap, very quick to reply to emails.

Tony

DermoMIO wrote:

sorry mate scrolled up to see who last posted thought it was a dave but he psoted b4 u sorry about that.

Not a problem

Tony

daveg wrote:

Tony sorry to hear you had troubles with yours. It is a great peice of kit though. I thought mine was faulty too when I got it. Transfers from PC to Iaudio were painfully slow and kept disconnecting. Turns out I had the USB cable plugged into host. Beware of this when you get it.



Dermo only took about a week. Didn't get any accessories. Email him and ask. Really sound chap, very quick to reply to emails.

Thanks Dave, what happens is it just stops playing and you have to power it down and then it takes several tries to get it going again. I did find the transfer slower than my Iriver but thats no big deal

gaffmaster

Does it come with software so you can rip your DVDs on to it? Or how do you usually obtain the movies?

Tony

it comes with jet audio which I believe can convert dvd's for you although have not tried this myself. How much memory does amovie usually take up?

daveg

About 700MB is the norm. I use newzbin and easynews to rip my movies

DermoMIO

daveg wrote:

Tony sorry to hear you had troubles with yours. It is a great peice of kit though. I thought mine was faulty too when I got it. Transfers from PC to Iaudio were painfully slow and kept disconnecting. Turns out I had the USB cable plugged into host. Beware of this when you get it.



Dermo only took about a week. Didn't get any accessories. Email him and ask. Really sound chap, very quick to reply to emails.

thanks sounds like a good bargain and like a nice guy

Tony

DermoMIO wrote:

thanks sounds like a good bargain and like a nice guy

Guys I'm sorry to say I'm having a really bad experience with this guy. I asked for a replacement and he said just send back the bare unit and that he would email me when it arrived. I tracked the package on USPS and they attempted delivery last Tuesday and left a note, unit was then not delivered until Thursday and no email from this guy to say he has it. I email him Monday and he replies two days later on wednesday now saying he cannot replace it as he needs the box and all accessories having not mentioned this before and unit must go for repair instead.(why he cant swap it out with another box I dont know) I'm in business myself and hate bad mouthing anybody but this for me is a low standard of service.

Blade

I was offered a second hand x5 here for 200 euro but I wasn't impressed at the screen resolution, it's not even as good as my old mobile phone. Plus I didn't like the fact that you can't seem to replace the battery yourself when it eventually dies. I believe you have to send it back to the manufacturer to have it replaced. This was about 2 months ago so I don't know if the situation has changed since.

daveg

Tony wrote:

Guys I'm sorry to say I'm having a really bad experience with this guy. I asked for a replacement and he said just send back the bare unit and that he would email me when it arrived. I tracked the package on USPS and they attempted delivery last Tuesday and left a note, unit was then not delivered until Thursday and no email from this guy to say he has it. I email him Monday and he replies two days later on wednesday now saying he cannot replace it as he needs the box and all accessories having not mentioned this before and unit must go for repair instead.(why he cant swap it out with another box I dont know) I'm in business myself and hate bad mouthing anybody but this for me is a low standard of service.

Jesus Tony I'm shocked to hear he is being such a prick. I would not have posted my experiences had I not had 100% customer satisfaction from this guy. Even down to postage he was so sound with me (posted tracked with low value to avoid duty). I suppose you don't really know how good a seller is until you start having problems.

Maybe you could point out Tony that I directed you and others to him and that he may loose business if he doesn't start to play fair?

TheMonster

had no issues with him either - send him a link to this thread.

Tony

Thanks Dave, originally I had it posted to Wyoming where I was staying on holidays and it arrived the last day of my stay 5 days after it should have arrived so I'm not even sure when it was posted as no details appeared on the USPS site, I just feel theres no sense of urgency with this guy replying to emails etc. I've yet to leave feedback on ebay but problem with that is he can do the same to me and I dont want to lose my 100% rating.

Hopefully the player will come back ok and they really are an excellemt PMP

daveg wrote:

Jesus Tony I'm shocked to hear he is being such a prick. I would not have posted my experiences had I not had 100% customer satisfaction from this guy. Even down to postage he was so sound with me (posted tracked with low value to avoid duty). I suppose you don't really know how good a seller is until you start having problems.

Maybe you could point out Tony that I directed you and others to him and that he may loose business if he doesn't start to play fair?

Saintly

Half thinking of getting the A2 off that guy, myself. Most of his buyers seem to rave about him.

Just two quick questions for those of you who have the A2: 1) Would it be an awkward player to take backpacking? Seems like people online complain that it is a little on the bulky side, I haven't clapped eyes on it yet myself...
2) How about ripping dvds onto it? Simple or horribly frustrating?

All and any tips are welcome.

Saintly

scribs

Bought my Audio x5L 30 Gigs in the Laptopshop in Stephens Green months ago. Got in for 360 euro with a the leather case thrown in.
Check out www.iaudiophile.net for other iaudio users, support and general help regarding your iaudio.

Its a pretty cool piece of kit.

Has any one come across any decent accessories for it ?

daveg

Saintly wrote:

1) Would it be an awkward player to take backpacking? Seems like people online complain that it is a little on the bulky side, I haven't clapped eyes on it yet myself...

I don't think it is that bulky. Esp when compaired to the smallest laptop you could buy. Maybe check the specs on cowan.com (ie. measurements and weight).

Saintly wrote:

2) How about ripping dvds onto it? Simple or horribly frustrating?

You just rip the DVD's to DivX. There are a mountain of applications to do this.

Saintly

Just to update - I also ordered the Cowon A2 from that ebay seller, arrived in perfect condition 30g for 340 euro including mail costs.

Saintly.

Tony

Hope it runs well for you, I'm still waiting to get mine back.

sweetie

Hi. What are the major differences between the A2 and X5. Is one just a newer version or better suited to audio or video?

Saintly

Really sorry to hear that Tony, I would be so disappointed if I had to send it back. Regarding the feedback, I have 100% rating and I would have no problem criticising a poor seller. If you wait a few weeks and feel you are getting nowhere, place a fair, clear and negative response. Or at least tell him you will. I had a good experience overall, but definitely found the email response quicker before the sale, then his answers to two questions I raised afterward!

And like someone else said, link him to this thread - he is building up a market here and if he values it, he'll keep people happy!

Saintly

Tony

I did actually tell him that i would place negative feedback after his most recent broken promise but i get the feeling hes not bothered too much. Anyway best of luck with yours

daveg

sweetie wrote:

Hi. What are the major differences between the A2 and X5. Is one just a newer version or better suited to audio or video?

2 completely different animals. The X5 is an MP3 player with some video playback capability. The A2 is a PMP (personal media player) to be used mainly for watching movies. Imo it would be too big and bulky to buy souly for MP3 use. However if it were any smaller it wouldn't be as good a video player (as the screen would be smaller).

My advice is:

A/ You want an MP3 player - Buy the X5

B/ You want a movie player, with Mp3 playback capability - Buy the A2.

sweetie

Thanks for that. Had a look in Peats at lunch and it is a little big but I would expect to use it 50/50 so will probably go for the A2. Some reviews mentioned the recording from PAL doesn't work too well. Anyone have experiences of that? I hope that ebay guy sorts his act out as that is a great price!

daveg

sweetie wrote:

Thanks for that. Had a look in Peats at lunch and it is a little big but I would expect to use it 50/50 so will probably go for the A2. Some reviews mentioned the recording from PAL doesn't work too well. Anyone have experiences of that? I hope that ebay guy sorts his act out as that is a great price!

I haven't tried the recording from TV part as yet but I read that the latest firmware fixes a lot of issues. If you want to record from TV you should consider the toy I had before the A2. It's a Archos PMA400 and SVP have it for £289.99. It's basically a PDA with a 30GB hard drive. It's not as good as the cowan for format compatability (can be quite picky over which format of Avi it'll play) but it has superb recording from TV fuctionality. Add to that it's WIFI and PDA functionality it's a nice little machine. not as good as the Cowan though imo.

Tony

A2 arrived back at my US address wrapped in two polystyrene rice bowls and newspaper!

sweetie

Tony wrote:

A2 arrived back at my US address wrapped in two polystyrene rice bowls and newspaper!

Fixed, I presume?

Tony

sweetie wrote:

Fixed, I presume?

I'm not sure until I get it back here

daveg

Tony wrote:

A2 arrived back at my US address wrapped in two polystyrene rice bowls and newspaper!

Very professional shipping service eh :rolleyes:

Tony

Guys got the player back an exactly the same fault is present, complete waste of time sending it back to California. Is there a european service centre that will take it in under warranty?

Update: Reply from seller " I believe it would be faster and more efficient if you could contact Cowon America directly" says it all

daveg

Tony wrote:

Guys got the player back an exactly the same fault is present, complete waste of time sending it back to California. Is there a european service centre that will take it in under warranty?

Update: Reply from seller " I believe it would be faster and more efficient if you could contact Cowon America directly" says it all

That's cock Tony. What a muppet this guy has turned out to be. I suppose you never know how good a seller is until you start having problems. and now he is trying to fob you off to Cowan USA!!!

I know what I'd do Tony. I'd post it back to him and do a chargeback on the paypal payment.

Tony

daveg wrote:

I know what I'd do Tony. I'd post it back to him and do a chargeback on the paypal payment.

Is that possible to do after several months Dave? I'm getting faster replies now at least , perhaps this has something to do with mentioning this thread? He says he replaces units if all the original packaging is sent back, I did not bring this in case i got stopped by customs at the airport so i suggested just swapping out the packaging at his end but this does not seem to be acceptable (this is what i do with satellite receivers) . I've also asked is there a European centre I can send it to which he is checking out.

Dave can i ask what file format you use for music, I use WMA and I'm wondering would the freezing have anything to do with that?

daveg

Tony wrote:

Is that possible to do after several months Dave?

I think so. Paypal is widely known to not dispute chargeback claims. It's one of the reasons Paypal gets should a bad rep. But this obviously only a negative for sellers. I'd research it a bit before hand though. Maybe throw a post up on the online auctions forum.

I use MP3 only. Have not used WMA. Is the issue still that the player will not power up? Or is it now freezing once booted? If I were you I'd remove all files and see if it still freezes.

Check out the Cowan support forum (http://www.cowonamerica.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=66). Post up the problems your having to see if anyone has seen simular problems.

daveg

Thread about A2 lockups:

http://www.cowonamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8618

A2 won't turn on:

http://www.cowonamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6909