Home > Consumer Reviews > Cowon F2-4096BL 4GB Multimedia Player (Black)

This player provides very good sound and convenience. For some reason, Amazon doesn't include the carrying case and A/C charger, which you will receive by ordering from Cowon's store (Jetmall).

Positives: The sound quality is great. The audio enhancement features work very well, and give the sound richness and fullness. Unlike Ipod and almost all other mp3 players, there's no need to install any software on your computer in order to transfer songs to the F2. The F2 acts as a USB drive, so you can copy files to it just like to any other disk drive. Battery life is also very good. The F2 can be charged either by connecting it to the computer or by plugging it into the A/C charger.

Negatives: The only real problem I've encountered with the F2 is that at medium to high volume the sound becomes totally distorted unless you set the bass very low. Even though that's the only problem I have with the F2, sound quality is one of the main factors I consider which is the reason for only giving the F2 four stars. I listen to music, but if you plan on listening to books on tape you probably wouldn't need much bass. I would rather give up some battery life in order for the battery to supply more power for bass.

The buttons are a little small. If the player is inside the carrying case, you have to press the buttons through the clear plastic case. That's fine unless you need to be able to operate the device by feel without looking at it. I strap the F2 to my waist and listen to it when I run and I've gotten used to operating it.

I don't use the F2 to watch videos so I can't comment on that feature, except to say that before you can watch a video it must be converted to the F2's format using supplied software. The screen isn't large enough to be useful for videos in my opinion.

Update: Recently I purchased a pair of V-moda Vibe earbuds to replace the high-end Sonys I was using. The V-modas are excellent and solved the bass problem mentioned above.

This a very nice mp3 player. I have the 4gb one. This definitey tops iPOD for a number of reasons which most consumers dont really care much of but I do. Here are my favorites; The sound processor on this player is much brighter and more powerful than ipod. 60mw of power (because I love listening at high levels which I usually set the max 25 out of the 40 volume levels, it's pretty damn loud) and it has a max. of 95db vs. 90db for ipod. The reason why is I use Shure's e2 sound isolated earphones. If you remove all the ambient background sounds ie, cars driving by, or fire trucks testing their sirens or just people bitching and complainging you just hear your music. And the louder you go the more lively it sounds. Drag and drop files may be considered an old thing but who wants to use a software just to transfer files. The problem I really dont like about ipods is that your music has to be perfectly tagged in order to view it right in ipod. In addition, you have to browse it in a sequence. This one actually views your music exactly like Windows Explorer. Simple and right to the point. Your music can be read by the file name or by it's tagged which is really nice. Another cool thing about it is that it uses the universal usb mini-b cable. The really nice thing is it charges as well. The battery life is 5 stars. The rated is 20 hours I get alot more. When it's tested by consumer companies like cnet, they use standard levels of use. I use the sound processors alot which equals more battery power. So trust me the battery lasts really long. Since it's only 4gb I love to change my music every often. This way it keeps the music fresh and doesnt get boring. Most people who own an ipod keep their music their permanantley like it's their sanctuary. Okay, most people dont lose their ipods but because they have moving parts, care is top of the list ie. dropping it for example. I can drop mine or throw it at someone who really piss me off and it's totally fine. I've noticed most players today are favored in flash based. Quick, simple and not fragile. The player is very very stable. It doesnt crash and the startup is very fast. Well I said enough. If you buy this through Amazon, you'll most likely buy it directly from Cowon's Jet Audio store. Great place to buy it and the customer service is really quick and responsive. Contact by email or live chat! Dig that. I hope Cowon keeps these features in the future but with much larger size memory and adding features that other mp3 players dont have :)

I have cheaper and better sounding mp3 players. No matter how I set the sound enhancements or which earphones I used, it still gave mediocre sound with average bass. Same earphones with other players gave better results. This unit is a nice size but has a terrible main menu system and small painful rock hard buttons. Best way to push buttons is using your fingernails. It is pretty loud but distorts at higher volume making it useless to turn up. The video function yields 12fps which is not useful. Album art during playback is a nice touch although heavily pixelated. I got this cause so many people say cowon sounds so good. Wll I beg to differ. The only good thing was battery life and memory size. So the treble is okay. The midrange is so so. Bass sucks!

I have to say that this is the first MP3 player that i have enjoyed thoroughly. I have had other portable players such as the SONY Network Walkman NW-HD1, and Apple's I-Pod Shuffle (great for exercising), but none of them have really cut it for me as far as quality of sound, design and features. The features of the Cowon F2 are really great. There is a fully customizable equalizer setting where you can create your own equalizer mixes, and save them for different genres, and as far as sound reproduction goes for this product, it has to be by far the best sounding MP3 players on the market. I have higher impedance headphones that require a little more juice to pump their frequencies the right way (Sennheiser HD280 64ohm, Quart Open Ear 100ohm), and it makes these headphones scream with such a musical intelligence as i play my FLAC files though them. Native FLAC playback is fresh to the portable music player industry and this is one of the smallest players on the market that can support playback of these files, (through Firmware Updates) and is a pleasure for on the move audiophiolic persons on the move who love their uncompressed audio files. All in all this the best Portable Media Player on the market for it's uniquely small size, and it also allows for video playback. Overall this product makes listening on the move a different, more pleasurable experience with it's easy of use and lovely sound reproduction.

This is one great audio player. I've owned other models, and needless to say this is definitely the best sound quality I've ever heard. It has so many equalizer and sound enhancement options, that it's ridiculous. It's amazing that this little unit can produce such great sound. It is also well built and sleek looking. So if your looking for a DAP that is of the highest quality and not too expensive, then this unit IMO should be 1st choice. I am very pleased with my purchase. Another winner from Cowon.