COWON PLENUE D3
£279
WHAT HI★FI? ★★★★★
The third-generation Cowon Plenue D player arrives with no boastful fanfare, despite both its previous iterations gaining What Hi-Fi? Awards. Even the demure black packaging divulges little about the miniature portable music player, apart from the fact there’s now a Cirrus Logic CS43131 dual DAC on board, whereas the previous generation used just one. There’s also Bluetooth support, so you can pair your wireless headphones or speaker, and a new rotary volume wheel.
As we’ve come to expect, the PD3’s build is minimalist and chic, with a black mirror finish front and back, a matt finish on the sides, and a silver metallic panel across the top of the player. It’s also available in a gold finish.
The new Plenue D3 is a few millimetres longer and thicker than the original Plenue D, but it is almost impossible to tell. The extra depth is down to a cracking new volume dial on the top right of the player, where the power button used to sit.