Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44654 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Cowon
• Model: IAUDIOI716GB-SILVER
• Released on: 2008-08-26
• Dimensions: 2.76" h x 1.26" w x .75" l, .12 pounds
• Display size: 1.3

Manufacturer's Description
Sporting up to a huge 16GB of flash memory and Cowon's legendary sound and build quality, the brand new iAudio 7 can run for days with a phenomenal 60 hours playback. Breeze through menu settings with the state of the art Swing Touch control system. The iAudio 7 supports not only MP3 files but also WMA, OGG and FLAC files so you can enjoy superior sound quality regardless of the type of codec.

Weighing in at just 52 grams, the new iAudio 7 is pocket friendly and packs immense power with 52mW of sound output power, and like all COWON players features Jeteffect;a 5 level customizable sound equalizer featuring BBE, Mach3Bass and 3D surround. The new iAudio 7 is an audiophile's dream.

Sporting up to 16GB of flash memory and Cowon's legendry sound and build quality, the brand new iAudio 7 can run for days with a phenomenal 60 hours playback with it's built in rechargeable lithium polymer battery. Breeze through your menu settings with the state of the art Swing Touch function which allows you to slide your thumb up and down to select your desired option. The iAudio 7 supports not only MP3 files but also WMA, OGG and FLAC files so you can enjoy superior sound quality regardless of the size of music files and the types of codecs (MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV audio files and MPEG4 Video all supported).

Covering every possible format and compatible with popular subscription services like Napster (iAudio 7 is compatible with WMA DRM 10), the stunning new iAudio 7 is packed with features which players double its size would be envious of. Weighing in at just 52 grams, the new iAudio 7 is pocket friendly and packs immense power with 52mW of sound output power, and like all COWON players features Jeteffect;a 5 level customizable sound equalizer featuring BBE, Mach3Bass and 3D surround. It's brilliant 1.3'' TFT 260k color screen can playback movies and images. iAudio 7's TFT colour screen is known for not only its crisp clear display, also its lightning fast response to colours and wide viewing angle, which lets you enjoy videos and photos more comfortably. A built in Digital FM Tuner with the ability to record and schedule recordings and the built in microphone for voice recording compliment the player's extensive recording abilities.

iAudio 7's highly innovative swing touch lets you control with your thumb to maximise convenience. The built in power saving circuit helps to save power for long playback times. After the player is fully charged, continuous playback can be enjoyed for a maximum of 60 hours.

Fully customizable, packing immense power and features into a compact form, the new iAudio 7 is an audiophiles dream.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Perfect...for a given definition of 'perfect'.
I spent a lot of time searching for a replacement to my beloved, but now defunct, iRiver. I was looking for a machine with quite specific characteristics but this player was everything I was looking for and a bit more. I'll get the negatives out of the way first because I want to you to finish with the same positive impression I've been left with. I'll try to keep the tech jargon to a minimum.

Downsides
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1 - It's expensive. You could get a hard-drive player with 10x the storage for the same price. No way around this one.
2 - The touch sensitive controls offer next to no feedback. After a few months using any piece of tech, most of us get so familiar with it that we can do the simple stuff without looking. Never gonna happen here.
3 - Can only be charged through USB and naturally this takes a while.
4 - Cable on included headphones is pretty short.
5 - There's nearly no custom accesories out there for it, though if people actually bought it, this would change.

Upsides
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1 - It's light. Seriously. Ridiculously so in fact. I have to trace the headphone cable back to remember which pocket I've put it in.
2 - It plays most formats you can think of, a far wider range than nearly any other player on the market.
3 - Though the screen is small, it's excellent quality. I wouldn't recommend inviting people round for a movie but an episode of Futurama is perfectly enjoyable.
4 - Unlike a lot of players, it can handle more than one task at a time. You can create playlists while listening to music or listen to music while watching a slideshow.
5 - This is a big one. Though the controls are a bit fiddly, the interface is wonderful - in no small part because of it is so customisable. EVERYTHING, from which controls are affected by the hold button (useful!) to exactly how the menus are arranged and manipulated, can be set to your own tastes. Spend 20 minutes setting it up when it arrives and it's a pleasure to use forevermore, no matter what your tastes.
6 - Battery life is obscenely long. Without the visualisations and with some of the battery saving features on, it will last 3 times longer than most players. That's about 2.5 days of music.
7 - By selecting an option in the interface, you can choose whether to make use of the audio software which comes with the item (which is fine) or merely plug the player in as a Removable Storage Device. This for me was a vital feature. I've gotten very tired of players which come with so many frivolous features they can't even be plugged in on computers without their supporting software (I'm looking at you iPods). The included software is functional and useful (though not spectacular) but I like being able to drag and drop any type of file and access them from nearly any computer. This is something you have to hack an iPod with Linux to accomplish (not that I would dream of doing that *cough*).
8 - Audio quality is great. Absolutely top notch. With a good pair of headphones (and no audiophile would dream of sticking with the phones included with an mp3 player), this is as close to perfect as makes no difference.

So that's a brief summation. In the end, Cowon have made a player that doesn't attempt the sheer range of features found on the bigger names. This will never keep your appointments or call your mother, but what it sets out to do, it does nearly flawlessly. This is for those who know what they want. For a large number of people, this is going to be their ideal mp3 player.

How music used to sound. aka. "you might look cool, but I AM cool"
Let me ask you a question. What do you want in an MP3 player? a device which is so easy to use your grandmothers blind dog can use it... while making him look 'cool' in an instant, something that instantly gets you accepted in to the fashion clique? OR Would you like to listen to, and enjoy music?

Well.. I have been an iPod owner, as I have always been apple loyal with my products, But, I've had 2 so far, and both have failed in around a year. My latest, a 30GB ipod, the disk has run out of its will to live, shortly after the battery started weezing (I changed the battery, and still it ran at the same short time.. It literally would only keep charge for a few hours of shorting listening, work and back... so I believe there is some hardware programming for shelf life of battery that is independent of actual battery power)

and ipod is a joy, link it to itunes and off you go.

BUT, I was starting to think that my ears don't work properly, as music never sounded 'like it used to'

It seems that people prefer convenience these days, over actual function, iPod is a case in Proof of that.


I received yesterday my iAudio 7, having decided that I would not blindly buy another ipod, regardless of how cool they look, and at the last moment, canceled by ipod order, in favor of the i7.

Wanting to have this time a flash player, in preference to a hard disk player (knowing that having 200 albums on player is great but really, I only listen to a small percentage of that), and I don't believe that it is wise to use a hard-disk in a storage device that spends most of its time in my pocket. 16GB is more than enough.

Yes, the i7 is not an ipod, but, it does look cool and appeals to my sensibilities, but it is (in theory) a little less friendly than ipod... But not in a way which people describe... To copy songs.. I simply drag and drop to a folder (I have mac)... which means.. I can copy easily from other computers etc... and FROM the thing easily also.. (I buy music don't worry).

HOWEVER, what really sets this apart, and i absolutely must stress REALLY sets this apart, is the Sound... (assuming you have good headphones)...

It sound beautiful... I am again in love with my music collection... Rich deep defined bass, full range up to highs... Everything is distinct and clear, separated and audible. AMAZING.. I sounds like music SHOULD, and did.

FLAC is my new love.. on the i7 is amazing. and is well worth the larger file sizes... but also my normal MP3's still sound wonderful!!!


I would encourage everyone, don't get sucked in by the "I look good in my hand" appeal and expensive marketing that make the iPod Attractive... go rather for the "I Sound Good in my ears" player, that is the i7... you will not regret it, and you will ask yourself how you survived with an iPod for so long... Music is not dead, long live Music.

An audio gunslinger is in town , and he means business .
Hello all .. Dabandy again with a review of the Cowon Iaudio7 digital music player . Today I finally gave in to temptation, and bought the device, and my first impressions were very good indeed . First thing you will notice is the size of the unit .It is tiny .It is about the size of a milky way chocolate bar, and is half the weight of one . You simply won't know you're wearing it . The screen is about the size of a postage stamp , so if you have poor eyesight , I would not go for this model .On the other hand , if sound is your main criteria , I would thoroughly recommend this device . This unit has more volume output than any player I have ever heard . I once owned a Zen Vision and it beats that . It certainly beats any Ipod I've heard and most certainly the Sony offerings, which have the worst headphone amps I've ever heard . It also has all sorts of sound boost and enhancement settings to tailor the audio just as you want it . I have to say I am enjoying this player immensly . I have not switched it off since I loaded it with 200 songs in about 20 mins . I can walk about with it, without even being aware I'm wearing it . I cannot comment on picture and video quality as I don't plan on loading any pics or vids . The screen on the Cowon is too tiny to enjoy any video . This device is for people who want the best possible sound in a digital player on the market today . I would say this player is the best there is for audio you can buy, and I have no hesitation in giving it five stars. However , if video and pictures are your criteria , then I would only give it two stars. The trouble is , you can't have it both ways . If you want to watch videos on a portable player , then you'll have to put up with a big screen and therefore a big player . If you want audio only , then this is the machine for you . I've only had it one day , so I can't comment on battery life yet , but I don't expect the stated 60 hrs , however even if it's only half that time, it still wipes the floor with the competition . Loading songs is a breeze . I didn't bother with included software and didn't have a problem at all . Abandon your Ipods people , there's a new kid in town , and he's shooting to kill.

Hello all again . It's now two days later and I have some bad news . There seems to be fault with the player . The radio on FM does not seem to decode into stereo . I took it back to the dealer , who was very helpful and provided another machine with no questions , but alas the problem is still present in the replacement player . I came to the conclusion that there is an, as yet, unoticed problem in the Iaudio 7 radio section, which Cowon are either not aware of , or are planning a firmware repair. I am terribly disappointed as I loved this machine in the short time I had it , but I will not live without stereo FM . In any event I exchanged the model for a Cowon x5 which has the same sound quality . Believe me , Cowon make the best players for sound in the market today . So buyers beware, before parting with your hard earned on this device , plug in the phones first and make sure you hear crystal clear stereo separation in those buds . You have been warned !!