Cowon Plenue R2

The R2 focuses on playing music, but its overall sound is unadventurous

Portable Music Player | ₹54,546

Cowon’s first portable MP3 player (the CW100) hit the markets in 2000, a year before Apple’s first iPod legitimised the whole notion for the mainstream. Cowon has hung on in there ever since, turning out digital audio players of lesser or greater quality, with an occasional What Hi-Fi? Award thrown in for good measure.

On the face of it, this new Plenue R2 (or PR2) is more of the same. By leaving the current craze for Android interfaces and streaming service apps to its rivals, Cowon is positioning the PR2 as the purist’s choice. Cowon is betting that ₹50k-worth of carefully specified electronics and 128GB of internal memory sounds better than an Android-powered alternative. Can it be true?

Square-edged and pointy

At 11cm tall and 14mm thick, the PR2 fits comfortably in the hand. But, thanks to its 154g weight and glass, aluminium and contoured plastic construction, it feels like a serious piece of kit. Build quality is impressive, and the finish is pretty much flawless – although the design is quite square-edged and pointy in places.