Cube & BBE C30 MP3 Player Features:

   OLED screen w/ 3 line of text

Chinese and English language support

Mass Storage Class device, USB2.0

4GB internal memory with MicroSD slot

MAX9722 opamp

FM radio, Voice Reading, E-book (txt reader)

MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, and FLAC supported

4 Playback Modes: Normal, Repeat One, Repeat All, Shuffle.

EQ Preset: Normal, Rock, Jazz, Classical, Pop, Bass, User (5 bands:  80, 250, 1k, 4k and 12kHz +/-12dB).

BBE Preset: BBE, ViVA, ViVA 2, MP, Headphone 1, Headphone 2, Headphone 3, User 1, User 2, User 3.

Dimensions: 75x27x15 mm
Weight: 36.9g

Battery Life: 20 hours

Packaging is actually decent with the C30, and much better than Gumstick

When volume matched, I would say C30 sounds very similar to Gumstick.

For now, my Gumstick is getting the burn-in duty.

C30 has a fairly long quoted battery life of 20 hours, but the truth is I can’t be sure it can actually go that long. I think it is safe to say it can go above 15hrs and generally last longer than Gumstick in one full charge.

The BBE on the C30 makes the music comes alive! Once the BBE eq kicks in the volume goes up by a few notches, you can feel the ambience and the music literally sparkle. Prolly when the reviewer said its 'softer' compared to the gumstick is the C30 in Normal mode w/o BBE. Unless one is deaf I would say the Cube C30 has ample volume to satisfy anyone. I'd still take the C30 over the gumstick even if its RM50 more cos now that I've heard what the BBE can do .......I want it!

C30 better than ipod, even better than some walkman... I can sure of that cos I have 3 ipod model and 2 walkman, which is already collecting dust.

I use walkman for headphone burn-in process because battery can last...

sound quality... im afraid it is.... C30 is better than ipod

Fuhh..just receive my C30.. Tested with stock F1...very good stock ear phone..n it time to test with my lovely sr80i..confirm the SQ better than my iPhone n iPad 2 even with mp3 format..add me to list..

This is possibly one of the best sound stock earphones I have ever heard. Cube does a great job on fine tuning the sound to appear to the Chinese local market (which is a bit biased toward the Audio Technica house sound from my own observation)

F1 is supposed to be about $30 as a standalone product. Though there are better sounding $30 IEM out there (i.e. Brainwavz M1 on pre-order), you won’t hear me complaint about it since it is free with C30 purchase. Actually even for a standalone product, F1 is still not that bad a buy

The Cube F1 earphones that comes for free with the C30 are so good that I don't mind paying RM100 for them

The Rocoo A(Gumstick equivalent) seems to be hiding their specs. I'm not even sure of their output(website says 10mW+10mW but for some reason using 32 Ohm load unlike 16 Ohm like  most). Dunno what kind of output with no load they can put out.

I think I might buy one from you and do a head to head with my Gumstick. later la, after I got a HM-601. 

I dunno.....I might sell off the F1 earphone though. 
I think if the F1 has bass, it'll be easier to sell off. I have a DDm that I want to test the Cube with.

What colours do you have?
I think at the end of this month la. I'm waiting for my Fuze+ to go away. 

may i know where is your reference for the quotes?
GUmstick has much pushing power compare with Cube C30, which i would say is comparable.

sounding wise? i dont really find any relevant and accurate comparison at all.

OK, PM me details about the non-F1 version. 
I MAY be able to help with that. 

I've heard that Cube C30 uses Class AB internal amp...
not sure where I've heard it

I suck at amps but
Class A amp normally gives very clean natural source
Class AB is like Class A but energy saver (of course there comes slightly different sounding signature)

aargh... just read the wikipedia link down there for accurate explanation
you'll get some of the idea

Link

Class A can give better and more pure in sounding/ more powerful.
however it consumes more energy

Class A amplifies the analog signal wave fully. Therefore you get no distortion. But on the downside, at best, for every unit of power you give in, that is the power you're putting out.

Class AB IIANM, only amplifies half of the analog signal wave. You get a bit of distortion but over twice the power efficiency over a Class A amp.

This is actually somewhat tempting if not for the fact I have my portable player already (which I don't see a reason to replace), especially if it can playback FLAC at a healthy 20 hours. Had been looking for something like this some time back.

Rave reviews of the CUBE C30 courtesy of Indonesian audiophiles:

Audiophile Indonesia <<<---  

how bout cube c60? any news?

yes that gal they use in the C30 advert is really cute! 

oh ok. that prolly means the HD600 is not easily driven by wimpish mp3 players. it would need POWERFUL dap like the C30 to drive it! LOL

IINM, gumstick also uses MAX9722 opamp. How does that affect the amp class?

I don't think perfection can be found even in a RM2K dap what more a RM200 one? Individual preferences in SQ is highly subjective. I've known gourmets who have such a higly developed sense of taste that they can tell you what were the ingredients that went into the dish but that doesn't mean they enjoy their foie gras more than I relish my hokkien mee. 

Just to be clear, Rocoo-A uses a totally different hardware compared to C30 or Gumstick. Rocoo-A is Rockchip Nano based while C30 / Gumstick is Sigmatel based.
Older version of Gumstick actually sound louder because of the old firmware it used. New generation of Gumstick sounds softer because the max volume is limited to lower distortion during EQ - thus newer Gumstick is about as loud as C30 is going to be (the volume limiting already applies to it as well)
Also to clear things up, SQ wise the two are on par. I simply choose C30 because its has BBE.

for ur information

gumstick also can drive Beyer DT880 250 ohm or HD650 without a problem in volume.
Sounding wise?
ofc not perfect

Just curious, is the C30 using BBE or BBE+? I'm asking coz the newer Cowon models (>S9) use BBE+

thanks for the info.

Whether it is a purist, audiophile or even a layman like me, we can't get away from the use of electronics in the production and reproduction of sounds and music. A purist might say he wants sound as close as possible to the real thing but given the current situation and the state of the technology is in at the present point in time, a large number of musical instruments are no longer purely acoustic. Electronics features in all stages of the production/reproduction from the performance right up to the finished product that is the CD. And with electronics who is to say what is a pure sound produced from a musical instrument or something that is has been electronically sampled. Which is why I am fascinated with this BBE thingy. It is all about the 'good' sound as perceived by the individual with the help of the electronics. I for one am not so obsessed with the 'pure' sound. With the BBE I can maybe say it's not just the 'good' sound but rather the 'fun' sound. I find it highly 'musical'.

Hehe, same here. 
Musicality puts the fun into music. There's nothing wrong with colouration, if it's done right.

Okay, done.
Without BBE, everything is almost 100% the same as the Gumstick. Even the volume of both are equal(14 on Gummy is 14 on C30). I have the latest FW for the Gumstick. I didn't realize anything that sounds different between the two. If there is, it's pretty hard, and I would probably need better equipment.

But with BBE on in the C30, it was a totally different animal. The sound was more engaging, the vocalist was more intimate, bass was more powerful but not distorted. Electric guitars sounds fuller. It's not natural by any means, but it is a very fun sound. It will be a great retreat from my HM-601 when I desire something different.

Hi, where can i buy cube c30 in KL?

Give a trial on the cube. Not get used to the control yet. . This is my first mp3 player, other than iphone.

What i can said is, great player with awesome SQ.

Hmmm...I tried to max the C30 out and found that beyond 20, the volume lowers immediately. Didn't expect that. 

It was with BBE on. I didn't take notice exactly what volume because I held on to the volume up button. The volume rose quickly and I expected it to be very loud but then suddenly, the volume immediately lowers.

I dunno, haven't checked. I did a reset on the settings and I'll try again.
Or maybe it's holding down the volume up button that activates that 'protection system'?

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Added on March 10, 2011, 7:31 pmOh wait, it's at 26 that it starts to lower. So I guess it's normal?

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Added on March 10, 2011, 7:33 pmHoly crap it's loud!!
Yeah I turned off BBE and the volume barrier isn't activated.
I didn't go to 31, only got to 29 and I pulled my IEM out.