Design
Shayne on the CV:W – The Vision:W was a bit on the heavy side at 276g, so it did become a bit of a problem to carry around too easily. Although in paradox its dimensions are just 134 x 75 x 22 mm. The simplicity of the controls with the 5 way nav pad and simple menus allow you to navigate the various options quite easily. What I also liked was the Compact Flash Card port on the side so it can be used by photographers as well. What’s most impressive is the large 4.2-inch TFT LCD screen that has a 16:9 aspect ratio. Its sub menu Button is also a boon to have and use.
Laiq on the A2 – As far as design is concerned, the A2 looks really elegant. It's a simple design, with no frills attached. It’s got the blend of white piano finish and brushed gray. Yet in all its elegance, the player does look rather vulnerable to scratches. To counter this, Cowon has bundled a leather carry case, which can be folded in place to prop the player up at a comfortable viewing angle. The A2 isn’t very different from the Vision:W with dimensions of 133 x 79 x 22mm but weighs slightly more at 298g. All this to accommodate a smaller screen size of just 4 inches!
AV Quality (Performance)
Shayne on the CV:W – It was breeze watching videos as it was hardly required that I convert any videos at all. The Vision:W can read AVI, DivX 4 & 5, XviD 4, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG4-SP, WMV9 and Motion-JPEG formats so there wasn’t any need to. The player also gives you an option of watching the movie in the normal 16:9 format or you can stretch it to the full screen size. Video quality was aces but the audio was not something I was too thrilled about.
Since the CV:W has a graphic EQ that can manually be customized, it does help enhance the audio experience. It also has a Bass Booster setting and more importantly it has a preset for Smart Volume. This actually keeps the volume output in check. The output was loud enough but the quality I’m afraid could have been better at peak volume.
Laiq on the A2–The A2 seems to have made up for its smaller screen size with its playback capabilities. As is the case with most PMPs this doesn’t require one to convert files before playback. In my case, I tested the machine with a lot of recently encoded videos and it managed to play them all. It plays all the files formats including AVI, DivX/XviD, WMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and ASF. The viewing quality is quite good as it is equipped with 0.183mm pixel pitches in the 4-inch screen (480x272 pixels) with the integrated high density and high definition technology.
I have used both A2 and Vision W (also Archos 604). A2 beats all hands down. Audio quality is superb with all the special features such as BBE, Mp3Bass etc. Video plays better than all and colors are very crisp in comparison to very dull colors in vision W. If you can afford little more bucks, in my opinion, A2 is the best PMP in the market. 
