Wow! Sansa Fuze- color me impressed- Fuze appreciation thread

[Robisan]

Thanks. One more quick question: Does the sdhc card need to be formatted before use? Will the Fuze format the card?

[rjgarcia]

My Sandisk card came formatted, so I didn't have to do anything but plug it in..

-Robert

[LaBreaHead]

"What feature does the ipod have that's better than the microSD card expansion?"

________________________


A lot depends on how and in what situations a person uses a player. I got a Fuze as a present for a friend who doesn't have a computer (yes, there are still people who don't). A big plus was the card expansion -- I'm in charge of loading music on my friend's player, and since she lives in another city, mailing a micro SD card back and forth with music on it would be much simpler than shipping the player back and forth.

However, in this case, my friend wanted a player that would play through portable speakers for travel and/or use around the house. At the time I bought the Fuze (when it was first available), there was only one set that I could find; for iPods, of course, there were many options. My friend also wanted a player that would serve as a photo viewer, and with the more appealing interface and sharper screen imaging, the iPod was a more attractive option in her case (and this was a person who had resisted the iPod aura and who thoroughly enjoys her Creative and Rio players). So the Fuze went back (and she got a 3rd generation Nano, which sounds pretty good), but not before I got to use the Fuze enough to appreciate it.

The rubberized backing on the Fuze was a very nice touch, and while not as freakishly thin as the 3rd generation iPod Nano, which has a comparable form factor, it sits in the hand well and has very good sound (comparable to the Clip, which I really like). Oh, and this may or may not matter to those interested in how a player sounds, but the Fuze is better looking "in person" than it is in the online marketing photos, and the red color, especially, is very different than what's portrayed online. And the Fuze is a very good value at the price. So it's an excellent choice for many, but not necessarily the best choice for all -- as with any player, it depends on what features a user is looking for.

[Robisan]

Another question -- Does the Sansa View have the same SQ performance/features as the Fuze/Clip? Offer FLAC support? B&H has the 16gb View for $102.

Edit: I see the B&H View is a refurb.

[TaffyGuy]

Originally Posted by Mr_Junesequa

taffguy buy a new ipod. you will be very impressed. If ur not, return it and buy a fuze


fzue is clean and flat, great usability, plays flac and ogg, expandable, lackintg in extra features that the ipod has, with load sounds great.

Sadly my #1 requirement is subscription capability, which, for daps, leaves me with Creative, Sandisk, and Sony. (plus a few stray players here and there)

And while I love to buck trends, the iphone in my pocket will tell you that if not for Rhapsody I would have given in to the ipod tidal wave long ago...

I'm glad to hear you mention usability for the Fuze though. I'm hoping to go to the local electronics shops and see what not-ipod offerings they have on display these days, so I can get more of a feel for whats out there (now knowing which have the SQ pre-req fulfilled)

Usability is key for a player where the primary use is going to be for the car.

[mrpspfreak]

I can definitely attest to the Fuze looking better in person. The "silver" color portrayed in the photographs is actually more of a platinum color, which I love.

[scytheavatar]

Originally Posted by Robisan

Another question -- Does the Sansa View have the same SQ performance/features as the Fuze/Clip? Offer FLAC support? B&H has the 16gb View for $102.

Edit: I see the B&H View is a refurb.

Nope the View generally is very disappointing. The sound quality and interface are inferior to the Fuze.

[Ihatepopupads]

It's just a damn good value The fuse that is. After more listening I do believe my touch has a little more resolving power and more 3d soundstage than the fuze, but for 80 bucks it's incredible. Got an 8 gig card for 20 beans, now I just need to wait for a 16 gig. No hiss with the e530, you gotta love that too.

[Anacondastan]

I recently picked up one this little Fuze's from Wally World (Walmart) and was completely ga-ga over it's musicality. It is one a very short list of players that allow you to have fun with music and not concentrate on what the mechanics are saying or not saying. It reminds me of the iPod Shuffle 1st generation, but better--I think! The UI is straight forward and easy to glide through. I do find that I do have to run it close to 90% to get a good listening level through my triple fi's. The Sony A series flash players for example I only had to push just short of half way. The Fuze best the Sony because it has SD card expandability and it supports flac. In terms of SQ, it maybe a toss up. To these ears the Ramos RM850 and iAudio 7 remain the best flash based players I have heard (to date)--with both being more refined and true in their, overall, conveyance.

[yukihiro]

Picked one of these up last week from Circuit City. I should have just waited and ordered it online, but I was too excited to get something new after receiving my sr325i's. I am coming from a Sansa e260 which was MORE expensive at the time. The Fuze simply kills the e260 in every way possible in my opinion. Sandisk really stepped it up on this one.

Improvements over the e260: No more loud hiss (Fuze is virtually silent), easier-to-use scroll wheel (e260 scroll wheel was a pain to use), much better SQ (a lot cleaner sounding, but EQ kills the sound if tweaked in any way), and it seems to sync with my WMP a lot better.

I got my 2gig Fuze for 80 and my 4gig e260 for 110. My e260 was rockbox'd and to say the least I was very disappointed with their firmware. I'd say the Fuze is a great performer for its value. I was originally planning on buying the Clip, but the expandable memory got me sold.

[tomwom]

Originally Posted by yukihiro

Picked one of these up last week from Circuit City. I should have just waited and ordered it online, but I was too excited to get something new after receiving my sr325i's. I am coming from a Sansa e260 which was MORE expensive at the time. The Fuze simply kills the e260 in every way possible in my opinion. Sandisk really stepped it up on this one.

Improvements over the e260: No more loud hiss (Fuze is virtually silent), easier-to-use scroll wheel (e260 scroll wheel was a pain to use), much better SQ (a lot cleaner sounding, but EQ kills the sound if tweaked in any way), and it seems to sync with my WMP a lot better.

I got my 2gig Fuze for 80 and my 4gig e260 for 110. My e260 was rockbox'd and to say the least I was very disappointed with their firmware. I'd say the Fuze is a great performer for its value. I was originally planning on buying the Clip, but the expandable memory got me sold.

I have to agree with everything you've said. I too came from an E260, no comparison.

The Fuze is even better when used with an amp. The only problem I have when using my amp is, that it cuts the radio reception way down.

[RipRapRob]

First post (and just registered) but long time reader (thanks for many excellent posts btw).

I've been looking at the Sansa Fuze myself, and I have a question I hope you can answer for me.

According to Sandisk's website the Fuze has a "microSD™/microSDHC™ slot for additional content expansion"

Anyone tried using the Fuze with a microSD or MicroSDHC?

I'm interested in knowing, if music on the microSD/MicroSDHC is 'integrated' seamlessly with the music on the on board memory?

From what I've read elsewhere, sometimes navigating music on expanded memory (is that the correct term?) on a MP3-player can be a bit (or a lot) more different from navigating music from the on board memory.

I hope my question makes sense

Also: It he USB cable used with the Fuze a standard USB-cable, or is it some kind of a (expensive, if I want more than one) propriety cable?

Thanks in advance for your help

[Brewmaster]

The music on the card is seamlessly integrated with the main library.

Awesome player all around.

Originally Posted by RipRapRob

First post (and just registered) but long time reader (thanks for many excellent posts btw).

I've been looking at the Sansa Fuze myself, and I have a question I hope you can answer for me.

According to Sandisk's website the Fuze has a "microSD™/microSDHC™ slot for additional content expansion"

Anyone tried using the Fuze with a microSD or MicroSDHC?

I'm interested in knowing, if music on the microSD/MicroSDHC is 'integrated' seamlessly with the music on the on board memory?

From what I've read elsewhere, sometimes navigating music on expanded memory (is that the correct term?) on a MP3-player can be a bit (or a lot) more different from navigating music from the on board memory.

I hope my question makes sense

Also: It he USB cable used with the Fuze a standard USB-cable, or is it some kind of a (expensive, if I want more than one) propriety cable?

Thanks in advance for your help

[RipRapRob]

Thank you )

And I've since found out, the cable is a special Sansa-type, but looks like its the same for all Sansa-MP3-players.

Think I'll order me one of these little babies

[Robisan]

Was just scouting around the Internets for pricing and came across this in case anyone's interested ... Dell has the 2gb Fuze on sale right now for $59.99. Throw an 8gb card in there and you have a 10gb rig for around $80+...