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Serious Question : Creative Zen vs Sony A728 sound quality with SA6

post #1 of 16
4/18/08 at 5:18am
Thread Starter 
Dear all,

I have just recently purchased a new pair of Sleek Audio 6 to use with my Creative Zen 8gb.

I have found the zen a bit too dry and the SQ okayish for me.

Will It be a hugh step-up if I change my player to Sony A728?

Thank You in Advance!
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post #2 of 16
4/18/08 at 9:57am
IMHO Yes. The Sony is anything but dry. It is very "musical" aka engaging. I HIGHLY doubt you will consider it's SQ "okayish". Get it from Amazon, and if you don't like it (which you will) then return it.

Sony NWZ-A728 8gb
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post #3 of 16
5/4/08 at 6:37pm
I really hate to wake up a dead thread, but I would really appreciate some more input on this topic....

I've been thinking about buying the Sony NWZ-A818 ever since I saw a video review of it on CNET. This past year, one of my friends came to me asking about which mp3 player he should get and I recommended the A818 to him. He ended up getting it and let me try it out. I loved pretty much everything about it, especially the sound quality. It was amazing, and I was going to buy it as well, but in my head I kept going, "Just wait and see what Sony will come out with next before you buy it...."

And so I've waited....

Now the NWZ-A728 is here and it looks great. But the Creative Zen has always taunted me because it's very appealing as well, but I have not heard it or seen it in person. Because of this, I want to make sure I'm not missing out on another great mp3 player before I go ahead with a Sony (after 2 years of searching...).

So has anyone actually tried or owned both? Opinions? Pros/cons of each?

P.S. For the (at most) one person who notices, yes, I'm lazy .
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post #4 of 16
5/4/08 at 8:16pm
when it comes to sound, the sony destroys the Zen.

quite frankly there's almost no reason to choose the zen. the screen is nice, the expansion is neat but it's almost useless as the memory isn't integrated, and the pricing is cheaper. other than that , sony FTW.
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post #5 of 16
5/4/08 at 10:09pm
second rockin_amigo's comment.
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post #6 of 16
5/4/08 at 11:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rockin_amigo14 View Post
when it comes to sound, the sony destroys the Zen.
As bad as this sounds, that's what I really wanted to hear.

The real reason I asked in the first place is because I saw this quote while searching for threads regarding the Creative Zen:

Quote:
Originally Posted by jc1600cc View Post
I just bought a 32g ZEN . I am very suprised at the quality of the sound . I only listen to lossles [wma ,vbr , wav] I tried the zen on the Aux line of my Alpine[cd9887] . Sounds better than my CD changer did . I havn't used it in my home system yet , but I'll get to it . You can see my equipment below . I have a decent stereo syst. also . Sound was major for me . Bottom line is " i am Happy " with the Zen .
What do you guys think about this? I mean it's not like the guy doesn't have the right to say that he likes his Zen, but does it really sound as good as he makes it seem?
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post #7 of 16
5/5/08 at 11:30am
I have a Zen, and IMHO the SQ is not all that great. In fact, am looking to get rid of it so I can get a A728.
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post #8 of 16
5/5/08 at 2:17pm
Even without hearing the Zen, I guess I'll have to assume that the Sony sounds better. Jc1600cc's comment just caught me off guard because I had never really heard anyone praising the Zen's sound quality before....

Oh well. At least that makes my final decision a little easier .
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post #9 of 16
5/5/08 at 10:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by moseboy View Post

So has anyone actually tried or owned both? Opinions? Pros/cons of each?

.
I tried the Creative (16 GB) and the Sony 829 (which should have the exact same sound quality as the 728, the only difference being it has 16GB in lieu of 8 and also has bluetooth), both with my Shure SE420s... and the Sony Walkman was leaps and bounds ahead of the Zen in terms of sound quality.

I would not hesitate in recommending the Walkman...unless it is important to you to be able to use a lossless compression format for your music, since the Sony doesn't support any. However, this would surprise me as you are looking for a player with only 8GB capacity .
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post #10 of 16
5/5/08 at 10:30pm
I had the Zen, the A816, and the A728,

I sold the zen and A728. I am a A816 fan girl to the end I think. That SQ is marvelous. I sold the zen because the SQ did not do it for me, and the A816 beats it hands down. The A728 left because it felt the A816 is marginally better, and the cost to benefit ratio compelled me to sell it.
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post #11 of 16
5/6/08 at 2:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by filipelli View Post
The A728 left because it felt the A816 is marginally better
Better how?
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post #12 of 16
5/7/08 at 9:10am
Never owned any Sony (thinking of getting it at the moment in fact - damn you Sony why no SD slot expandability >.<) but I own a H320 originally got a 4gb Zen, then sold that for a 4gb D2 which I'm thinking of selling too.

Best I remember of it, it sounded quite warm but really lacked bass. The bass boost function did very little, the EQ even less. Video was very good, a really vibrant colourful screen, comparatively a lot brighter than the one on the my D2/H320. The way it fails to integrate SD memory with the in built memory is not as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be for me personally. If you have all your music organised in folders and don't tend to use playlists a lot, it's like having your music seperated into two folders, not a huge deal. Also remember it must have had a pretty weak amplifier because I had to crank the volume up to nearly full with my iM716s. Oh and it's very tiny/sleek as well if that's a factor for you ^_^

I think it's all a question of relatively in terms of what is 'good', I dare say anyone who thinks the Zen sounds great has either not heard better sounding players or is appreciating something I'm missing. Now that you've heard the Sony you'll probably be disappointed by the bass if that's a big deal for you.
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post #13 of 16
5/7/08 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RedSky0 View Post
I think it's all a question of relatively in terms of what is 'good', I dare say anyone who thinks the Zen sounds great has either not heard better sounding players or is appreciating something I'm missing.
That's what I'm thinking at this point.
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post #14 of 16
6/23/08 at 5:06pm
I've owned the Zen and currently have the Stone as well as a 2nd Gen ipod.
I picked up the Sony A726 at Circuit City to test drive, knowing I can return it within 30 days.
Without a doubt the Sony beats all 3 hands down with regards to sound quality and sound 'tweaking'.
The bass boost and the equalizer works well. The other sound options such as the VPT, DSEE, and 'Clear Stereo' appear to do their job.
I have quite a few MP3's ripped at 128 bit that sound quite good on the Sony, but lousy on the ipod.
The sound appears to be 'cleaned up' and separated more on the Sony.
I know this is artificially enhancing the data, but it does make things sound better.
I am going to sell my ipod on ebay but keep the stone....easier to use when running / exercise.
Another note: The earphones that come with the Sony are quite good, and MUCH more comfortable than other in ear units I've used.

I highly recommend this unit to anyone.
Best Buy sells the A728 (8GB) for 159.99. Also, search the web for printable coupons. You can get one that will get you 10% off from 6/29 - 7/6.
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post #15 of 16
6/24/08 at 11:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RedSky0 View Post
Never owned any Sony (thinking of getting it at the moment in fact - damn you Sony why no SD slot expandability >.<) b
If it is a Sony it'll be a memory stick micro.
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