Creative X-fi?

cowons dont have gapless playback if that is important to you. but they have great SQ.
x-fi is emulated not hardware based compared to the normal creative zen. SQ wise its better after firmware update.

^^ Nice. (and hilarious)

from what I remember reading, the Zen X-Fi is quite "competitive" SQ wise, its a decent driver, decent software, just a bit bulky/awkward to hold

if you want to avoid over the top "management" software, look at something like the Sony Walkman mp3 players, drag'n'drop and you're done

iirc most of the Creatives should handle drag'n'drop as well, but don't quote me on that

I have a plain 32GB zen and I can guarantee the SQ is absolutely stunning on both my etys e6i and my sennheiser px100. No need to fiddle with the (crappy) eq. I listen mostly to uberstandard VBR mp3s, rock, jazz and classical. I'm not into bass heavy stuff like dance techno etc, mind you.

As a comparison, I tried my friend's IAudio U3 and it sounds heavily processed/unnatural (to my ears it has an unnatural spectral curve, both with and without eq-ing) and I also have a sansa clip ( which sounds flat and clean but thinner than the zen). I also bought a 16gb sdhc where I store all my xvids and the quality of the screen is amazing. The interface takes literally 1 minute to figure out. My flatmate, who can barely switch on a computer, uses my zen with some communal speakers without any problem.

I do not work for Creative or anything, I'm just tired of people bashing Creative and think that certain brands/products might be a bit overhyped.

Any question just ask!

Just out of curiosity, I went to a local store today and got a Creative Zen 16GB on a great promotion (50% off). It was so cheap that I couldn't resist (I'm always looking to try different players/different brands just to compare). My player used to be the Sansa Clip+, but already had RoCoo A, Sony X1060, Cowon S9/J3, Philips, etc. Definitely the Clip+ was the one that has more bass out of all the other players I've had (Sony, Cowon, Philips, etc), so I sold them all and kept the Clip+ for everyday use. Excelent player, top notch SQ and so cheap and portable. Plus I can put in my 16GB SDHC card and I have 20GB of storage which is sufficient for me.

 

Well, the Creative Zen X-Fi. I have a $130 X-Fi Xtreme GAMER FPS sound card and I absolutely love the sound of it. More bass than the Clip+ and more treble, with exceptional clarity and detail ("cristalyzer" enabled). Sounds like a Clip+ amped. Knowing that the Zen does not have the same hardware as the X-Fi sound card (real X-Fi chip), I was not expecting all that much. Was I wrong...!!! It sounds as good as my sound card, with more bass than the Clip+ (more punch), more treble and slightly better clarity. Amongst all the MP3 players I've owned (including Cowon S9/J3), this is the best sounding one I've heard.

Edited by miow - 2/5/12 at 6:57am

I bought the Creative Zen X-Fi2 a few months ago and I can tell you that its the worst sounding MP3 player I have ever used. With the sound effects switched on the sound quality gets worse. The bass is bloated, the highs are too harsh and it has a terrible soundstage.

Well, so thats the 2. I got the previous one. Superb sound with the effects enabled and I'm comparing it to the Clip+ and Cowon. Are you sure you can't update your firmware?