Why Rockbox A Sansa Clip+?

It gives you more control of the EQ. You get more advanced EQ. Plus you get additional features such as better folder browsing, themes, battery life remaining in %, many small apps like calculator and calendar, clock, etc. It's definitely worth it.

i don't see improvement of sound quality after rockbox.   I actually found the sound quality got degrade a bit.  Rockbox sounds more jagged and artificial to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by faichiu 

i don't see improvement of sound quality after rockbox.   I actually found the sound quality got degrade a bit.  Rockbox sounds more jagged and artificial to me.

I didn't find it to change the sound at all, until I tinkered with the EQ and other settings.

Rockboxing the clip is a must really. I can't think of any reasons why you wouldn't want to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duff-Guy 

Rockboxing the clip is a must really. I can't think of any reasons why you wouldn't want to.

The risk (no matter how small) of bricking it isn't obvious enough?

Anyway, mine have invariably failed at the jack solder joint.  It's rather despicable how poor those joints are for such a high-stress area.  My first one failed after about two and a half months (and it bricked on me shortly after implementing the "open it up and stuff-it-with-something to hold the jack down" fix, I believe as the result of a malfunctioning USB port), and the second one took about the same amount of time.  I re-soldered it, first using no extra solder (which took all of about an hour to break again), and then again with a little additional solder.  Since then, no troubles - but that was only yesterday...

Granted, I don't use right-angle plugs.  I have a stock-corded Alessandro MS-1i, and a short patch cord to a portable amp - both of which are straight and probably get more than their fair share of knocks.  I'd like to convert both to right-angle plugs (actually, replace both cables with more convenient ones), but that's kind of on the back burner for now.

I just purchased a Clip+. If I am not going to be using any EQ setting and I don't care about the appearance of the UI, why should I still put Rockbox on it?

Some people say that the batter life gets extended a few hours and the sound quality gets a little better, can anybody justify this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralSmirnoff 

I just purchased a Clip+. If I am not going to be using any EQ setting and I don't care about the appearance of the UI, why should I still put Rockbox on it?

 

Some people say that the batter life gets extended a few hours and the sound quality gets a little better, can anybody justify this?

If you don't touch the EQ, the sound should remain the same. Battery life does get better.....how much better depends on what type of files you plan on using on the player. HIgh bitrate MP3, what I use, the battery went from under 10 hours to approx. 15...FLAC and Ogg Vorbis both start off worse than MP3 in the original firmware, but do better than MP3 if you Rockbox.

Yes, the extended battery life alone is worth it.

Startup is much faster, as is shut-down.  All-around it is faster to use.

However, the improvement I like the most (along with the increased battery life) is the ability to sort by album artist.  That means that compilations aren't split up into different artists for each song.  Folder navigation fixes that too, but isn't as nice to use and certainly is more of a pain with onboard/external memory (and many of my album folders were renamed by the Clip+ because they were too long, apparently).

Several advantages...

1) Better bookmarking feature. You can manage a list of bookmarks especially if you are listening to more than one audiobook or podcast at a time.

2) Faster startup. No need to wait two minutes refresh your library each time you take out your micro SDHC card.

3) Better user interface. You can see items that matter to you such as accurate battery indicator (in percentages), bitrate of file, time of day, album name, etc.

4) Better file navigation. If you like navigating by folders this is much easier to do with Rockbox.

the options for navigation/EQ/display inproves x10. and I could swear the battery life increased too. not to mention it takes less time to load the library on the cards.

Just do it and stop questioning. 

Hello!

For me, using rockbox on Fuze/Clip is complicate what is simple. Besides, I prefer the sound signature/SQ of the original firmware. In flat, Rockbox is inferior in terms of SQ, compared to the original firmware.

And I do not have much patience to deal with the zillions of options in Rockbox... :o)

Cheers,

Peter

It allows you to listen while it's charging.