[asmd]

the zen is not a bad sounding device straight up. its bass boost is rediculously horrendous, its eq is just shy of fair. staright up, i cant say that its neutral sounding. its got a mid bass boost and the top end is blunted.
the zens interface is laggy. zen quite hasnt come up with another thats as fast as their own touch interface of previous models. thier shortcuts are somewhat innovative. (i do like the fact it can dim the screen for power saving but can do better than its terribly step like dimming. any recent nokia will dim much more gracefully.)
having suffered WSOD myself recently, im neutral on this as i also have a zen micro thats still running after many years. (on a side note, creative is not really known for keeping thier customers terrribly happy when it comes to drivers and what not - eg. i have audigy 2 nx that still doesnt play well with vista due to driver issues. theres much that has been said on that topic.).
proper sd card integration has been imho purposefully been left as a guaranteed upgrade path. that said, its not a bad player, but also not a good or great one.

regards,
asmd.

 

[GnaM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkingman /img/forum/go_quote.gif I personally think the X-fi is beautiful looking, but I've never tried it so I won't comment about the SQ. The Zen is good looking too, but let down by its shoddy built quality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chinkydelight /img/forum/go_quote.gif What I hate about creative though is their warranty/build quality. My Zen:Vision is now a paperweight coz nobody can fix 'em here in the Philippines.

Sorry if this is necroing but I was browsing, saw this thread and had to vouch for these claims.

I owned a Zen 1GB a few years ago as my first DAP and I was actually quite happy with the sound quality (not that I was that scrutinizing a listener back then) as well as the size and ergonomics, however it quite literally fell apart over about 6 months of use.

First the headphone jack (of the unit) started getting weird. The sound would fade out of one ear or the other (sometimes both) and you would have to rotate the headphone jack (of the headphones) around to some mystery position to get full sound again. Sometimes a slight nudge on the cable would set it off again, and you'd have to spend 2 minutes screwing with it to get it right. This got worse and worst till the sound was fading out constantly and eventually you never ever got full sound out of the thing.

Secondly there was an issue where the unit would freeze up or crash at random and then refuse to switch back on. You'd have to remove the batteries and pop em back in to get it to start. But soon that wasn't enough. Sometimes you'd have to remove and replace the batteries a couple times, and it continued getting worse. A ritual developed whenever this happened of removing and replacing the batteries over and over, pushing all the buttons, shaking it, blowing on it, saying prayers and rubbing lucky rabbits feet until it would suddenly and randomly come back after 5, 10, 15 minutes. Soon it seemed that twisting the plastic case a bit seemed to set something back in place and get it going again, but as time went on you had to twist harder and harder to get it going. Eventually it became a total lemon and in the final throws of trying to get it going, I twisted it around till the case just snapped apart and chips, wires, and buttons spilled to the ground.

The End.

 

[ClonZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GnaM /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry if this is necroing but I was browsing, saw this thread and had to vouch for these claims. I owned a Zen 1GB a few years ago as my first DAP and I was actually quite happy with the sound quality (not that I was that scrutinizing a listener back then) as well as the size and ergonomics, however it quite literally fell apart over about 6 months of use. First the headphone jack (of the unit) started getting weird. The sound would fade out of one ear or the other (sometimes both) and you would have to rotate the headphone jack (of the headphones) around to some mystery position to get full sound again. Sometimes a slight nudge on the cable would set it off again, and you'd have to spend 2 minutes screwing with it to get it right. This got worse and worst till the sound was fading out constantly and eventually you never ever got full sound out of the thing. Secondly there was an issue where the unit would freeze up or crash at random and then refuse to switch back on. You'd have to remove the batteries and pop em back in to get it to start. But soon that wasn't enough. Sometimes you'd have to remove and replace the batteries a couple times, and it continued getting worse. A ritual developed whenever this happened of removing and replacing the batteries over and over, pushing all the buttons, shaking it, blowing on it, saying prayers and rubbing lucky rabbits feet until it would suddenly and randomly come back after 5, 10, 15 minutes. Soon it seemed that twisting the plastic case a bit seemed to set something back in place and get it going again, but as time went on you had to twist harder and harder to get it going. Eventually it became a total lemon and in the final throws of trying to get it going, I twisted it around till the case just snapped apart and chips, wires, and buttons spilled to the ground. The End.

YOU LIAR!

1, ZEN doesn't have 1GB version!

2, ZEN's bettery can NOT be removed until you disassemble it.(like iPod)

3, I own a ZEN 8GB, if your player crashed. you can simply RESET it!

================================================== =======


Maybe the ZEN doesn't have the best SQ, but ZEN sounds great!
Natural and clear, better than iPod! (Any of them.)
I really don't know why people bashing ZEN and Creative,
ZEN SQ like radio? Junk? Sux? That is absolutely false!
(Why don't you bash Sound Blaster as "Sound Disaster" as well?)

Sony's Player sounds great, that is ture.
COWON sounds superb, that is true.
But there's no reason to bash ZEN.


PS: iPod Classic SQ is really average (iPod Touch worse, worse than Meizu M6)

 

[Nocturnal310]

X-fi technology shud be sued..its over-glorified EQ.

since i used it for few months..i developed sharp pain in the ear..and most of my music distorted when it was enabled.

 

[Navyblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif X-fi technology shud be sued..

I suggest you don't, you'll lose. (reason below)

What is "X-Fi" btw? Just because they carry the same name doesn't mean they are the same thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif its over-glorified EQ.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif since i used it for few months..i developed sharp pain in the ear..

It has got nothing to do with X-Fi or SQ dude, you are listening too loud for too long. You should sue your parents instead for failing to provide you with decent education, you might stand a chance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif and most of my music distorted when it was enabled.

Then why the heck do you keep listening it for months?

 

[Navyblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClonZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif YOU LIAR! 1, ZEN doesn't have 1GB version! 2, ZEN's bettery can NOT be removed until you disassemble it.(like iPod) 3, I own a ZEN 8GB, if your player crashed. you can simply RESET it!

I don't think he is a liar, he is just confused with other Zens from Creative, obviously he is talking about a different model.

I heard the Zen, and I thought it is pretty decent too. If the Zen X-Fi is a step up I guess it would be interesting.

 

[daglesj]

I had a Zen Micro 5Gb a while back. Nice bit of kit, worked pretty reliably. Well made and solid, nice size too. Shame they stopped making it.

The newer designs leave me cold. I dont like fancy/arty, I like plain and rugged. It has to be carried around after all.

 

[Kicksonrt66]

I've never touched one, but all the company hype about "adding back what compression takes out" suggests they are emphasizing whizzy special effects over real hi-fi.

 

[Nocturnal310]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Navyblue /img/forum/go_quote.gif I suggest you don't, you'll lose. (reason below) What is "X-Fi" btw? Just because they carry the same name doesn't mean they are the same thing. It has got nothing to do with X-Fi or SQ dude, you are listening too loud for too long. You should sue your parents instead for failing to provide you with decent education, you might stand a chance. Then why the heck do you keep listening it for months?

have u used X-fi products?

do u have any freakin idea how much it sharpens the highs and how it hurts even on moderate volumes?

sharp knife struck even with little force can cause bleeding.


and dont go on parents again..i take it as an offense.

i listened to it for months but it has a button to switch off x-fi if u have ever seen or used one.

 

[RedSky0]

There are a variety of 1GB Zens out there, google reveals that pretty easily ...

For the week or two I had it, I didn't really notice the sharp highs. If anything they were nice and sparkly. Then again I didn't listen to it that much.

Main weakness for me was the amp was utterly puny in terms of power. It could barely drive my iM716s to an acceptable volume at max, and out of all the players I've tried (not that many), they have the weakest bass I've heard.

 

[Navyblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif have u used X-fi products? do u have any freakin idea how much it sharpens the highs and how it hurts even on moderate volumes? sharp knife struck even with little force can cause bleeding. and dont go on parents again..i take it as an offense. i listened to it for months but it has a button to switch off x-fi if u have ever seen or used one.

I don't think you get it, for your ears sake, do some research on hearing damage. If I wanted to offend you I'd rather giggle in front of my monitor and let you go deaf.

 

[spacemanspliff]

Creative sucks. Always has. They could do so much better but appear to be deaf and dumb. Whatever, listen to what you like. My advice? Spend $50 on a Sansa Clip and then toss that pos you are trying to justify wasting your $$ on.

Sorry but I hate to think that you will continue hurting your ears without trying a decent sounding dap. No dap is great sounding except for the iMod and the Japanese Kenwood models.

 

[onurrus]

I had Creative Zen x-fi and decided to sell it after 1 week of using,The SQ attractive at first but when you get used to it it comes digital(with x-fi) Without x-fi its not terrible but too plan/flat to my ears.For people who likes flat sounds its not bad but I cant hear so many colors inside the music.
I also heard the Creative Zen(not x-fi).X-fi has a better sound than old Zens IMO.

I still dont recommend it to the people when there is Sansa Clip or Fuze around that cheap.Its an important factor too...

 

[RAFA]

hi

Spaceman said:

Quote:

Sorry but I hate to think that you will continue hurting your ears without trying a decent sounding dap. No dap is great sounding except for the iMod and the Japanese Kenwood models.

Hi it is interesting cause i search for a new DAP...
I have a Zen X-Fi, and I owned an Ipod Touch 1G. Overall i can say the SQ of the Zen is much better then the Touchs.

However my question is: What Kenwood Dap do you mean(to spacemanspliff)?

 

[spacemanspliff]

US version

Kenwood Media Keg in 60GB

Japanese

http://www.oled-display.net/kenwood-...dia-keg-series

My point is, when you know there is better out there, why buy the lesser?