[nsx_23]

I'm currently pondering over these two players, and am not sure which one offers the better ownership experience as I've never owned players from Samsung and Creative before...

I quiet like the Zen's design, and the 32GB version is mighty tempting, but am not too sure about the sound quality as I only had a chance to play around with one for a very short time. The P2 is a bit more pricey, but the touchscreen interface is very cool and the constant firmware updates means more and more features to muck around with.

I listen to a huge variety of music, and will be using either one with my SF5's most of the time. For reference, I absolutely love the SQ of my Sansa Clip and H320, and am looking for a similar sound.

EDIT: For some reason two of the same threads appeared. Could somebody delete the duplicate?

 

[Aevum]

if you want the 32gb, get the cowon D2 16gb and a 16gb card,
if you want a good player the YP-P2 16gb player, it beats the zen on file support, sound quality, has MSC once you put the korean firmware in,

i dislike creative for several reasons, but the "deal breaker" with the Zen is MTP,

 

[omega52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aevum /img/forum/go_quote.gif if you want the 32gb, get the cowon D2 16gb and a 16gb card, if you want a good player the YP-P2 16gb player, it beats the zen on file support, sound quality, has MSC once you put the korean firmware in, i dislike creative for several reasons, but the "deal breaker" with the Zen is MTP,

Just make sure you really like the touch screen interface. Sure it is sexy, but think about how you will use it. I personally like tactile hard buttons, 'cause I want to be able to change volume or advance a track without looking at the screen. Touch screens REQUIRE you to look for every command. I was lucky enough to realize that, in everyday use, the touch screen is not for me. Many people end up with an expensive, sexy, touch screen DAP & the only ones that are impressed are their friends, not them personally. Then again, many would not have anything else. Go figure. Are they just fooling themselves or are they really happy with touch? I think that eventually, the market will migrate to a mix of touch & hard keys. Maybe volume & transport controls as hard keys & more advanced menu items will be touch. That is my hope, at least.

BTW I use a Zune 80, Sansa Clip, Toshiba t-400 & Samsung S-5. The S-5 is my least favorite interface. It is a toss up between the T-400 & the Zune with the Zune with a slight lead only because the touch pad is kinds sexy while retaining the hard key functionality.
Good luck
kev

 

[SoundsGood]

I have been looking at picking up a P2 myself. I'm surprised it hardly ever gets talked about on this forum. I've been trying to decide between a P2 and a Sony A728 or A729. The features on the P2 are very extensive, especially with the bluetooth capabilities.


Omega-The P2 does actually have volume hard keys, which is one feature I do like about it very much.

 

[Warhawk]

I had a Zen, then sold it and bought the P2.
I am extremely happy with my decision.

It beats it in almost everything but memory, and extended memory also.

Plus, the P2 is still getting better with another update at the end of this month.

The Zen has had just a few minor updates, only kinda good ones were where they fixed the battery/sleep issue, and added some support for the sd card integration.

So if you want more than 16 gigs and extended memory, get a Zen, if memory isn't that big a deal, the P2 beats it imo.

 

[nsx_23]

I already have 16GB D2 on order, and that should be arriving at the end of the month. Was tempted by the iPod touch, but the sound quality left me disappointed.

I currently have an H301 =P, a Sansa Clip and an Archos 405. I'm getting the D2 as an all-in-one multimedia device, and was just thinking of getting something to supplement it.

Does anyone know if rockbox is being ported onto the Zen or P2?

 

[Nocturnal310]

Personally i will go for Samsung YP-P2 ...

Zen doesnt appeal me

 

[nsx_23]

I'm mainly interested in the sound difference between the two. In terms of extra features, both seem pretty well matched. I guess the bluetooth and touchscreen of the P2 would be nice to have, but not 100% necessary.

Is the touchscreen on the P2 difficult to use?

 

[Aevum]

from what i´ve seen its very nice and responsive, better then the D2, the P2 has a nicer interface and ogg support, rumor is that the next bluewave will add flac aswell, and the cellphone integration is also tempting,

on the other hand, the sony is MP3, WAV and WMA, unless you get the japanese version which supports atrac, but is also chanined to sonicstage,

i know the sony sounds a bit boomier and nicer, but the samsung beats it in specs,

 

[TSi]

I have had a P2 since... December, so maybe I get to put in a few words to say the dis / advantages of it. (all in my opinion).

Advantages:
- Firmware, currently it is on its 3rd firmware update, a lot of things have improved from the beginning one.
- Bluetooth, a BIG advantage, its cause... well, u dont always carry your cable with you right? so if you want a file, easy transfer from a laptop or your friends phone.
- Phone Pairing, while many people say this is useless, I actually love it. You dont EVER miss a call anymore (i used to miss quite a few calls when I listen to music)
- FM Radio, while some people say that they have a portable player they wouldnt need radio, its kinda good when u want to hear the latest news fast.
- Side buttons, compared to itouch, this one actually has play/pause, volume up/down buttons. I find that its so much more convenient than taking it out to pause your song or w/e.
- Touch screen, when it first came out, the touchscreen wasn't sensitive, but then after the 1st firmware (and then the rest), it gets better, everything seems more responsive.
- SQ, I havent had too much players, but then compared to the ipod(s) that ive used, it sure is better. At least theres not as much piss hiss!
- EQ, DNSE is amazing, 7 bar user equalizer... so if your friend ever wants to borrow your player and listen to some bloated bass.... you know what to do!
- AB, yes... u can AB one part continuously and just loop it. Its great if you want to compare different earphones.

Disadvantage:
- Size, only come in 2,4,8 gb right now, so if you have 70GB of music, u might as well forget about this player.
- Codecs, only support aac, mp3, ogg right now (ogg and aac needs to go into UMS format)
- Software, the samsung program that comes with it isnt too great, but then there are other ways to put music (WMP, or w/e) or even change it into UMS format (so u can drag drop)
- ROCKBOX, there is NO rockbox as of yet, but then apparently people from the forums is trying to implement it.
- Compatibility, not many things actually supports it, as in... there is no dock stations (yet), no LOD (yet), no cradles (yet).
- Playthrough, this does not really continuous play, like there would always be a "1" second pause in between songs. I personally don't care too much for it, cause I dont have any songs that need to be connected.

That's all I've thought of in the last... 5 minutes, but if you do have any questions, don't hesitate to PM me or even visit this forum:
Samsung P2 - abi>>forums

Now, even there are a lot of things on the P2, I use it solely for 1 reason, which is MUSIC.
I personally have no regret whatsoever when I chose the P2 over anything else, the touchscreen may be a piss ass to some people, but then for me... I love it, cause it has side buttons.
The sound, it just destroys the ipod... esp when I dont want to carry an amp, cause personally, I want something light and not need another external box. (I have actually used various iems with it, so I do think I know what I might be talking about)

 

[nsx_23]

The P2 just seems very expensive in terms of storage capacity - per - dollar compared to the Zen, but I guess if the sound quality is excellent than it may well be worth the sacrifice.

Any Creative Zen owners out there? Haven't heard much from you yet.

 

[Warhawk]

I used to be a Zen owner, but sold that and got P2 like I said earlier.

I can't compare the sound quality, but I know the P2 SHOULD sound better with all the eq and dnse sound settings.
There is a 7 band eq, clarity setting, bass setting, 3d setting, and even a main 5 band eq in the settings menu under sound.

Price wise, the Zen obviously beats the P2, but you lose a lot of features and compatability like UMS.
I might have kept my Zen if it had UMS, and could play .txt files.


Plus if 8gb isn't enough, they are selling a 16gb P2 now, even though I think it's only in places like Korea and Canda, let me google it real quick.
Yup, they have it for sale in BB in Canada($330, still $70 less than 16gb itouch), and I'm sure they have it in Korea, since it comes from there.

 

[nsx_23]

But the 16GB P2 isn't available in Hong Kong though is it.......

Like I said, I already have a 16GB D2 on order

 

[Clincher09]

What has better sound quality between the Zune 80 and P2?

 

[minimelody]

The zen provides a nice screen and really simple user interface see Creative ZEN I think they are working on getting rockbox onto the zen. I would say the sound quality would have to depend on the earphones you are using too. So getting a better one, may make a difference.