[aroon]

im looking to buy a hd mp3 player. this will be my first buy so im looking for advice. after reading though the forums, various reviews and taking a look at pictures ive pretty much narrowed down my choices to the zen xtra or a g3 ipod. hd space isnt a big issue here since anything over 10gigs is more than enough for me [i think]. price also isnt that big of an issue cuz ive got a gift certificate. whats most important to me is audio quality. which one is better? ive heard a lot of people saying the g3 ipod suffers from bass distortion which is unacceptable to me since i listen to a lot of jazzy and techno style stuff.

im sure someone will ask so ill just say this now, im not really considering the rio becuase im not to fond of the design. although, if someone really has a lot to say about it, by all means let me know. i wanna make the best decision =D

and while im on the topic of sound quality from what ive been hearing the headfones that come with the players are average at best. ive been looking around for some good ear buds but they all seem to have about the same specs. could yall recommend some good in-ear or neckband headphones? my budget is around 50 dollars.

please only vote in the poll if you've actually heard both players

 

[blessingx]

You may want to add, vote only if you've heard both. A lot of people repeat what they've heard (especially on this question) which can distort the results.

Also can your headphone budget increase if your players cost decreases, or because of the gift certificate are these separate? I ask 'cause although I really like my iPod, if the choice was say iPod & MX500/PX200/SportaPros, or Xtra & ER4P/4S... I'd easily go to the latter.

EDIT: And welcome to Head-Fi.

 

[aroon]

my headfone budget is independant of the player. i dont mind increasing my budget for the headfones if it will make a big difference but i dont want to spend 100 dollars.


and yeah, only vote if you're heard both. thnx for the suggestion =D

EDIT: thnx =]

 

[yeeyy]

Listened both and prefer the sound quality of Zen Xtra.

 

[GSTom1]

Quote:

Originally posted by aroon and while im on the topic of sound quality from what ive been hearing the headfones that come with the players are average at best. ive been looking around for some good ear buds but they all seem to have about the same specs. could yall recommend some good in-ear or neckband headphones? my budget is around 50 dollars.

Unfortuantely, you're not going to be able to get amazing in-ear headphones for $50.

I recently got the Sony MDR-EX71SL in-ear headphones for my Zen 2.0. I know this model gets panned a lot, but they sound decent enough for the price - approximately $30-$40. Plus they serve their purpose for me, which is to block out noise while riding the New York Subway.

I got them for only $33 (including shipping) from ecost.com. Check it out:

MDR-EX71SL Premium Stereo Earphones, black

 

[SpoonMan]

I've heard both and prefer the iPod.

 

[scottder]

Not to mention for the price of a 10 gig ipod you can get a 30 gig Xtra, not a small consideration.

Scott

 

[Jodiuh]

I'm in the same boat aroon. I'm leaning towards the zen because of storage tho.

 

[etys rule]

welcome aroon. consider this for a moment. you say that audio quality is important to you. you also say 10GB would be more than enough. well, my friend, to get one, you will definately need more of the other. i mean hd space. if you rip at 256 you'll find yourself running out of space fast. (256 is all i rip at) i have 24GB on the 30GB iPod. which btw, is only really 28.5GB. i've heard the xtra and own the iPod. my suggestion, go with the xtra with the larger hd and INVEST in a pair of Etymotic 4P's. remember, your sound is only as good as what you hear it through.

hope this helps.

welcome and hold onto your wallet.

 

[AndyD2k]

I'll give you two reasons not to even consider any of creative's players...

the warranty sucks!!! You're covered for 3 months and thats it. After 9 months of use, my Zen is practically in its death bed and not sure how much its going to cost to revitalize it again. What bugs me the most is the $20 fee I get charged just to take a look at the player.

Also, their tech support is severly lacking. They seem to think that one solution applies to every problem the Zen has. It's as if not one person over at the company knows the product well enough to provide support.

 

[brschmid]

Quote:

the warranty sucks!!!

which is why you spend an extran 40 bucks and buy one at a local store that sells extended warranties (best buy, Circuit city) and get either 2 or 4 years out of it

i am getting my 9 month old zen replaced by an Xtra because i was smart and bought a warranty

 

[aroon]

thnx for all the feedback guys!

ill give yall the specifics on my situation, mebbe it will help. i won a 500 dollar gift cert to frys so i HAVE to buy the player there. i dunno anything about their warranty and if they dont have any, well...so be it. i dont have the cash to buy a player somewhere else heh.

on the issue of hd space. i say 20 should be more than enough for me and therefore its not really a problem for me becuase i dont mind switching out my music once a week. i already have way more than enough music to fill the xtra but i dont see a need to carry every last bit of it around with me [i doubt ill ever take a trip that requires a couple weeks of playing time! =p] also, if i get an ipod ill probably be going with the 20gb and w/ the xtra im not quite sure yet. once i get to frys i check the price difference and make my decision but it will probably end up being the 40 [or is it 30?] or 60gb version.

as far as headfones go im hearin 50 bux isnt enough for great sound quality. thats cool, im willing to go above i suppose if there is a real noticeable difference. but i wanna try and keep it under 100. i think that pretty much makes noise canceling fones of any kind out of the question which isnt a problem to me. also, im a bit wary for the most expensive headfones becuase they tend to have pretty high resistance which means i need more voltage to get the power i want/need. i dont wanna deal with headfone amps or whatnot so from what from ive read i gotta keep it under 32ohms max [and even that is too high for the ipod i hear].

also, has anyone seen a consumer generated graph of the zen xtra's frequency response? ive seen a couple for the ipod but not for the zen yet [probably becuase its new?].

again, thnx for all the feedback guys!

 

[pinsomniac]

Wow, lucky you. I'm assuming you won it from one of the Fry's Grand Openings? I've never attended one myself, but I've heard stories... (okay, I know way too much about Fry's... blame the people I know there)

Anyway, I've never tried the Zen Xtra so I'm not qualified to give an opinion on that. (Personally I'm aiming for a Rio Karma because as opposed to most, I do like the design...). For earbuds, probably the E888s for earbuds or Philips HD100 for noise-canceling headphones (both available at Fry's... at least, the one here in the Bay Area). Shure's would be nice, but I don't remember seeing them there.

Well, enjoy your gift certificate. I wish I had the same luck.

 

[AndyD2k]

Quote:

Originally posted by brschmid which is why you spend an extran 40 bucks and buy one at a local store that sells extended warranties (best buy, Circuit city) and get either 2 or 4 years out of it i am getting my 9 month old zen replaced by an Xtra because i was smart and bought a warranty

Really?? Well, honestly I never thought I would need one. Never did for anything else. I will definitely be doing it then for my next player so I don't get screwed over again. Thanks for the info.

 

[iPodophile]

I believe the warrenty is only one year on the Creative player as well. Apple now also has extended warrenties that can be purchased, as well as a $100 battery replacement service.

I've never heard the Zen, but my iPod sounds great.