[Alpha 1 Omega]

since they still dont support win xp x64 officially I have never updated my zune

 

[Calexico]

How does the Zune SQ compare to the old Sony A818 player.

 

[tstarn06]

I like the Clear Bass on the A818, but no EQ vs. no EQ, and I favor the Zune sound. Very full, robust. If I had to give one up, it would be the Sony. I know, everyone loves the Sony DAPs, but I really find the Zune sound sig pleasin, and no futzing with EQ.

 

[PeterDLai]

I'm liking the sound quality of the Zune no doubt, but I'm not liking hearing noises from the hard drive spinning up in between songs and I'm not liking the dropouts from WMA Lossless playback.

Ugh...

 

[tds101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterDLai /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm liking the sound quality of the Zune no doubt, but I'm not liking hearing noises from the hard drive spinning up in between songs and I'm not liking the dropouts from WMA Lossless playback. Ugh...

I don't have the lossless issue (sorry, MP3 & gapless all the way), but the hard drive spinning up and being a bit noisy can be aggravating at times. Listening to the more quiet sections of Pink Floyd's The Wall, I notice the "whir" all the time!!!

 

[PeterDLai]

Another thing I've noticed is that with the new 3.1 update, I actually lost gapless functionality with WMA Lossless files. It worked most of the time with 3.0.

It seems like my best bet is to somehow get the 2.5 software and somehow downgrade my firmware to that version. It seems that the dropout issue is not a problem with the 2.5 firmware. But that would void the warranty, which I do not want to do, so I'm left waiting or perhaps I'll let it go to someone else who doesn't use lossless files.

 

[Naris]

Zune Insider

Microsoft must hate making money... but I really don't mind right now.

 

[swanlee]

Still have my 2 year old zune30. it has been a great audio player and I was so happy when they finally released lossless support last year.

I was so bummed about the last 2 gens of zune's not having an EQ that last week I upgraded the hard drive in my Zune 30 to 100GB.

Why they chose to not have an EQ in the newer hardware is beyond me but they definitely missed out on a purchase from me because of it.

And yes I spent a pretty penny all said and done just to get more space on my old zune but to me it is now the perfect audio player.
Great sound, retain my EQ and now have enough space for almost 300 CD's in WMA lossless format.

I hope the next gen hardware give more audio options like a parametric EQ.

 

[Desertway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swanlee /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was so bummed about the last 2 gens of zune's not having an EQ that last week I upgraded the hard drive in my Zune 30 to 100GB.

What model hard drive did you get, and where did you get it? I'll probably be doing the same thing. Not because of the eq, but because of the build quality of my 30, the fact that I have had no trouble with it, and I hear NO hard drive noise whatsoever.

 

[Ricardo Dawkins]

She used either a Samsung or a Toshinba 1.8 drive.
Digging the Zune pass, advice needed on Z30 drive upgrade

 

[jfindon]

With amps, what cable do I need to get it working with my Zune? Just a double ended cable to go from zune to amp, and plug the headphones in the other amp jack?

 

[Nicolas2305]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfindon /img/forum/go_quote.gif With amps, what cable do I need to get it working with my Zune? Just a double ended cable to go from zune to amp, and plug the headphones in the other amp jack?

It's exactly as you said. Some people make their own inter-connect, the lenght they want, the quality they want but a regular generic cable can do the job.

 

[jfindon]

Ok thanks. I think my Altec Lansing speaker for the Zune has one of these cables, I'll use that until I get another.

 

[swanlee]

I just got my wife her second zune. She had a zune30 which she liked but started running very seriously so she needed something lighter. I bought her a red zune 8gb flash.

The relevant part is I now have the ability to do a direct comparison between the newer zunes without an EQ and the old zune with an EQ.

Sorry to say the EQ wins for me, turns out I made the right choice in keeping the older zune and just putting a 100GB hard drive in it.

The new flash zune sounds good but using the same headphones and the same tracks ripped lossless showed me that I REALLY like the EQ settings, I mainly use the acoustic EQ setting.

The newer zunes sound flat and kind of dead in comparison to the older Zunes using their EQ settings. The sound quality of the new zunes is a good starting point, very clean, very flat, very neutral but without any way to customize it I feel it leaves me a little bored with the sound and not much emotion going on.

I was using a pair of super.fi 5EB's for this.

I admire MS for putting out a great sounding audio player which even the flash is a great sounding player, but they really need to give us back more options to customize the audio in the next zune.

 

[swanlee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desertway /img/forum/go_quote.gif What model hard drive did you get, and where did you get it? I'll probably be doing the same thing. Not because of the eq, but because of the build quality of my 30, the fact that I have had no trouble with it, and I hear NO hard drive noise whatsoever.

I went here

100GB Hard Drive for iPod (MK1011GAH): RapidRepair

kind of pricey but they do the installs for you if you send in your unit. I got mine back in a week with the 100GB hard drive and a slightly better battery for my zune30.

I like the way the new zunes look and feels but NO EQ = No Purchase for me.

Shame on MS for removing audio options on an audio player.