[jinx20001]

i dont know if this has been spoken about, more than likely it has but i cant be bothered to search as i am considering buying a new zen 8gb for on the go. i already have a 80gb ipod but i want something smaller and hopefully that sounds better for on the go listening so i can relegate my ipod to home listening topped with lossless audio.

i will be using at least 320kbps audio with the creative if i choose to make the purchase and i will be using shure se530's aswell along with ue10 pros and others, im a regular in the headphones forum.

so what do you think guys, is the zen worth a purchase and does it perform better than the ipod with sound????? quick answers would be great as i will be leaving in about an hour to make the purchase

 

[HardHeadCase]

I suggest the Iaudio 7 because you can get it in a 16gb version and its small and has a great amp section. Sounds to me like it fits your requirements perfectly.

 

[wanderman]

ipod 5.5 gen put rockbox on it and you are good to go.

 

[mrdeadfolx]

I prefer the HP out sound of the iPod to the Zen (although they aound almost the same to my ears), but Im sure some will argue otherwise.

 

[Gurra1980]

I returned my beautifull and solid built classic today because it did not perform very well, oh it was ok but nothing special. the sound was TME a little unbalanced and hard, it had great dynamics, but for some reason the soundstage was very small, it did not perform very well with either ksc-75, px100 or D2000, the sound was best with px100. the sound was a little thin. I got a zen this morning because I thought my mothers zen v was very good, better than iriver and ipod. What can I say, I'm amazed by my zen. the sound is dynamic, has a very big soundstage and are full, the timbre and detail is amazing, everything sounds so real. My reference sound is my cd-player rig with x-can v3 and of course natural acoustic music.

The difference from my home rig and the zen is much smaller than the difference between zen and my other mp3 players.

Now I understand why creative is the top rated players in the swedish mag HIFI & Music.

You should really listen to this player and do so with very good headphones I'm sure it will amaze you.

 

[pharmrodant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gurra1980 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I returned my beautifull and solid built classic today because it did not perform very well, oh it was ok but nothing special. the sound was TME a little unbalanced and hard, it had great dynamics, but for some reason the soundstage was very small, it did not perform very well with either ksc-75, px100 or D2000, the sound was best with px100. the sound was a little thin. I got a zen this morning because I thought my mothers zen v was very good, better than iriver and ipod. What can I say, I'm amazed by my zen. the sound is dynamic, has a very big soundstage and are full, the timbre and detail is amazing, everything sounds so real. My reference sound is my cd-player rig with x-can v3 and of course natural acoustic music. The difference from my home rig and the zen is much smaller than the difference between zen and my other mp3 players. Now I understand why creative is the top rated players in the swedish mag HIFI & Music. You should really listen to this player and do so with very good headphones I'm sure it will amaze you.

x2. The creative players always had great sound to them.

 

[ILikeMusic]

x3. Go with the Zen.

 

[jinx20001]

thanks for the replies guys, i have rockboxed my 5.5g ipod and it gives a decent EQ to what is not the best amp im sure, but again the EQ is only as good as the amplifier quality, id be perfectly happy with no EQ if the amp sounds very nice naturally.

again im happy with the ipod and i do believe the 5.5g sounds better than the gritty 6g but i do require something smaller and better sounding if possible.

thanks again for replies, any more suggestions are welcome

 

[ILikeMusic]

Quote:

id be perfectly happy with no EQ if the amp sounds very nice naturally.

EQ is not to correct for deficiencies in the amp (unless it's a pretty crappy amp

), rather to tailor the frequency response to match the transducers (speakers, IEMs. headphones, etc.) and listening environment. The best amp and cleanest source in the world is not a substitute for EQ if you need it, thus custom EQ capability is a critically important feature in a DAP.

 

[shiezan]

You should just get your 5.5 ipod imodded.
It's probably the best possible choice if you have the money.

 

[sigsegv0x0B]

If you want audiophile creative Zen is the last line of players you should be looking at. I own a Zen V Plus and I had a Zen Stone Plus and a Zen 8GB and they are all below average sounding players. Any iPod incl. 1st Gen nano and later are better choices then the recent creative zen line.

 

[TheBends]

^^Having owned/currently owning a Zen Sleek, 2 Vision Ms, a Zen V + and most recently a 4gb Zen, I can safely say that I respectfully disagree with the above comment. The zen v+ does have a weak and inferior amp, as i'm probably sure the stone does too given that they're low end flash players from a time (year and more ago) when the flagship players were hd based. The 2 latest players from creative, the vision M and the Zen are both solid with regards to SQ. You can just do a search around here and you can pull up a wealth of threads where more than enough people have praised the vision m and now the zen (though it is in the shadow of the sony players which are supposed to be amazing). I do have to say that the zen's amp is weaker or maybe crippled in comparison to the vision m, but not by much. Also, i find that the zen is overall slightly clearer, perhaps just not as dark, as the vision. Also, i just love the creative interface with the simple and intuitive on the go playlist making, and there are ridiculous discounts on the zens going on right now.


edit: went back and read OP. i'm not an iem fan so i couldn't comment on hiss, but for portability it's great, i've gotten over my "have to have EVERYTHING in my collection with me at all times" syndrome and my zen serves me just fine.

 

[Luminette]

iMod your 5.5g if it's an 80gb video.. and man-up as far as the size issues go

of course then you need to use an amp.. so if you weren't planning on using any amp with your new small size portable setup then i suppose imod really pushes things out of your boundaries then. but it would be the sound quality route

 

[Gurra1980]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sigsegv0x0B /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you want audiophile creative Zen is the last line of players you should be looking at. I own a Zen V Plus and I had a Zen Stone Plus and a Zen 8GB and they are all below average sounding players. Any iPod incl. 1st Gen nano and later are better choices then the recent creative zen line.

Can you explain what it is you don't like? is it the bigger soundstage, the clearer sound

or is it that the EQ is useless. Personaly I don't use the EQ, it's fine without. I can understand why some don't like the zen, I guess it's becase the sound is neutral and not as colored as other players and the EQ is useless so people can't SRS WOW mach3bass 3Dsurrond or bassboost the sound, but these things has nothing to do with good sound quality.

(Not saying that this is the reason that you don't like it, iPod is also quite neutral)

 

[jayinhk]

I think my sig pretty much explains my stance on the issue. I'd love one of those new 32gb Zens. I'm listening to my Zen Xtra through EX90SLs right now and it sounds great.