anythingbutipod.com reviewed the Zune last week. The comments on the sound quality seem to contradict what just about everyone who has one is saying (comment in above post about not the Zune "not faring well in critical listening due to not supporting lossless" notwithstanding). He (abip) makes it sound like he thinks the Zune is worse than average for SQ, which is the first I've heard that. I've never heard one so I can't comment, but thought it was strange to see a somewhat negative review of the SQ after hearing so much positive on here. I wonder what players he would consider to have good SQ.
From the review:
"Sound Quality
The Zune’s sound quality is good and will suffice for the majority of users, but if sound quality is a very important feature, you may want to look elsewhere. The very high end and the very low end are somewhat blurry, but something you can only tell with a really nice set of headphones and some critical listening. Sound quality is average at moderate listening levels, but tends to fall flat and louder volumes.
The lack of great sound quality can be blamed on the ODM manufacturer of the Zune, Toshiba. The sound quality of the Gigabeat S was poor and since the Zune is just a modified version of the Gigabeat, this is where the sound quality issue stems from. I’m hoping that Microsoft will ODM the next generation Zune to a different manufacturer (cough . . . cough . . . Cowon) or do it themselves in house.
The sound quality in the current generation Zune could be improved by adding what many believe to be a very critical feature, a custom EQ. As of now there are only presets available including: flat, acoustic, classical, electronic, hip hop, jazz, pop, and rock. While these work pretty well, adding a custom EQ could possibly improve the quality of sound or at least give the “tweakers” more options."
