[mdmania]

Alright folks I need some serious help on decision making. I just recently exchanged my 128mb muvo nx for zen nx 20gb. and I am having second thought whether to exchange my zen nx for a regular zen 20 gb.

My only concern on the zen 20gb is not having access to the battery. On the good side, I like the solid built of the zen as opposed to zen nx. Although I like the zen nx lighter weight, but it feels like plastic. I am well aware also that zen 2.0 has been out for awhile.

Overall, I don't mind the zen nx but I need all of your inputs. Pros and Cons....Thanks!

 

[blessingx]

Are you restricted to the Creative products or can iRiver, Apple, Rio, etc. enter the picture?

 

[mdmania]

No restriction but as of now the BB were I am located only
have Nomad Zen 2.0, NX and 30gb Apple Ipod which I am not really interested in. Perhaps Karma once that become available.

 

[GSTom1]

I have a Zen 2.0 60GB and I think it is much better then the Zen NX (aka Zen Lite). Here are my reasons:

1. Built much more solidly and better overall quality. Latch on the Zen NX is glued and can come off easy.

2. The ability to use the FM wires remote to listen and record FM radio and voice.

3. 16MB buffer on the Zen 2.0 versus only 8MB on the Zen NX.

4. Blue backlight as opposed to the green one on the Zen NX.

5. The ability to charge the unit with a USB port (you can't do that with the Zen NX).

6. Scroll wheel on the Zen 2.0 works better than the jog dial on the Zen NX.


The battery thing doesn't worry me. I'm sure there will be a way to replace it when the time comes.

 

[Parker1974]

GSTom1, I have a 30GB NX, and much of what you say is dead on: lack of remote, lack of USB charging, unattractive backlight, and the crappy jog dial are all downers. But the 'issues' with build quality and buffer size are REALLY overstated (not just by you, I've seen those complaints mentioned by others as well). I've held the Zen 2.0 in one hand and the NX in the other, and honestly I feel the build quality is comparable. There's plastic in the NX, yes, but it doesn't feel cheap to me. Maybe it's just my particular NX, but it seems pretty well screwed together. Never had any problem with the latch. And the buffer hasn't been an issue, either. My understanding is that the smaller buffer only really affects battery life (the drive has to spin up more often if the buffer can't hold as much), and I'm getting the advertised 14 hours - which is exactly the same as the 2.0's advertised specs.

That said, mdmania, if I were you I don't know if I'd exchange the NX for the 2.0 - depends on whether or not any of the above 'cons' are important to you. I would, however, consider the NX 30GB. I think the additional 10GB makes up for any of the perceived deficencies between the 2.0 and NX series.

 

[mdmania]

Thanks Parker,
I know that extra 10gb would be a nice add on but I don't think I'll need that extra space right away. I thought maybe to buy an extra battery for my zen nx instead. But thanks for the informative response. It sure made some difference in my decision making. I think I will keep this one for now. Also, to add to that I did get the 2 year warranty that BB offer so if this one breaks they refund or get a new one.

 

[GSTom1]

Are we all happy that Creative Lab's will confuse us some more in the next couple of months with the ZEN XTRA??

This is one rumor that won't go away...

 

[Parker1974]

Yeah, no kidding. I think the NX had been out for all of three weeks when that rumor first surfaced. No official announcement yet, though...

Whether the Xtra is for real or not, I don't think Creative's next HD-based player will necessarily be a quantum step forward. But it wouldn't take much in the way of engineering for them to produce a unit superior to what they currently offer. They just need to combine the best features of the 2.0 and the NX, mixing in a larger screen and higher capacity, and they ought to have a winner.

 

[mdmania]

I think it would be more than likely a combination of the two.