I am seriously considering to buy the high capacity (32gb) Creative Zen flash player. Anyone having an experience with the Zen..how's the sound quality? I would like to pair it up with my Shure SE530. Would you recommend it? BTW - tried the new Ipod Classic (80GB/160GB) but was so disappointed. The sound quality of these Ipod devices were just unbearable.
How would you rate the new Creative Zen in sound quality?
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MeltedWelly
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I had my heart set on one of these as well to match up with my new set of Denon c751's I just bought but I got told from a reliable source on here that they had heard on another forum that they sounded bad compared to the Sony DAP's now whether this was just with the Denon headphones or not I'm unsure.
Can anyone elaborate on this... ?
Can anyone elaborate on this... ?
soozieq
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Quote:
It's all down to preference. The guy at Atraclife wanted a 16GB player and went out and bought the Creative Zen - and his view was that the sound quality didn't match up to the Sony. That's just one view - and it's come from someone who likes the Sony sq.
I know that the Zen Touch definitely doesn't match up - and my other half (who still has his Touch after 3 years) agrees that his Zen doesn't sound nearly as good as the Sony. Luckily for him - he doesn't care about sound quality - even though he can acknowledge the difference.
If you get a Zen from Amazon, you can try it out for yourself for 30 days and see how you like it. If you like it with the C751s, then keep it. If you don't, then you can return the Zen and nothing is lost.
| Originally Posted by MeltedWelly /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had my heart set on one of these as well to match up with my new set of Denon c751's I just bought but I got told from a reliable source on here that they had heard on another forum that they sounded bad compared to the Sony DAP's now whether this was just with the Denon headphones or not I'm unsure. Can anyone elaborate on this... ? |
It's all down to preference. The guy at Atraclife wanted a 16GB player and went out and bought the Creative Zen - and his view was that the sound quality didn't match up to the Sony. That's just one view - and it's come from someone who likes the Sony sq.
I know that the Zen Touch definitely doesn't match up - and my other half (who still has his Touch after 3 years) agrees that his Zen doesn't sound nearly as good as the Sony. Luckily for him - he doesn't care about sound quality - even though he can acknowledge the difference.
If you get a Zen from Amazon, you can try it out for yourself for 30 days and see how you like it. If you like it with the C751s, then keep it. If you don't, then you can return the Zen and nothing is lost.
evilcokemachine
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I've had a 16gb ZEN since they came out, and with my UE Super.fi 5 EBs I would say it definitely sounds better than when I plug the EBs into anybody else's 5.5g iPod. I haven't heard the Sonys, so I can't comment on that, but I think the ZEN sounds pretty good.
ILikeMusic
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Quote:
Yeah, and in addition my friend's cousin said that he heard that another forum reported than someone on the Internet said that...
However if anyone really does want to try to sort out all the conflicting forum opinions, the most common seems to be that the Zen is not quite as good as the top-tier Sony or Cowon players, but above the most of the iPod line. Or at least that's what I heard...
| but I got told from a reliable source on here that they had heard on another forum |
Yeah, and in addition my friend's cousin said that he heard that another forum reported than someone on the Internet said that...
However if anyone really does want to try to sort out all the conflicting forum opinions, the most common seems to be that the Zen is not quite as good as the top-tier Sony or Cowon players, but above the most of the iPod line. Or at least that's what I heard...
ernieBob
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May I suggest that you get your hands on a few players from your friends and such and test them yourself (or try in the store maybe) . One cannot seriously make any judgments based on "someone's opinion on some forum". And since when was Creative a lower tier brand for DAPs
?
Sony or Cowon Daps sound tempting but they don't come in large capacity. What I need is at least 32GB and must be small...This only leaves me a Zen but I can't take it if SQ's poor like Ipod.
sigsegv0x0B
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Quote:
Where do you get the idea that ipod is a bad sounding player? Is it from head-fi? Because as I recall most people here think ipod is a rather good sounding device. Check around this forum yourserlf.
The Zen on the other other hand is not known by it's sound quality. If you want large capapcity and good sound the ipod is clearly a better choice.
| Originally Posted by dhc0329 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sony or Cowon Daps sound tempting but they don't come in large capacity. What I need is at least 32GB and must be small...This only leaves me a Zen but I can't take it if SQ's poor like Ipod. |
Where do you get the idea that ipod is a bad sounding player? Is it from head-fi? Because as I recall most people here think ipod is a rather good sounding device. Check around this forum yourserlf.
The Zen on the other other hand is not known by it's sound quality. If you want large capapcity and good sound the ipod is clearly a better choice.
DominicKarma
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Quote:
Had you read his first post you would have learned where he derived his opinion...here I'll quote it for you:
Quote:
dch0329 - Maybe you should hold off for the next Sony DAP if you're into the sound sig... it'll most likely be 16gb but they may shock us with a 32gb model...
| Originally Posted by sigsegv0x0B /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where do you get the idea that ipod is a bad sounding player? Is it from head-fi? Because as I recall most people here think ipod is a rather good sounding device. Check around this forum yourserlf. The Zen on the other other hand is not known by it's sound quality. If you want large capapcity and good sound the ipod is clearly a better choice. |
Had you read his first post you would have learned where he derived his opinion...here I'll quote it for you:
Quote:
| Originally Posted by dhc0329 /img/forum/go_quote.gif BTW - tried the new Ipod Classic (80GB/160GB) but was so disappointed. The sound quality of these Ipod devices were just unbearable. |
dch0329 - Maybe you should hold off for the next Sony DAP if you're into the sound sig... it'll most likely be 16gb but they may shock us with a 32gb model...
Quote:
I actually listened to IPod classic (my brother has it) and also tried my SE530 on Ipod Classic 80GB at Best Buy and I heard nothing but distortion for bass on most of sample Hip_hop songs.
| Originally Posted by sigsegv0x0B /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where do you get the idea that ipod is a bad sounding player? Is it from head-fi? Because as I recall most people here think ipod is a rather good sounding device. Check around this forum yourserlf. The Zen on the other other hand is not known by it's sound quality. If you want large capapcity and good sound the ipod is clearly a better choice. |
I actually listened to IPod classic (my brother has it) and also tried my SE530 on Ipod Classic 80GB at Best Buy and I heard nothing but distortion for bass on most of sample Hip_hop songs.
EEXO
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I actually kinda like how the Zen sounds. 'Warm' would be the word to describe it, its relaxing to listen to the Zen.
I tried out various DAPs and I would rank it below the Zune30 and iPod Shuffle 1st Gen and above the Nano Gen 1 & Gen 2.
For its price I think it's worth it
I tried out various DAPs and I would rank it below the Zune30 and iPod Shuffle 1st Gen and above the Nano Gen 1 & Gen 2.
For its price I think it's worth it
GlennSter
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as ive said in the other thread, i had the stone plus and the zen v in the past.
I also had the ipod nano, ipod video 80gb and an archos 404.
the zens disappointed me in terms of sound quality. If the new zens are made from the same components as the zen v, i dont think i would buy one.
side by side, same songs, flat eq..same headphones....ipod 80gb won it. my archos is similar to ipod if not a little better in the bass dept.
I also had the ipod nano, ipod video 80gb and an archos 404.
the zens disappointed me in terms of sound quality. If the new zens are made from the same components as the zen v, i dont think i would buy one.
side by side, same songs, flat eq..same headphones....ipod 80gb won it. my archos is similar to ipod if not a little better in the bass dept.
darkswordsman17
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Quote:
Well that's your problem there. Chances are they were not that great of quality (to be honest, most hip-hop songs aren't to begin with, especially the ones where they just loop a beat), then the iPod was probably EQ'ed (which is a big no-no on the iPod, although it can be used if you adjust your music down so that it doesn't distort/clip when applying the poor EQ). I'm not saying you won't still be disappointed, but I don't think you probably heard it at its best.
I'm doubtful the Zen will blow you away with its sound quality, but I wouldn't call it a bad sounding player either. I certainly wouldn't say the iPod is clearly the better choice (or that the iPod is exactly known for sound quality either).
| Originally Posted by dhc0329 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I actually listened to IPod classic (my brother has it) and also tried my SE530 on Ipod Classic 80GB at Best Buy and I heard nothing but distortion for bass on most of sample Hip_hop songs. |
Well that's your problem there. Chances are they were not that great of quality (to be honest, most hip-hop songs aren't to begin with, especially the ones where they just loop a beat), then the iPod was probably EQ'ed (which is a big no-no on the iPod, although it can be used if you adjust your music down so that it doesn't distort/clip when applying the poor EQ). I'm not saying you won't still be disappointed, but I don't think you probably heard it at its best.
I'm doubtful the Zen will blow you away with its sound quality, but I wouldn't call it a bad sounding player either. I certainly wouldn't say the iPod is clearly the better choice (or that the iPod is exactly known for sound quality either).
DJGeorgeT
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I heard this from a monkey, so it must be true:
oh oh oh, the creative zen 16GB sucks because it can't properly drive 16 ohm headphones and the bass is weak and not flat, let me show you the rightmark test results I always use when arguing with everybody in the world....on the other hand the sansa express is flat and sansa clip as well. Sony rules!!!
Ipod rules even though it also has weak bass with 16 ohm headphones cus it is coool! yeah cool! and who cares about distortion and hiss, as long as it is flat, that's all it matter...did I just contradict myself there? Samsung sucks for sure.
oh oh oh, the creative zen 16GB sucks because it can't properly drive 16 ohm headphones and the bass is weak and not flat, let me show you the rightmark test results I always use when arguing with everybody in the world....on the other hand the sansa express is flat and sansa clip as well. Sony rules!!!
Ipod rules even though it also has weak bass with 16 ohm headphones cus it is coool! yeah cool! and who cares about distortion and hiss, as long as it is flat, that's all it matter...did I just contradict myself there? Samsung sucks for sure.
Sony sucks, too becuase it only comes with tiny 8GB.
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