[NewSc2]

Did a quick review between my friend's Zen and my iPod last night, using a V2 Supermini + Koss KSC35's. We queued up the same songs and A/Bed them.

Although the differences were very slight, we both ended up preferring the iPod over the Zen.

1. The Zen seemed to both of us to be a bit more dynamic in sound, but:

2. The high end seemed to distort a bit. This could have been because of:

3. The Zen, while paused, had a bit of white noise in the background. It's noticeable when nothing's playing in a somewhat quiet room (CPU fans and air filter was running).

This white noise may have caused the distortion on the high end. The iPod on the other hand had no discernable white noise, or at least not to such a degree that the Zen had.

Although I liked the build of the Zen better (seemed less-prone to scratches, which I hate about my iPod), the navigation wasn't as user-friendly as the iPod's OS, and the Zen was quite a bit larger than the iPod (33%?).

We were using the same exact mp3's - 320kbps encoded "The Dark Side of the Moon"

Disclaimer: This was just 1 iPod vs. 1 Zen. I don't know if the white noise is a defect on my friend's unit or not, but it was probably the root of all sound discrepancies between our units. If it weren't for the white noise, the Zen might have been a bit more dynamic, with slightly better highs and lows, but the mp3 was clearer on the iPod, so it was hard to compare. The difference between the sound quality, overall, is very minimal.

 

[stan23]

nice comparision..

I still think this whole ipod VS. zen thing would not even be the case, if people can try / use / hear them both at the same time.

It would be obvious who the winner would be.

 

[Watchdog]

NewSC2 - If at all possible, could you elaborate on the differences in the user interface? This is something that's fairly important to me as my wife will be using the unit.

It's a little hard to gain an appreciation for the user interfaces in an electronics store since the stores don't have any music loaded onto the players.

How much more user friendly, a little, or very significant difference?

 

[stan23]

the user interface on the ipod is bar none A LOT better.. that would actually be an understatement.

I gave my girlfriend the ipod and told her to figure it out.. it only took her about 5 minutes to learn everything..

it is very user-intuitive.. When I had my NMJB3, it was quite difficult.. you actually have to build a playlist within the unit before you can even play a song.. blah..

 

[xlifez]

Ipod better, hottt buttons, bigger screen, smaller and slim.


zen, Fat, small screen cheap interface

 

[dcfly]

Quote:

Originally posted by stan23 When I had my NMJB3, it was quite difficult.. you actually have to build a playlist within the unit before you can even play a song.. blah..

That's actually not true - at least not anymore; you don't have to create a playlist before you can play a song with the Nomad interface - although it does automatically create a "now playing" playlist of the track(s) you have previously selected. You can choose to play a single song, an entire album, all songs by artist, all songs by genre, and so forth. I found the interface to be quite well-done.

Also, one should keep in mind when comparing the two that the Zen is considerably less expensive than the iPod and provides very similar capability. In my opinion, the only real advantage that the iPod has over the Zen is smaller size... and the real advantages of the Zen are twofold: lower price and no embarrassing commercials that make one want hide behind the sofa until they're over.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by dcfly Also, one should keep in mind when comparing the two that the Zen is considerably less expensive than the iPod and provides very similar capability. In my opinion, the only real advantage that the iPod has over the Zen is smaller size... and the real advantages of the Zen are twofold: lower price and no embarrassing commercials that make one want hide behind the sofa until they're over.

I'll add a third advantage. When you need more space, instructions for upgrading the Zen to a 60 GB drive have been posted on the web.

 

[austonia]

you can compare the specs side by side at my website

anyway, I think between the Zen and iPod they are different, but equal. They are both very enjoyable and I don't get any distortion on either. iPod OS is much easier for non-technical people, but not as many options either. The Zen still looks brand new while the iPod has many scratches. I am upgrading my Zen to 60gb this week, 20gb (even 30 on the newest iPod) isn't enough. iPod feels much smaller/lighter and easy to carry around town in your pocket.

 

[NewSc2]

The price for Zen vs. iPod used to be a big deal, but now with the new generation coming out and the v2 iPods are being clearanced off the rack, the prices have come to almost that of the Zen.

 

[austonia]

the biggest difference now is capacity... 60gb Zen so I can backup all my Uber-mp3's

 

[scrypt]

Quote:

NewSc2 ululated: . . . with the new generation coming out and the v2 iPods are being clearanced off the rack, the prices have come to almost that of the Zen.

Spotted any good sales lately? I've been busily combing a leper's xiphoid process for the past few weeks and missed out on several bargains, it seems. The iPod isn't even listed on the Dell site currently and I understand that Best Buy has cleared their iRacks already.

BTW: What's going to happen when Apple finally names a product with a word that starts with an I? Will they call their upcoming garden-gnome-shaped mp3 player the iMp or the iImp?

 

[austonia]

iPod is still on sale at Dell, but only the 10gb ones, and no sale at the moment

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...tegory_id=5408

wait for 10 - 20% off

 

[dcfly]

Very nice comparison website, austonia; well done!

 

[scrypt]

Austonia:

Thanks for the Dell link to various mp3 players. No point in my getting a Windows-compatible iPod at the standard price. I'll wait for a sale, of course.

Quote:

Originally posted by dcfly Very nice comparison website, austonia; well done!

Big Aa:

Have you seen my comment on this thread? Your comparison page doesn't work using Mac browsers such as Camino or Safari. I haven't tried IE on the Mac yet, but I doubt that would work either. Your page needs a button to click on after the three models have been selected.

 

[NewSc2]

Quote:

Originally posted by scrypt Spotted any good sales lately? I've been busily combing a leper's xiphoid process for the past few weeks and missed out on several bargains, it seems. The iPod isn't even listed on the Dell site currently and I understand that Best Buy has cleared their iRacks already.

eBay? Also somebody in the Gear for Sale forum was selling a brand new 20GB for $330 I believe. A bit more than the $299 Best Buy was offering but not too much more.