questions about nomad zen xtra

[terrymx]

so my friend want me to recommend an hd player, and he want as cheap as possible. we narrow down to this player. i already know nomad players have a very good sound. he isnt an audio freek, so he dont need no FM or recording and all those side features. here are some questions that concern me.

do their HD/battery fail more often comparing to other players?

how long does the factory warrenntly last?

the zen xtra have replacable battery, if you buy one can you easily install it yourself?

incase of an hd failure/headphone jack stop working or something happen, how much does it cost for him to send it back to the factory to get it fix/replace?

thanks, and i just want to know specificly about this player, so dont say how it suck and get a karma or iriver instead.

 

[John Reeves]

Hi,

Very few hard drives have been reported as failed on Zens, it is not a known problem. In fact many people have bought a 30gb unit and have fitted a 60gb drive since this is cheaper than buying a 60gb unit.

The warranty is now 12 months on the Zen, the same as the Karma

The Zen battery simply slips in and out In fact the unit ships with the battery seperate and you have to fit it yourself

The headphone jack has been modded with new Zen units, the ones that have a case with a window

I've had mine for 5 months now and I am delighted with it. Just so you don't think I'm a fanboy, I've also recently bought a Karma. The menu and navigation system is better IMHO, although the Zen is very good. The Karma display is easier to read.

Hard disk lock ups can be a problem with the Karma so I got an extended warranty. Although as in all of these things only a small percentage have had problems and of course those users are very vocal about the issue, leading to an impression that this is a common fault.

Sound wise, I have yet to carry out tests, but the Karma has a more powerfull output and initialy seems to sound better. Equaliser on Zen not so good as the Karma.

Pros and cons

Line out from docking station on Karma, none on Zen
Small size of Karma
Disk on Karma only 20gb, too small maybe
No carrying case with Karma
Front navigation on Karma as well as side
Zen seems a little bit better in terms of build quality
No gapless or lossless playback on Zen
Standard software on Zen OK, but NOTMAD makes the whole thing a lot easier

Sound wise I thinl that if you are using low bitrate MP3's you will not notice any difference. I'm using LAME alt-preset-insane, and will be trying Ogg as well. I've only had the Karma a few days and went to a music festival the weekend so have not had the chance to play around with myn new toy properly - Still loading music.

I realy like the Karma, although I bought it for the FLAC and Ogg codecs, because I bought new cans and wanted the best portable sound source.

IMHO they are both excellent units and I hope the above info. will help.

Regards

John

 

[terrymx]

yes, thank you, it have been very helpful. i've talk to him about the karma too and i told him about the hd lock up problem and he seem to prefer something without that. it will also be taken into consideration.

 

[RooX]

one thing to remember is that ALL hard drive players can lock up if your not careful, or just unlucky. hard drive isnt meant to be banged around too much, sometimes they can survive a 4 foot fall, sometimes they can't.

The karma has recieved a bit of attention on this matter, but i think its wise to remember that a majority of people that post on the net, are posting bad stories as they want satisfaction, and they get it by bad mouthing a failed product, i know i havent had any problems with my ipod, zen or karma, and i never really post about them. If one of my daps were to fail though, i might post a question, or comment about that failure.

of teh 3 daps, my fave is the karma, very close to that is the ipod. The zen, although an awesome buy for the $, does drive me nuts in a few key areas. mostly the removeable front plate, they really should have used screws to hold it on, it constantly comes off in my pocket, and the battery falls out.. frustrating.

all threre are good buys, get the one that feels nicest to you, and does the most for you. and i would ignore the failure rates on all of them, just make sure to get an extended warrenty from a respected (lol) dealer such as BB, CC or future shop.

 

[GSTom1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Reeves The warranty is now 12 months on the Zen, the same as the Karma

All new Zen Xtras has a 1 year warranty. The new Zen Xtra comes in a heat sealed package (blister pack) and comes with a case with a window.

For the record, the Rio Karma only comes with a 90-day warranty. See the Rio website for more details.

RIO KARMA

 

[mehmehmeh]

I know you need creative or redchair's software on a computer to add songs to the zen, but what about using it as a hard drive? Will a computer with no software be able to mount it as just a portable hard drive?

does it come with a stand alone charger? If so in america does it come with a dual voltage charger (110-240v, i know the ipod does)?

 

[John Reeves]

Hi,

You cannot use the Zen so it can can be seen in Windows Explorer as an additional drive.

The power supply will work on any voltage, you simply need an adaptor plug. The lead is detachable from the supply, with a standard connection, and you can get a lead localy with the appropriate mains plug.

Cheers

John

PS Creative's favourite CD is by Robert Plant LOL.

 

[mehmehmeh]

one more,
can the zen be charged off of a USB connection or only through the wall/car adapter?

creative accessory page says "north america only" but says nothing about the input voltage. Could just be becasue of the plug....

 

[RooX]

has to be charged by the wallwart. no usb charging on either the zen or the rio.

 

[Max Minimum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Reeves You cannot use the Zen so it can can be seen in Windows Explorer as an additional drive.

Is that true even after you've installed Creative's software on your computer?

 

[RooX]

yup, even after creatives softaware is installed.

you can store files on the zen, but not as though its a mounted drive. you have to use their software.