[shasty]

I personally think you can do alot better on the earphones.
I owned ep630's for a few months, and I'd consider them pretty entry-level.
Next level iems like im716, d-jays, shures, etc (based on your preference) will make a lot bigger difference in sq than upgrading from zen to sony's.

 

[ring_wraith]

News Flash!

I read the Cnet review of the Brand New Sony DAPs, the NWZ-A720 series, which is basically the A820 without the Bluetooth. Now I get a screen as large as the Zen, with waaaay better SQ,

 

[Amblin]

The NWZ-AXXX series has an excellent soundstage, which should keep things well refined and clear even when listening to rock and the like, and a warm signature to keep things from being sharp. You've made the right choice. And who knows, you just might like the bundled EX82s better than your EP630s.

 

[ring_wraith]

I know I'm going to like the bundled ones more than the EP-630s. I just love Sony's sound signature. I actually preferred listening to music on my w810i as compared to an iPod purely due to the warmth of the sound.

I had no idea they had a great soundstage as well. That's only an awesome plus. Music on my Zen+EP630 has virtually no soundstage unless it's really obvious in that track. And theres' a lot of sound leakage as well from left to right ear and vice versa.

 

[keiron99]

I've had an 818 for a few days now. Got it as a "freebie" using bonus points from my Sony credit card. I really didn't need it because I have a 4g Ipod but had nothing else to spend the points on.

Well, blimey. The sound quality is incredible. I haven't used the supplied buds (I have only used my own Shure E3 buds) but the best sound I have ever previously experienced is through my PC, Perpetual Technologies DAC (now departed) and my Stax Sigma Pro Signature earspeakers. And I kid you not, this little Sony stands comparison.

I remember years back I had a Sony WMD6C Pro cassette Walkman, then a DZ555 Discman. Back in the day, there was nothing to touch them. I don't know the current mp3 player market that well, but it would have to be a sublime player that beats these Sonys. They are an absolutely remarkable achievement.

If only they were 80gb plus...

 

[hakjk]

A818 is definitely recommended.

 

[ring_wraith]

Thanks hakjk!

That's it. My mind's made up. I'm getting the NWZ-A728 and selling my Zen. Bye Bye Creative, Hello Sony!

 

[RoadHazard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ring_wraith /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks hakjk! That's it. My mind's made up. I'm getting the NWZ-A728 and selling my Zen. Bye Bye Creative, Hello Sony!

Sounds like an excellent choice! For me the A818 is actually preferable to the new models, mostly because it's smaller and slicker (and cheaper). I have no real need for the larger screen, and other than that there doesn't seem to be much improvement. SQ is bound to be just the same (which is awesome), and Bluetooth (if the A728 even has that...?) I see no good use for as long as it doesn't allow transfering music from my computer to the DAP.
But the A728 is bound to be great (it's not worse than the A818 in any way of course, just a bit larger), and I'm sure you'll be very satisfied!

 

[ring_wraith]

The A728 is the A828-Bluetooth. Even I don't really see the point of Bluetooth, considering how rare and expensive a good set of Bluetooth Headphones can cost. I'd rather use my IEM thank you.

And no, you can't transfer songs from PC to DAP via Bluetooth.

 

[minusflo]

Please give us a review of the A728 after you have listened to them for a while. I have both the S616 and A816 and the sound signature of A816 is warmer and clearer on the mids based on my Sennheiser HD-497. The soundstage is mindblowing with the surround settings off.

Thanks.

Minusflo

 

[caelum7]

hey guys, i'll post my experiences on these two players from another thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by caelum7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i just bought both the creative zen and the sony a818 and listened to them all weekend. i could barely tell the difference in sound quality, with all EQ off using lame 3.97 192 VBR mp3's though shure se530's. honestly the sony had more strong, punchy bass presence but not by that much. the zen had better high end detail. in fact the difference between the two players was less pronounced than the difference between headphones. through my akg k518 or sony ex85 the bass was considerably stronger on both players. in a blind test, i could only tell the two players apart if i listened to the exact same song right after the other. if i let more than 60 seconds pass i couldn't tell the difference anymore. i can see why the sony has such a huge following, it sounds great, but so does the zen. i got the sony for super cheap ($130 for 8gb) but i'm going to return it because the GUI/rating/transfer speed is better on the zen.

the user experience of the zen is so nice. the menus are more customizable, more intuitive, there's a rating system, file transfers for me were 2-3x faster, the screen is gorgeous.

i will say this: the sound enhancement and clear stereo effects on the sony were nice because they sounded quite transparent. the zen, however, has a horrible bass boost that causes low freq distortion. however, the zen's parametric eq is quite usable to achieve the warmer default signature of the sony.

 

[chongy5]

I find the GUI to be absolutely lovely with the A818, and it is extremely easy to use and intuitive. I don't it customisable becuase it does exactly what I want, and everything is within reach almost immediately!

Mine has never crashed either, ever.

Ratings? I'll leave that to my computer and foobar2000 thanks

File transfers are definitely a problem, the A818 seems to take forever due to the WMP integration (even in the supposed 'drag and drop').

Of course slightly biased as I've only used and had the A818, but I hope my experience was of some use.