OniVerde
Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 11, 2004
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I picked up a red S610 at CC today. After playing with it all night, I can say that I absolutely LOVE this thing! Originally, I bought a Zen Stone along with a JVC Air Cushion a couple days ago as I needed a small flash player and a pair of comfortable IEMs for studying.
The form factor and controls on the stone were great, click and drag was easy to use, and I love the folder skip function. It was lightweight, looked good, and CHEAP ($39.99). But the sound is just weak. Everything sounded like it came from a set of cheap $5 computer speakers you see for sale at discount computer shops. The sound was weak and muffled. At first I thought maybe it was the FX66, but I plugged in some Senn MX400's, KSC 75s, and HP460+pocket amp with no difference. It was the Stone, not the JVCs. At first I thought since it's for gym and studying I could deal with the mediocre sound, but then I noticed clipping on some tracks. At first I thought it might be a bad recording, but that was not the case as there was no clipping while playing the same track on my iPod.
Long story short, I returned it for a S610. First, it looks great. Very simple lines, with real buttons. (I hate not feeling the "click" when I press something") The controls are very intuitive. Browsing can be done by Album, Artist, Genre, Release Year, or Folder (which I find very useful). The LCD screen is sharp and the Sony GUI graphics are simple, but attractive.
Now, the sound. Well, needless to say it's MUCH better than the stone. I don't have golden ears nor do I have enough experience in hi-fi equipment to write an audiophile-like review. I do, however, listen to alot of music and do care about sound quality. Much more so than the average joe who thinks $5 ear buds sound great. (although...my MX400s did cost $5 and they DO sound great...) So after listening to them through Air Cushions, here's what I think of the sound:
1. Bass: Strong, smooth, and doesn't over power everything else.
2. Mid/high: Clear. The "muffle" is definately gone. Day and night difference between this and Stone.
3. Overall: To my ears, they sound great. As good as my iPod Video (whether that's good or bad, you decide. I think the iPod sounds fine.)
4. The bad: There is a sliiiight hiss when you pause the music. But it's only audible with the Air Cushions, and even then only with the music paused.
There are alot of other functions I've not explored yet. It plays video, has FM, and photo. Loading music to the player can be done through WMP or simple click & drag. There's also a EQ that lets you customize different frequencies along with some great presets.
Conclusion: It's a GREAT little player. Excellent battery life (36hr claimed), bright screen, intuitive interface, great sound, 2Gig capacity, video, photo,..etc. All for $99!!! What a steal.
The form factor and controls on the stone were great, click and drag was easy to use, and I love the folder skip function. It was lightweight, looked good, and CHEAP ($39.99). But the sound is just weak. Everything sounded like it came from a set of cheap $5 computer speakers you see for sale at discount computer shops. The sound was weak and muffled. At first I thought maybe it was the FX66, but I plugged in some Senn MX400's, KSC 75s, and HP460+pocket amp with no difference. It was the Stone, not the JVCs. At first I thought since it's for gym and studying I could deal with the mediocre sound, but then I noticed clipping on some tracks. At first I thought it might be a bad recording, but that was not the case as there was no clipping while playing the same track on my iPod.
Long story short, I returned it for a S610. First, it looks great. Very simple lines, with real buttons. (I hate not feeling the "click" when I press something") The controls are very intuitive. Browsing can be done by Album, Artist, Genre, Release Year, or Folder (which I find very useful). The LCD screen is sharp and the Sony GUI graphics are simple, but attractive.
Now, the sound. Well, needless to say it's MUCH better than the stone. I don't have golden ears nor do I have enough experience in hi-fi equipment to write an audiophile-like review. I do, however, listen to alot of music and do care about sound quality. Much more so than the average joe who thinks $5 ear buds sound great. (although...my MX400s did cost $5 and they DO sound great...) So after listening to them through Air Cushions, here's what I think of the sound:
1. Bass: Strong, smooth, and doesn't over power everything else.
2. Mid/high: Clear. The "muffle" is definately gone. Day and night difference between this and Stone.
3. Overall: To my ears, they sound great. As good as my iPod Video (whether that's good or bad, you decide. I think the iPod sounds fine.)
4. The bad: There is a sliiiight hiss when you pause the music. But it's only audible with the Air Cushions, and even then only with the music paused.
There are alot of other functions I've not explored yet. It plays video, has FM, and photo. Loading music to the player can be done through WMP or simple click & drag. There's also a EQ that lets you customize different frequencies along with some great presets.
Conclusion: It's a GREAT little player. Excellent battery life (36hr claimed), bright screen, intuitive interface, great sound, 2Gig capacity, video, photo,..etc. All for $99!!! What a steal.
