[Veggie_Musician]

I stand by my statement - the ZVM is not as good as other dap's in its class sound quality wize - its brill for the casural listener - but SQ is not as crips as iAudio or ipod 5th gen - all in all, its slightly soft and woolly. This is all subjective as some people would perfer a slightly soft fuzzy sound to a brighter player. What I find unforgiverble is that the ZVM is prone to distortion on some bassy tracks even without EQ! Sure you can put SmartVolume on, but that castrates the SQ.

I have read a lot of forums about this problem, but only at headfi and dapreview there seems to be people that think that ZVM can do no wrong! This site is becoming in dangour of becoming sheep like - if one sheep jumps off a cliff edge they all will - one or two well known posters have loved the ZVM and said its best - so all of us have to follow and agree!

I got slatted for bringing up a flaw and standing out from the crowd!

Have a look at creative forum for the MASSIVE thread about distortion on ZVM!!

My iPaq 4150 pocket PC with UM2's sound as good (if better) with MP3 Lame VBR V2 setting than my Marantz KI sig setup with Rega R3 floorstanders!

Put ZVM and 4150 side to side and theres such a gulf difference! Theres Just no real dynamics nor gritty bass nor detail with the creative sad to say.

 

[WhiteShadow]

I agree with veggie musician. I returned my ZVM for the same reasons. It had bad distortion(mostly from bass), and the random ticking sound in tracks. As soon as I find out that the problem wasn't a defect, but present in all ZVMs, I immediately sent them back to Amazon.

 

[Ploop]

i listened to my friends shuffle with my E4's...and frankly, thats the worst sounding player i've ever heard in my life. The bass is a faint pop, its loaded with hiss, and it sounds horrible. I don't know if the EQ was on or not...but their was heavy hiss.

The only apple product that sounds halfway decent is the 5G.

 

[Razoramus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ploop i listened to my friends shuffle with my E4's...and frankly, thats the worst sounding player i've ever heard in my life. The bass is a faint pop, its loaded with hiss, and it sounds horrible. I don't know if the EQ was on or not...but their was heavy hiss. The only apple product that sounds halfway decent is the 5G.

it was probably a bad quality file, the bass on my shuffle is some of the best bass i've heard and i get zero hiss, the shuffle has a reputation of being the best sounding iPod for a reason...

 

[ILikeMusic]

Quote:

Have a look at creative forum for the MASSIVE thread about distortion on ZVM!!

Really? Is it as massive as many of the countless threads on iPod forums complaining about the same thing?

 

[lip]

Well I have owned :
Creative Zen vision:m
Rio Karma
Ipod Nano

Listened extensively to :
Ipod 4G
Ipod 5G

So far, the best sounding player IMHO is the vision:m, followed closely by the karma.
I like the Ipod 5G better than the nano although both sound close and are not far behind the karma and vision:m. I heard the shuffle but I can't stand the whole shuffle idea so I didn't listen enough to it to make an opinion.

That being said, it's MY OPINION.

People don't bother listening to zealots like veggie_musician. It's just his opinion,not some gospel truth. The general vibe is the vision:m is up there with the best sounding DAP's. Maybe his vision:m was defective or perhaps he didn't know how to use it, or, perhaps, his hearing sucks...

Or...perhaps....his opinion is just different than mine...

Veggie_musician....please insert the "IMHO" as people wouldn't be so harsh on you if you did. You are not the god of ears and sound...

LIP

 

[WhiteShadow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lip People don't bother listening to zealots like veggie_musician. It's just his opinion,not some gospel truth. LIP

I experienced the same problems veggie musician did with my ZVM. The SQ was good, but the bass lacked any punch compared to other DAPs I have tried(Iaudio x5, Ipod 5g, Iriver u10, Samsung Yp2j, and archos gmini 402). It also sounded distorted with bass boost on.

 

[dmccombs]

Wow,

What varied responses... The Vision is great. The vision sucks. The Bass is lacking. These guys are zealots, those guys are zealots.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the input. I am just surprised that some of the people seem to take these player comparisons personal.

Persoanlly, I dont care who's label is on the outside. I just want the player that best meets my needs, and my primary need is good sound quality. When I turn on the car stereo and MP3 player setup, I want to smile because the sound is so terrific. That isn't happening right now mostly because of the lack of crisp base.

A lot of people love this player. I think that's great. A few people agree with my feelings about the base and offered some alternatives. I may swap the Vision for an Ipod Video and see if I like it better. I need to decide by tomorrow though.

Making decisions like this woud be easier if you could listen to the various players at the store. In my area you can't though. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Anyway, I appreciate everyone's input. Your comments have been helpful.

 

[GreatDane]

I have a ZV:M and love it. I do not however have experience with the many other daps mentioned in this thread, but this is my experience:

I have not noticed any distortion with bass. I've connected the Zen to my Woo Audio 3 amp and listened with my DT-880, AKG K240M & K240 S. No problems with bass. I listen with my E4 amped with a PA2v2 and the bass is very good, never distorted. The only time that I hear distortion is when the amp(PA2v2) is maxed out when listening to the K240S.

I use my ZV:M in my truck connecting it to my Eclipse HU and find that its SQ is not far away from playing a CD(not as crisp and dynamic). I have a couple 10" drivers in a sealed enclosure with a 350 watt RMS mono amp and I hear NO distortion with it pumping out 100 dB+. The bass with CDs is tighter with slightly deeper extension.

The only time that I use the Zen EQ is with my E4, and never bass boost.

Some people might hear distortion with their ZV:M ...I do not.

I don't recall if this has been touched on here, but are we talking about using the headphone out or using the line out?

 

[WhiteShadow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmccombs Wow, I may swap the Vision for an Ipod Video and see if I like it better.

I have tried the Ipod video and it also distorts with any kind of bass boost. But I have not really used it extensively to know if the bass is crisp without EQ or bass boost.

Like you wrote, auditioning the players is the best way to find what's right for you. I too, wish I could walk into a store and try all the players.

If you like the ipod video, then more power to you. I am still on my dap journey, hopefully the x5L will satisfy my needs.

 

[dmccombs]

Dane,

I am using the E4 earphones through the Headphone jack (no amp), and I take the sound out through the "line out" jack for car playback.

 

[dmccombs]

I am leaning towards returning the Vision tomorrow. I think for $300, the sound should WOW me. It just isn't.

Today I listened to my E4 earphones using my IBM laptop that has only a basic sound card in it. It sounded great. I think the laptop has an advantage in that I can use the 10 band equalizer in MediaMonkey.

The shuffle covers me for the gym and day trips.

I am going to Japan in two weeks. Maybe I will find something there, to use in the car.

 

[ILikeMusic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmccombs I am going to Japan in two weeks. Maybe I will find something there, to use in the car.

If you can't find something you like in Tokyo then you never will... never saw so many kinds of MP3 players in my life..!

 

[dmccombs]

Yes, looking n Tokyo may work out. MediaMonkey seems to work well with most players, so even if the sync software they provide is Japanese Language, thats no big deal.

In Tokyo, the stores actually have units out that you can try. Here in Albuquerque, the stores have a couple units out, usually ones that people aren't interested in, and they have no power connected. You can't try anything out.

When I bought the Vision M at Circuit City, they said they had no demo units. They suggested I just buy it and return it within 14 days if I wasn't happy.

In Tokyo, I just need to be sure there is an English mode on the player, and that the power supply is an International version, as the Japan Only products run on 100v 50 hz current, not 120v 60 hz.

I may try a 30Gig Ipod Video before I go though. I would prefer to do other things in Tokyo than shop for and setup an MP3 player.

 

[dbintoro]

My though of buying ZVM has ended and now I dun know what to buy anymore. Im looking for mp3 player which can produce deep bass. I want to use the Bass Boost but at the same time I want no distortion. The bass boost in ZVM and Ipod Video produce distortion.

Can someone reccomend me other player which does not produce distortion when Bass boost is set and has a good SQ