Zen Extra owners give me a quick rundown of + and -.
Nov 5, 2004 at 4:58 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 36

bundee1

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I think Ive found the player for me and it could be the Nomad Zen Extra. 40gb at $250 and Windows 98 and USB1.1 compatible. Any great features that put it ahead of the other players? Any things to be aware of? Should I get the extended warranty? Thanks
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 5:15 AM Post #2 of 36
When I bought my rio, I looked seriously at the Zen, and the positives were that it was cheap for more space, and the negatives were that it didn't have any kind of compressed lossless format like Flac.
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 5:25 AM Post #3 of 36
I had a zen xtra 30gb. I got rid of it within about 3 weeks. Though the price was right and it was nice having 30GB of storage - the included software was awful, and the user interface was even worse. Creative labs is a company to avoid - awful software, awful custsomer support, awful warranties.
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 6:12 AM Post #4 of 36
I personally like the UI of the Xtra. Yeah, the bundled software is pretty crappy, but it gets the job done. If you have everything properly tagged, it should be enough to get you by. It has very good sound quality, the ability to create and save playlists on-the-fly, good battery life, good price-to-storage ratio and a low price. However, the thing's basically a silver brick, which looks bulky and ugly as hell compared to the competition. But if you factor in the possibility of replacing the hard drive sometime down the line, giving you 100+ GB of storage, it's a very good DAP.
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 6:22 AM Post #5 of 36
Overall, for most people I can see the Zen as being a decent player, but I couldn't stand it. It's the first and last player I will buy that requires a software interface for loading music.
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 6:42 AM Post #7 of 36
Quote:

Originally Posted by Head Creep
I personally like the UI of the Xtra. Yeah, the bundled software is pretty crappy, but it gets the job done. If you have everything properly tagged, it should be enough to get you by. It has very good sound quality, the ability to create and save playlists on-the-fly, good battery life, good price-to-storage ratio and a low price. However, the thing's basically a silver brick, which looks bulky and ugly as hell compared to the competition. But if you factor in the possibility of replacing the hard drive sometime down the line, giving you 100+ GB of storage, it's a very good DAP.


My MP3s were perfectly tagged. I remember one serious problem I had with it was with foreign artists. The included software often simply could not transfer MP3s that had non English characters in them (ie Björk). That's just pitiful. Untrained monkeys write better software.
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 6:52 AM Post #8 of 36
Quote:

Originally Posted by Puddleglum
Yeah I am very happy to hear that Rio is doing away with the required software for the Chroma. Even though the software was functional enough, I dislike the idea.


Wait, new info has shown up about the Chroma?? If not, then how can this be known?
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 7:21 AM Post #9 of 36
I have owned a 40gb Zen Xtra for about 6 months and have had nohting but positive experiences with it thus far. The bytes-per-buck factor is great if you have a very large library you would want to have with you all the time, especially since you can upgrade it in the future. I purchased the Notmad software from Red Chair and it works like a charm for transfering files to the Zen. The sound quality is excellant, I'm pretty sure it is rated as having one of the best if not the best SNR's out there. As far as the UI goes, its no iPod, but its fairly intuitive and easy to navigate. The size/form factor is the biggest setback, but I usually carry mine around in a bag with an amp so its not a big deal. And if i just cary it alone in my pocket its not bad at all, it just doesn't fit the mold of the more stylish players out there, and its really not that big. Overall, I like it a lot and definately recommend it.
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 2:43 PM Post #11 of 36
Wait there is a headphone jack problem? What kind of problem?
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 2:51 PM Post #12 of 36
Quote:

Originally Posted by nleahcim
I had a zen xtra 30gb. I got rid of it within about 3 weeks. Though the price was right and it was nice having 30GB of storage - the included software was awful, and the user interface was even worse. Creative labs is a company to avoid - awful software, awful custsomer support, awful warranties.


This is completely inaccurate! True, Creative Labs is not the most adept at making streamlined software. Though it is not that bad, you always have the option of getting Notmad Explorer. Creative Labs has decent customer support that is American based and generally responsive to your needs. It is not outsourced like other companies. The few times I have had to deal with them have been quite positive. Also, Creative Labs offers one-year warranties on all of its mp3 players now. That is on par with most of the other mp3 manufacturers.

biggrin.gif
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 3:00 PM Post #13 of 36
Quote:

Originally Posted by bundee1
Wait there is a headphone jack problem? What kind of problem?


On early releases of the Zen Xtra (around Winter 2004), the headphone jack on some units would break (either one or both channels would go out). This problem has been resolved and all new Zen Xtras come with a reinforced headphone jack. All new Zen Xtras come in heat-sealed blister packaging and some with a carrying case that has a window for the screen.

If you go to the Creative Labs user forum (Nomadness.Net), you see that the headphone jack is really not a issue anymore.

tongue.gif
 
Nov 5, 2004 at 3:06 PM Post #14 of 36
Quote:

Originally Posted by IstariAsuka
Wait, new info has shown up about the Chroma?? If not, then how can this be known?


Think the poster meant to reference the Carbon? Chroma is still mythical and, according to some here, will end up being thought of along with Big Foot and the Loch Ness monster.
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Nov 5, 2004 at 4:08 PM Post #15 of 36
I thought my Zen Xtra was awful as well. First, the software for transferring was terrible. I did buy notmad, which made it much better, but that is totally unacceptable that it requires me to buy 3rd party software so the product works properly. Next, the build quality isn't all that great. If you've every held the ipod, it feels solid and sturdy. Not the Xtra. THe Xtra is ligher and flimsy, the front sags under pressure from your thumb and worst of all the front panel always pops out because the catch at the bottom was too loose. The user interface was terrible - it was very slow, got faster after a firmware update, but still lagged behind, as well as taking a long time, not to mention a frustrating time, to find any song or browse your collection. The thumb dial thing on the side is frustrating because it is small and it is a rocker dial - you have to push down tonnes of times to scroll a bunch. It would have been better for a scrolly dial instead. The unit is a fair bit larger than the ipod, has no remote control, and has a pretty poor case design (no window, cant plug the charger in with the case closed, button that closes the case was difficult to snap and unsnap). Last of all, my unit had a intermittant problem; every so often one channel would start distorting and clip the music - the unit had to be switched off for 2 minutes or reset to fix it. And my headphone jack broke - my fault but shouldn't have broken so easily.

As for pros, it was cheap when it first came out in relation to the ipod. Now that the ipod has reduced prices, the allure of the zen is simply not there.
 

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