[gameboy115]

Hey, I just went to test around Zune player for its sound quality. I can't say I was not impressed with its SQ. Now, I got Sony A728 as my main player, but I don't think it is good enough

Any difference between 1 st and 2 gen Zune in terms of SQ? I happen to know some of Zune not having EQ function anymore. Is that somthign to do with software update, or just the difference between 1st and 2 st gen? Is there custom Eq except default one.

I may give it a shot later. I prefer Zune still having Eq to play around. I like any one who got love with Zune help me with this.

Let me be one of Zune owners

 

[swanlee]

The zunes have pretty good sound quality compared to almost any other DAP. For me the 1st gen Zunes sound much better just by having the EQ presets.

My wife has a 2nd gen Zune and I have a 1st gen and when I turn off the EQ presets they both Sound identical so it's the EQ presets that give the 1st gen units and advantage.

The removed the EQ from the second gen Zune because they said it drained battery life and they wanted a shorter signal path so they removed the DSP chip in the newer gen zunes.

Thing is the battery life in first gen Zune's was fine and you could always turn the EQ off and from my own comparisons they both sound the same if you turn off the 1st gen EQ presets so it did not help the sound quality of the 2nd gen Zunes it just removed features.

 

[gameboy115]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swanlee /img/forum/go_quote.gif The zunes have pretty good sound quality compared to almost any other DAP. For me the 1st gen Zunes sound much better just by having the EQ presets. My wife has a 2nd gen Zune and I have a 1st gen and when I turn off the EQ presets they both Sound identical so it's the EQ presets that give the 1st gen units and advantage. The removed the EQ from the second gen Zune because they said it drained battery life and they wanted a shorter signal path so they removed the DSP chip in the newer gen zunes. Thing is the battery life in first gen Zune's was fine and you could always turn the EQ off and from my own comparisons they both sound the same if you turn off the 1st gen EQ presets so it did not help the sound quality of the 2nd gen Zunes it just removed features.

So itt does not matter if I buy a 1st zune with last firmware, eq will be still there. Even I dun use Eq much, but I think that is better with Eq being there. Like sometimes I really want more treble to spark up song.

As far as I know, 1 st gen is having 30/80/120G to choose. I prefer 30g / 80G, 120G seems too large for me. How long the battery will last?15-20 hrs is more than enough.

 

[Ricardo Dawkins]

The only Zune with EQ even after all these updates in 3 years is the Zune 30. Unfortunately is battery life is just 12 hours with WiFi turned on and with low bitrates files.

However, Zune 80 and Zune 120 can get easily beyond 20 hours but come w/o EQ. There is not hardware EQ and it can't be done in software/firmware.

 

[Maxis]

As a Zune 30 owner i think you should be able to get between 12-14 hours with the wireless turned off (mine is by default) I own a black zune 30 and i have demoed the new ones with my (now missing super fi. 5 pros) I could not find much of a difference when the EQ is off .. HOWEVER .. considering the fact that the iems i mentioned above have slightly recessed mids.. The Jazz EQ preset came in quite handy in bumping up the mids without messing up the other frequencies. Myself and swanlee have refrained from purchasing new zunes due to the lack of an EQ in the new models.. Thats just unacceptable in my opinion. Ill just wait till they re include it in the next gen zunes.


Cheers

 

[gameboy115]

12 -14 sounds decent, but not good enough. That is I am really worried about , sometimes I got to tweak Eq to get the best out of some mid IEM,By the way, I got 5 pro too.

Thanks for Maxis, Ricardo

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricardo Dawkins /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only Zune with EQ even after all these updates in 3 years is the Zune 30. Unfortunately is battery life is just 12 hours with WiFi turned on and with low bitrates files. However, Zune 80 and Zune 120 can get easily beyond 20 hours but come w/o EQ. There is not hardware EQ and it can't be done in software/firmware.

Do you mean with wifi off?

Also, EQ is done in software on lots of DAPs, and the new zunes certainly have enough cpu power for it, but microsoft chose not to implement it.

I take issue with the concept that a 'dsp chip' was removed when they made the 2nd zune.

Zune 30 (and Gigabeat S) use the WM8978 which includes a 5-band EQ in hardware

Zune 80 and 120 use the WM8350 which doesn't include EQ hardware but does include four LDO voltage regulators, six DC-DC converters, two programmable LED drivers, and a single-cell battery charger. And a real-time clock.

 

[Signal2Noise]

Yes, my only gripe with the Zune is definitely the poor battery life.


Oh, and the fact ZunePass isn't available in Canada.

 

[gameboy115]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you mean with wifi off? Also, EQ is done in software on lots of DAPs, and the new zunes certainly have enough cpu power for it, but microsoft chose not to implement it. I take issue with the concept that a 'dsp chip' was removed when they made the 2nd zune. Zune 30 (and Gigabeat S) use the WM8978 which includes a 5-band EQ in hardware Zune 80 and 120 use the WM8350 which doesn't include EQ hardware but does include four LDO voltage regulators, six DC-DC converters, two programmable LED drivers, and a single-cell battery charger. And a real-time clock.

No SQ difference between 30Gb and 80G even they use different sound chip?

 

[tjohnusa]

I have a first gen 30 and get about 12 hrs of batt if I don't watch a whole lot of video...I just charge it that day after using it. As far as EQ goes I think it sounds great with no EQ I also have a Sony 4gig flash player and love the sound of that and I love the 2 user adjustable EQ settings. Getting back to battery life the Zune is still way better than my Samsung Instinct....POS

 

[swanlee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gameboy115 /img/forum/go_quote.gif No SQ difference between 30Gb and 80G even they use different sound chip?

I've done comparisons with lossless audio and I cannot tell the difference between the two with the EQ turned off on the zune30

 

[ottoyu34]

I think you can't go wrong with either, i would go for 2gen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Signal2Noise /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, my only gripe with the Zune is definitely the poor battery life. Oh, and the fact ZunePass isn't available in Canada.

Do you "lock" your zune when it is unused?

 

[VoLTaG3]

The newer Zune's sound crisper and more open than the older Zune 30's.

 

[Ares]

I agree. The Zune 80 sounded a bit crisper than my Zune 30. However, I think this came with some added brightness.

I cannot comment on battery life, as i have never tested it.

 

[Signal2Noise]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottoyu34 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... Do you "lock" your zune when it is unused?

If by "lock" you mean pressing the play/pause button until the Zune shuts off then yes, I lock it. I also use the hold button during playback as well as having the wireless turned off. I'm thinking part of the reason for the lower battery times is the higher bit-rate VBR MP3 files I use. According to the Zune FAQ the ideal battery life is derived from 128kbps WMA files.