Creative Zen 4GB or Sony NWZA816B 4GB

Conrad11

Conrad11

Conrad11

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Joined
12 Jun 2005
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Well I'm buying a new MP3 player next week to take on holiday and I have narrowed it down to these choices:

Creative Zen 4GB - £55 delivered.
Sony NWZA816B 4GB - £68 delivered.

I know the sony one is quite highly regarded on these forums, but I haven't read much about the ZEN. I am tempted by the zen over the sony for a few reasons:

1. Cheaper, the extra £13 can get me half a night a spoons :p
2. Has a SD card so i can add space when needed and considered SD cards are dirt cheap...
3. Has a larger 2.5" screen, i know its only half an inch...but it's the same size as the ipod classic screen which i have watched movies on before, so there will be no supprises when it comes to screen size.
4. Can play XVID, which means i don't have to re-encode my movies right - it will just scale down my current XVID encodes?

I know you will probably say "but the sony has better sound quality", whilst that is probably true, I am no audiophile and will be using my Creative EP-630 earphones with the mp3 player. I currently use a Creative Zen Stone which i am pretty happy with.

So - whilst you may think "you have already answered your own question", i was just wondering peoples thoughts and for current ZEN users - are you happy with it? any problems /things that annoy you?

Thanks.
 
Hahah, I had already typed out half a sentance when I read your final one. Erm I own the Sony one (mine doesn't have the "b" at the end though) - if I hadn't been somebody who rates sound quality over anything else in a MP3 player or wanted something else from it then I would recommend the Creative player everytime.

It's unlikely to be a totally shoddy piece of hardware, probably equally well built as the Sony. I don't know what Creative's support is like for MP3 players, if it's anything like how it is for some soundcard customers then you're in trouble.

I'm not sure on the movie front with the Sony. There is another review out on these forums by a guy called "ChronicTank" I think, who noted quite annoyingly that in order to view different formats you may have to pay a slight surcharge/subscription charge which is a negative point if this is one of your main uses. I personally wouldn't use either player for films, I know you have an extra half an inch on creative. But is it really going to be an enjoyable experience viewing it on a screen that small? Never tried it myself, but something to think about.
 
Greenlizard0 said:
I know you have an extra half an inch on creative. But is it really going to be an enjoyable experience viewing it on a screen that small? Never tried it myself, but something to think about.
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Well I used to watch episodes of scrubs and other tv series which are in that aspect ratio on the ipod classic or ipod video which have the same size screen, so it is more than acceptable for me...

I think its creative for me then, unless someone has something damming against the player to say....lol :s
 
I got a "Philips SA6085 8GB MP3 Player with Tuner" for £49.99 from a high street catalogue shop for my hols and it does everything i need.

MP3s, radio, WMV videos

Comes with converter software etc, though it is drag and drop, it doesnt put the mp3 tags in, so you must use WMP to synch, though its not a major issue and works well. Videos are just drag and drop.

Main gripe is that you cant come back and watch something from a certan point, you must re-watch and ffwd, though im not sure if this is exclusive to this player. All in all a reasonable player at a good price. For the amount of time I use it (work occasionally, gym and holidays) I didnt want to spend too much and it does the job !
 
Conrad11 said:
I decided to go with the zen, will write a review when i get it :)
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Heh - good effort mate. I've written a few comments about the Sony one I got last week, but it's bigger brother was reviewed recently so don't know if anybody wanted it. Still yours is different so go for it - there should be a few good templates around :)
 
I had a zen about 2 months ago, was absolutely fine until it gave up and wouldn't turn on a week later, got a replacement and then it happened again.
 
Doesn't the Zen have a messed up filing system? Something like not being able to easily access videos/music from the SD card.
 
Owned both the zen and the sony -

Sony = Merc
Zen = Ford

Sony is better in every area - sound build etc the one onforgivable thing about the zen is when you up the bass it distorts badly! Anyway the the zen bass set on max is like the sony set on zero (minus the distortion). I also find the Zen sound a bit "hollow" its missing something - the sony's is more direct, warm but dry.

To the OP, please please cancel your order and spend that extra £13 - its worth it.
 
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Tomsk said:
Doesn't the Zen have a messed up filing system? Something like not being able to easily access videos/music from the SD card.
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I am aware of this - apparently they have/are going to release a new firmware to sort this out


TheRedZealot said:
I had a zen about 2 months ago, was absolutely fine until it gave up and wouldn't turn on a week later, got a replacement and then it happened again.
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schizo220168 said:
i love my sony and would never get another creative again.
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Vegetarian said:
To the OP, please please cancel your order and spend that extra £13 - its worth it.
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Lol....you wait until i've ordered and i get some replies :p......it's already on its way so i cba to cancel now.

Oh well, you win some, you loose some.
 
Vegetarian said:
the one onforgivable thing about the zen is when you up the bass it distorts badly!
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wouldnt this be because of your earphones rather than the player? i have the older zen and some cx300, there aint no distortion here, im guessin the sound output of the new zen is pretty much the same as the old one.

whichever you go for your gonna get a decent player.
 
taz488 said:
wouldnt this be because of your earphones rather than the player? i have the older zen and some cx300, there aint no distortion here, im guessin the sound output of the new zen is pretty much the same as the old one.
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You dont know Vegetarian do you ;)

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
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