Audio Reviews

i've had this mp3 player for a year. It takes forever to load and keeps skipping to the next track without me touching it. It seems like every Sony product I buy breaks!

I've owned this player for a week, and it's the first portable CD player I've owned. The greatest aspect of this little wonder by Sony is the battery life--I've played this all day at work, and played it more at home, and the batteries last a very long time! (I'd definitely recommend rechargeable batteries for this unit, preferably nickel-metal hydride.)

As far as playing MP3's, I'm very impressed with the ease of control and the quality of sound. A folder button allows for easy navigation, and a display button alternates information about the folder and tracks. My player does not skip.

All in all, a truly wonderful gadget for a person like myself, who likes to carry the entire Beatles collection on a single CD.

I just bought this thing a couple of days ago and all I can say is: Wow! When I bough this thing I had only 2 things on my mind no Rio Products! and MP3 compatible. The reason I bought this player is because my Rio 600 busted after only a year of operation (another reiview). I was torn betwenn an MP3 compatible CD player or an actual MP3 device. Based on cost, the CD is clearly the better option. A cd can hold at least 700MB, to get that kind of memory in a actual MP3 player prepare to drop at least [$$$]. Here is the coolest part, the player reads the song, stores it to memory and stops the motion of the CD! About 5 seconds before the end of the trak it starts loading the next song into memory! That's how it gets 24 hours of battery life.

As far as sound quality goes, its excellent. This thing actually sounds better than my Rio 600. The only problem I have with it is that the Bass Boost function doesn't work too well on the upper level (2 of 2). Other than that minor probelm, excellent.

I purchased Avia, my third Audio/Video setup DVD. This DVD is basically good for adjusting your COLOR and TINT. It includes all three color filters: red, blue, and green, which should have been given with ALL calibration DVDs. But this one has it all.

I didn't test my audio because I don't have a 5.1 system, but for video you should get this disc OR try to get those 3 filters somewhere else, instead of paying $30 on this DVD for them.

Overall, I recommend Video Essentials first, Avia second. I DON'T recommend Ultimate DVD Platinum.

This disc does a great job taking you through both the audio and video setup steps for your home theater.

The dvd menus are layed out nicely, allowing you to quickly navigate to the setup procedure that you want to perform.

The disc includes red, green, and blue plastic filters for use in calibrating the color level, which turns a job that used to be guesswork into a quite accurate yet easy procedure, all without lots of scientific test instruments.

The instructions are a extremely easy to follow. Each video setup section starts out with a description of what you are going to see and how you are going to adjust your video controls to make the correct settings, then shows the real test patterns. When done, you simply move on to the next chapter and continue the process.

Overall, an outstanding dvd -- Highly recommended.

Hey Marc Evans. How can we take your review seriously when you don't even know the right form of a word to use. It's waste of time not waist of time. At first I thought it was a typo but you made the mistake twice. First learn the english language, then tell us which DVD not to buy.

After further review I would have to give the Nomad II C a low grade. My son and I each purchased one and initially they were very good products. Unfortunately, the software was not reliable, and the product support less than helpful. We upgraded our system using microsoft XP, which is not compatible with the NOMAD II C,,so in order to download new music, we have to rely on another computer system that uses windows 2000 or 98. The size, weight,and sound is good, but it does have its limitations due to the software issues.

I got this little thing nine months ago, and it just now occurs to me to write a review for it.
First, notice: Yes. I like it. I liked it nine months ago, and I still like it now. But there are some things I don't like about it.
What I like:
1.) It's small. It fits along with the rest of mess in my backpack. It's only about 2x3.5x0.75 inches, right?
2.) WMA support. On a pair of headphones, you lose some of the quality you would on a GOOD set of 2/4/5/6.1 speakers anyway, so dropping to 64Kbps with WMA really helps a lot, with only 64MB plus a card.
3.) It's not CD-based. I never much liked those big things.
4.) WMP8/9 support. I don't like those programs, but they get really useful when I want to put an MP3 on my player when I want it in as a WMA. (Which is about ALWAYS.)
What I don't:
1.) Short battery life. Ok, it's got probably a good 10 hours. But when you listen to a LOT of music, it blows out pretty fast. Also, you're already down to about 2 hours left when the meter shows 2/3 power.
2.) No playlist suppport. Admittedly, with such limited space as 192MB or less it doesn't matter as much as on a PC, but it'd still be VERY nice to be able to separate MP3/WMA files by artist or anime or DDR MIX.
3.) The battery/card cover. It falls off all too easily. (Even though the rest of the player is REALLY durable.) Plus, when it is off, the clips that hold the cover in place break off as if they were paper.
4.) No defragging. It's, honestly, to be expected, but I'd like to keep my lists properly intact such that I can add a song without getting it put right smack in the middle.

I bought this player at the end of august 03.
I had been looking for a mp3 player for a while
because I am tearing my hair out on my long train
rides to college. After reading about 100 reviews
on about 10 different websites. i decided to buy it.
the price is well worth it. another bonus is that
it fits the same smart media card as my digital camera.
ok, the ups are thats it fairly light, and small, and
you can listen for hours on 1 battery. the sound quality
is excellent and the volume doesen't distort the higher
you put it. it's got a few other cool extra, voice, time,
5 preset sound settings and a custom one. the downs are
you can't continue listening to the music when going
through the othere extras on the menu. the software
is mediocore, i get a few error messages sometimes, but
then you just try again and it's fine.
overall, i am really happy with product.
and recommend it to anyone who appreciates
value for their money...

Before venturing into the costly world of MP3 players, I wanted to be well informed and researched almost every MP3 player available on Amazon. Flash memory is the most convenient type but as a good one (in terms of memory) can be [$+], I decided a MP3 readable CD player would be an excellent solution. I am very happy with it--although it has a few design issues, the iRiver iMP-400 certainly lives up to its hype.
The Good Stuff:
1. Tons of features to customize to your liking (languages too)
2. Beautiful slim design
3. Good sound (has an customizable EQ)
4. Back-lit remote which definately increases its readibility
5. Easy to sort through folders and lists
6. Has a radio (reception is okay)
7. Comes with rechargable batteries and has AC adapter
The Bad Stuff:
1. Awful headphones (I replaced them with the Sennheiser MX500)
2. Unless the hold button is on, the remote buttons are easy to push accidently as the remote itself is only about the width of two fingers
3. Remote control cord is too long (~30 inches)! With my headphones plugged in, I feel like an octopus dragging so many cords around. They tangle at every opportunity!
4. Most of the necessary options are on the remote, the main console offers no text
5. My player has only given me about half the battery life it advertises
6. Weaker bass (even with the tweaked EQ) so beware if you like rap, R & B, soul, etc.
7. Price ... is hard to swallow
8. Console can get warm if you play it for a while (I generally listen up to three hours at one sitting)
Still, a product worth recommending if you are looking for customizable features and slimness! If you just want something that will simply play the songs, I recommend the Sony D-NE710 ATRAC3/MP3 CD Walkman. It has better bass, plays Sony's ATRAC3 but has little else in comparison.

After much searching online for a good mp3 CD player, I decided that the iMP-400 looked like the right CD player for myself (unfortunately this was just a little before the release of the iMP-550). It had many features that appealed to me, and I have remained happy with it over the last 9 or so months.

On the upside, I have loved all the features about this player, with the ability to play mp3's, audio CD's, AND have the radio function to be the most prominent features. The svelte styling of the player has impressed many people, along with the slim size of it. I also have defiantly put it through its paces by taking it camping/hiking along with my everyday use. The layout of the remote control, although somewhat tough to learn at first, provides instant access to all of the important functions. Also impressive is the inclusion of many minor features such as the inclusion of an audio-out port to connect the player to a sound system (I have also used it to connect a second set of headphones to share music with a friend). Another is the ability to select the next track to be played with out interrupting the current song; this ability is still available during random mode. The fact that the player uses firmware has allowed updates to include new modes and features, and even a snake-style game!

On to the bashing section of my review:
One of the faults previously touched on by other reviewers is the time that this system takes to power up. When I want music, I want it NOW, not 30 seconds from now.
Recently, the remote control's center button stopped responding. By taking apart the control (and probably voiding its warranty) I determined that the cause of the problem was that the pin attached to the backside of the button to depress the capacitor had inadvertently snapped. Although annoying, the problem was easily solved with the use of some gel-like super glue.
The player turns off when it is connected to, or detached from, the AC adaptor, which means that I have to go through the long boot process again.
My final grudge (although not too much the companies fault) is that only non-protected WMA's can be played (something I only found out after I had encoded most of my music library with the protection on)

All in all, if you want a mp3 player that also plays your CDs, the iRiver series is as good as they come. But if you don't plan to use its ability to play standard CD's too often, you may be better off with a hard drive player.

Heres the skinny. The Cdplayer is skinny, the LCD controller can play game(s), excellent radio frequency and sound compared to other CD/radio players,-10/+10 track skip to shorten time to switch ahead.

Basically its a very state of the art CD/MP3 player. To the people that complains about short battery life, did you know that the battery included are only about 1/3 charged? I used it all, charged it overnight, and it lasted the promising hours it said it will. As for damaged headphone included or any other broken part are impossible. The SlimX come in a BOX, unlike other CD players which usually come in some hard-plastic covering. You probably bought it used if you have damaged parts.

The SlimX delivers what it promise's. Great sound, great radio, great battery life, and great protection with antiskip. And for the people that say there players cannot work on the first try, or skips alot, try turning on the ROOT fucntion, if you dont know what that is or dont know how, then you probably dont even own this product.

Before venturing into the costly world of MP3 players, I wanted to be well informed and researched almost every MP3 player available on Amazon. Flash memory is the most convenient type but as a good one (in terms of memory) can be [$+], I decided a MP3 readable CD player would be an excellent solution. I am very happy with it--although it has a few design issues, the iRiver iMP-400 certainly lives up to its hype.
The Good Stuff:
1. Tons of features to customize to your liking (languages too)
2. Beautiful slim design
3. Good sound (has an customizable EQ)
4. Back-lit remote which definately increases its readibility
5. Easy to sort through folders and lists
6. Has a radio (reception is okay)
7. Comes with rechargable batteries and has AC adapter
The Bad Stuff:
1. Awful headphones (I replaced them with the Sennheiser MX500)
2. Unless the hold button is on, the remote buttons are easy to push accidently as the remote itself is only about the width of two fingers
3. Remote control cord is too long (~30 inches)! With my headphones plugged in, I feel like an octopus dragging so many cords around. They tangle at every opportunity!
4. Most of the necessary options are on the remote, the main console offers no text
5. My player has only given me about half the battery life it advertises
6. Weaker bass (even with the tweaked EQ) so beware if you like rap, R & B, soul, etc.
7. Price ... is hard to swallow
8. Console can get warm if you play it for a while (I generally listen up to three hours at one sitting)
Still, a product worth recommending if you are looking for customizable features and slimness! If you just want something that will simply play the songs, I recommend the Sony D-NE710 ATRAC3/MP3 CD Walkman. It has better bass, plays Sony's ATRAC3 but has little else in comparison.

After much searching online for a good mp3 CD player, I decided that the iMP-400 looked like the right CD player for myself (unfortunately this was just a little before the release of the iMP-550). It had many features that appealed to me, and I have remained happy with it over the last 9 or so months.

On the upside, I have loved all the features about this player, with the ability to play mp3's, audio CD's, AND have the radio function to be the most prominent features. The svelte styling of the player has impressed many people, along with the slim size of it. I also have defiantly put it through its paces by taking it camping/hiking along with my everyday use. The layout of the remote control, although somewhat tough to learn at first, provides instant access to all of the important functions. Also impressive is the inclusion of many minor features such as the inclusion of an audio-out port to connect the player to a sound system (I have also used it to connect a second set of headphones to share music with a friend). Another is the ability to select the next track to be played with out interrupting the current song; this ability is still available during random mode. The fact that the player uses firmware has allowed updates to include new modes and features, and even a snake-style game!

On to the bashing section of my review:
One of the faults previously touched on by other reviewers is the time that this system takes to power up. When I want music, I want it NOW, not 30 seconds from now.
Recently, the remote control's center button stopped responding. By taking apart the control (and probably voiding its warranty) I determined that the cause of the problem was that the pin attached to the backside of the button to depress the capacitor had inadvertently snapped. Although annoying, the problem was easily solved with the use of some gel-like super glue.
The player turns off when it is connected to, or detached from, the AC adaptor, which means that I have to go through the long boot process again.
My final grudge (although not too much the companies fault) is that only non-protected WMA's can be played (something I only found out after I had encoded most of my music library with the protection on)

All in all, if you want a mp3 player that also plays your CDs, the iRiver series is as good as they come. But if you don't plan to use its ability to play standard CD's too often, you may be better off with a hard drive player.

Heres the skinny. The Cdplayer is skinny, the LCD controller can play game(s), excellent radio frequency and sound compared to other CD/radio players,-10/+10 track skip to shorten time to switch ahead.

Basically its a very state of the art CD/MP3 player. To the people that complains about short battery life, did you know that the battery included are only about 1/3 charged? I used it all, charged it overnight, and it lasted the promising hours it said it will. As for damaged headphone included or any other broken part are impossible. The SlimX come in a BOX, unlike other CD players which usually come in some hard-plastic covering. You probably bought it used if you have damaged parts.

The SlimX delivers what it promise's. Great sound, great radio, great battery life, and great protection with antiskip. And for the people that say there players cannot work on the first try, or skips alot, try turning on the ROOT fucntion, if you dont know what that is or dont know how, then you probably dont even own this product.

I bought this product a year and a half ago and so far have had to cash in on the warranty 3 times to get a replacement player. This was not after hard use- more like taking it to the gym 3 or 4 times. This product is a lemon- no wonder Intel is getting out of the business!

I shopped around for an MP3 Playe rfor awhile, and this one seemed the best bet for the money- as far as the car hook-up and stereo hook-up, among other things. It's worked great for me so far, with the only feature I don't like at all is being able to manipulate the songs once they're on the player. You can't change the track order, or move songs from the player to a computer. The Intel program basically sucks, but MusicMatch is okay as long as you know how to use the software. And that stupid blinking light on the charger... Anyway- a handy product overall. The interface is easy to use, and it's nice and tiny, but very strong. I've enjoyed it a whole lot.

I was initially quite skeptical of getting a portable MP3 player, as I already had a portable MiniDisc player, but the Pocket Concert put my fears to rest. The two main reasons I think this player is great are the memory and the amplifier. First, the 128 megs of onboard memory holds a good 2 hours of music at a really nice bitrate. This proved to be perfect for me, as I use it mostly while walking or going to the gym, which is usually an hour and a half activity. 2 hours is the perfect amount of storage time. Second, whatever little amplifier they used in the Pocket Concert, it's *great*. The sound is totally clear, and you can really crank it up with a decent pair of headphones and it comes out loud and clear, the sound doesn't go flat at all. There's very little background noise as well, it comes through very clean. The unit is well constructed, quite small, and I also like the docking station that comes with the Accessory kit (i've got it hooked into my living room stereo so I use the USB cable for the computer). All in all, this is an excellent player, and in my opinion well worth the money. I never looked twice at any other player, and i'm completely satisfied with this one.

Granted, I didn't want to spend too much on one of these. I guess I kind of got what I paid for. There is a splotch on the screen that showed up just two months after receiving it. ViewSonic totally ignored me. The battery stinks. The screen freezes so I have to reset the dumb thing. I bought this back in July of 03. I hate it.

I don't know if I could be considered a power user. But this pocket pc more than meets all of my needs. I've got a pretty big collection of contacts and my schedule is updated daily. I've used the pocket versions of excel and word and the note maker. No errors, no conflicts with my desktop. Its pretty smooth. I haven't taken full advantage of the Avant Go SW but from what I've used its pretty cool. To sum it up the main advantages I've noticed from this machine are:

1. Good display. Colors are crisp and you can make it as bright as you want. Mind the bat life though.

2. Easy to use. Its windows. I haven't had to reference the book or help sw more than a couple of times. Its very implicit and comes naturally.

3. Good speed. Turns on fast and programs load quick.

4. Easy as cake to sync. I've had issues syncing palms to desktops bfr. This required very little thought.

The complaints I have so far:

1. The batery has to be watched. Using it for a few hours at a time is taxing.

2. Its all plastic. I assumed the front was metal. Not a big deal really. I should have read the description closer. If anyone is assuming the same thing I thought you'd like to know.

Really, this is a good little machine for the money. I'm not sure you get as much from the palm m515. Prices change so I don't know what the cost val comparison would be but if you use your palm/poc pc to keep track of names, dates, notes, etc.. then this thing more than meets your needs and its slick too. I get a lot of inquiries. ViewSonic didn't skimp on the design or the quality control. A great entry level choice if this will be your first 'handheld'/palm.

I switched from a Palm V. What a difference! No eyestrain anymore. The screen is bright, the colors help with reading calendars, contact information and e-mail. With an add-in 256 MB SD card there is plenty of storage for music and documents. It fits nicely into a shirt pocket, even with the semi-hard case, and is light enough not to notice. It has been running very stably and so far seems surprisingly sturdy. I suspect that the HP iPAQ Pocket PC h1910 is similar but the specs show a lot shorter battery life. The Toshiba e310/e335 is also similar but a bit larger and the screen did not look as bright. The Dell Axim X5 is heavier and larger but can accomodate a CF type II card in addition to an SD card. Regardless of your choice, I suggest getting one of several utilities that are available to keep track of memory and battery charge on the Today page.

The LCD cracked while in my pocket with no drop or hit!
Sent the unit to HP and after bouncing around their customer service, I was charged $190 for the repair. Browsing the internet (unsuccessfully trying to find a cheaper repair option) I found several similar complains. It seems like the IPAQ4155 has a serious quality problem that costs 50% of the value of a new unit to fix. I am selling my unit as soon as it comes back from repair and will never by an IPAQ anymore!

I have very few complaints with my iPAQ. I've had it for about a month now, and using it in conjunction w/ my Bluetooth enabled Sony Ericsson T610 has been pretty sweet.

Like others have said, the battery life is nothing great. A little more memory would be nice as well. But the battery life and memory isn't sub-par; it's current with the market right now.

Another thing is the FileStore. Prior to this, I had the 1945, which has the same dimensions (.01cm smaller?) and similar feature set (minus Wi-Fi). The FileStore (an area of memory that isn't erased when if you must hard reset) is only 3mb on the 4155, compared to 13mb on my 1945.

I love the fact that it fits in my scrub pocket, and obviously the wi-fi is great. I have gone into Starbucks and connected so effortlessly that my email was synced before I placed my order.

If you get this (which if you want to have the ability to use WiFi, Bluetooth all in a PPC you should get this one) I would suggest getting one or two SD cards. I currently have a 256mb card, and sometimes it even feels too small.

One last thing: missing the CF card slot doesn't seem that important when you have the SDIO ability. I'm hoping to see more peripherals built using this standard in the next year.

I had been always curious about the Pocket PC OS and its usefulness and practicality on the PDA environment. I am now a believer and definitely prefer it over the Palm OS due to its ease of use, compatibility and similarity to the Windows PC environment. This also results in a faster learning curve.

Integrated wireless:
This was the selling factor, and it did not dissapoint me. I got it to work at home and at the office, where I connect to different wireless access points. The iPAQ allows you to create individual profiles for every connection, so there is no need to manually configure every time you switch networks.

Bluetooth:
This technology is becoming more common around airports, offices, malls and other places, although probably you'll need to incur in a connection fee. I have not tested this feature yet although my iPAQ recently came across and recognized a Bluetooth network on one of the airports I travelled to.

Synchronization:
The iPAQ supports Outlook (preferably 2002) for Calendar, e-mail, notes, file and task synching. The Active Synch software is included and required on your host PC in order to start synchronizing with your PDA. A maximum o 2 PCs (partnerships) can be established for synching. Methods of synchronization include IR(Infrared), USB(using the included cradle), WLAN (yes, you can synch wireless) or serial.
Word and Excel documents are automatically converted into Pocket PC format when they are synchronized with the iPAQ. The original document needs to be copied into the Pocket PC folder (Pocket_PC My Documents) on your host PC before performing the synch.

Internet:
In order to connect to the Internet, you are required to be connected to a network, be it WLAN or Bluetooth. There are a few interesting web links included with your iPAQ and you can add your own favorites as well. Navigations is similar to Internet Explorer although you are required to scroll up/down and left/right continously on web sites that are not mobile-friendly.

E-mails:
E-mail accounts on the iPAQ are setup in an almost exact manner as Outlook on a normal PC. By default, and in order to conserve memory, e-mail attachments are not downloaded, there's also a default limit of e-mails you can carry at a time. E-mails can be downloaded while connected to the Internet or synched using the methods mentioned previously.

What about games? Two games are included: Guess what? Solitaire is one of them! The other one is Jawbreaker, a very simple but extremely entertaining game. There are many web sites with additional programs that can be downloaded for your iPAQ.

Programs and utilities included:
MSN Messenger, Windows Media Player, Pocket Excel and Word, Pocket MSN, Microsoft Reader, Calculator, Terminal Services Client among others.

Security:
Password security is optional; there are two security options, a simple 4-digit number and a more complex alphanumeric password option. Wireless connection security is obtained using 64 or 128 bit WEP encryption. Obviously your PDA is as secure as the network it is connecting to. Setting up 128 bit encryption on your iPAQ won't work if your wireless access point is unsecured.

Time settings: Up to two different time zones are available at the same time.

Display:
Very clear display, sharp, easy to read text, adjustable text size and fonts in some programs.

Battery:
The iPAQ possesses a respectable battery duration. It obviously varies according to your battery saving settings. Reducing the default screen brightness helps as well as turning off the wireless access or lowering the sound volume.

Settings:
You can monitor memory usage and power consumption, remove programs, adjust backlight settings, align the screen, sharpen the text, etc.

Other features:
Voice recording: There's a button on the upper left corner of the iPAQ to start recording short messages or reminders, very handy.
MP3 audio: MP3 files can be downloaded and played on your PDA using Windows Media Player. A headphone jack is also available for your private listening pleasure. Memory is limited though, is not like you can have a CD full of music on your iPAQ, don't confuse it with an MP3 player.
Letter Recognizer - A very cool option where the iPAQ attempts to recognize your handwriting and converts it into readable text.
Block recognizer - It's similar to the Palm's graffiti recognition
Transcriber - It recognizes words written in cursive
Notes can also be quickly handwritten as if using the iPAQ as a paper Notepad.
Images can also be viewed using your iPAQ, and as with the MP3 files, you should consider the memory limitations.

Memory:
Additional memory can be obtained with Secured Digital (SD) memory cards. These come on 128, 256 and 512MB sizes at reasonable prices.

The HP iPAQ 4155 is a complete, full-featured piece of equipment, well worth its price.

These fit pretty well in my ears and are comfortable even after wearing them for 45 minutes.

The cord is a bit long, but you can always tie or wrap it up. I have some portable headphones that have only a 36" cord and that's too short, so having this one a bit long is better in my opinion.

They do a pretty good job of isolated the ambient or outside noise when you have them on and they do make you slightly more aware of your own body sounds like breathing, but it's not that big a deal to me at all. I like the fact that I don't hear car traffic or the sounds of others in the gym or treadmill sounds.

The sound quality is pretty good. It has good bass as well as treble. The sound is better than any other portable headphones I have. They don't have the quality of studio like headphones costing $100+, but I don't want to wear studio like headphones when I go out jogging or to the gym. These are quite light and have a very low profile which is nice for when I go out jogging or to the gym.

I recently bought both these and the Shure e3c in-hear headphones (which cost about six times as much). The Sonys are for the gym (where they will surely take a beating and eventually need to be replaced) while the more expensive Shures will be used for my daily commute on public transportation (a generally less violent activity).

I really enjoy both headphones, but they are sonically worlds apart. The Sony headphones are a bit easier to insert and sit more comfortably in the ear than the Shures, whose cables have to be looped up and over each ear, newscaster-style. When it comes to ease of use and physical comfort, the Sonys are simply better. Sonically, it is hard to say one set of earphones is objectively better than the other. The Sonys feature a very prominent bottom end while the Shures have tighter bass response and much more mid-range clarity. I would say the Sonys have been engineered to sound "hot" (lots of bass and treble) while the Shures were designed to sound more neutral. In places where a sense of energy is more important than nuance (e.g., at the gym or out jogging) I'd recommend the Sony earphones. For longer periods of more introspective, careful listening, the Shures can't be beat.

These earphones do what they're supposed to do: mostly isolate outside noises and deliver good quality sound at a low cost. The base is very good for ear bud/phone style speakers which explains the popularity of the Sony EX51 & EX71s.

That said, I'm not that pleased with their fit. I've spent the better part of a week fiddling back & forth between the different cushions and finally decided that for my ears I have to use the small size. The catch is that the smalls don't fit *that* well but the next size up is too large to get a good insertion.

All in all I'm satisfied of their value but would recommend seeing if you can find a friend with either these or the EX71s to see what you think of having them in your ears before purchasing. After using these for a week I can see them being used on the bus/plane, but for everyday listening I'm going to keep on using the Apple iPod earphones or just use a much better sounding set of actual headphones for about the same money.

Mine died (hard drive) in less than 6 months but the warranty only lasted 90 days. Customer Service was utterly unsatisfactory. Their solution was to send it in for repair, price $190 and wait (likely) 4-6 weeks. When asked for some kind of assurance that the new drive would not fail...something like a 1 yr warranty that they currently offer on the newer designs, I got nothing more than "these things tend to fail early."
The controls are an ergonmic nightmare and the software is weak at best.
Keep shoppng, this one is a disappointment.

This is my first mp3 player purchase. I had toyed around with an iPod at an electronics store and was almost sold on it. It was just so cool. But after thinking things over I decided it wasn't worth the price. So I started looking into the Zen. I was close to buying it when the Zen NX was announced, so I held out for it. I am sure glad I did! I was able to buy it for less than $300, but even for that it's an incredible deal. 30GB, incredible sound (according to professional reviewers it has the best sound of any mp3 player, including the iPod), well-designed navigation, and cool EAX features. Unlike some people, I didn't have any problem at all with the software it comes with. However, I had ripped all my software beforehand with other programs, so my ID3 tags and everything were all set. I only used Creative's program to upload them to my Zen. My only complaint with the player is the scroll wheel is a little hard to click. While the screen is small, it's sharp and easy to read and navigate. In short, this is the best bang for the buck. It's a good, convenient size, feels solid, comes with plenty of space for mp3s, sounds awesome, and is relatively stylish as well! Highly recommended for buyers unwilling to waste extra money on style (iPod).

This is truly an excellent player and a great value for money. The player is very pleasant to look at and seems much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye than the USB 2 version. The flip-type case coming with the player is very smart looking- it does have a flaw in that with the case fully closed, one cannot see the LCD screen. I feel that creative should have thought about this and made a slot for the LCD to peer through. The sound quality is EXCELLENT. However, you would need to get new headphones. The ones coming with the player dont do it justice. The player has the same EAX options as the USB 2. One of the biggest improvements is the software. The creative mediasource was a joy to use. The software was able to recognize the ID tags automatically and list each track by its respective title, artist, album, genre etc... This was a major flaw in the playcenter software. The transfer from the PC to zen was flawless. I was really happy with this pleasant improvement. The battery life is amazing too. I am getting around 12-13 hours with one charge. And of course the battery is user replaceable- a huge bonus. Eventually plan to get another battery for those long trips where u cannot charge. However 12 hours should more than suffice for a trip or your daily needs. All in all i think its a great buy and i am nothing short of very happy with the purchase...