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 | Creative Nomad Zen Xtra 60 GB MP3 Jukebox $278.34  Click here for more information |
Customer Reviews
Creative's player almost perfect
I have had this player for a little over a year, bought originally through Amazon, and found it to be pretty much everything that I wanted. I have loaded about 11,000 songs (variably recorded between 192kbps mp3 and 128 kbps wma) into it and still have about 6gb of memory left, enough for probably another couple thousand. I have used it almost on a daily basis, more often than not I use it plugged into portable speakers, the sound has been excellent. I ditched the accompanying headphones early on in favor of better quality Bose ones, far more comfortable. I don't fiddle with the audio options much, just switch the advanced EQ to pop or rock and I'm set. I was never able to figure out the smart volume feature, the match volume worked fine if I ever wanted to use it but the smart volume settings for train, car, plane just seem unnecessary; as are the sound environment settings for cathedral, auditorium, bath room, etc., it borderlines on silly. Perhaps in a future version Creative can focus on sound quality and not sound effects. The Creative Mediasource and Nomad Explorer software included was easy to use once you figure out the basics; I especially liked the Nomad Explorer software, which allows you to use drag-and-drop to put the music from the player back into your computer (or another) and vice-versa. That was a deciding feature between buying this and an Ipod, the ability to transfer the music out of your player, something you can't do (at least not easily) with an Ipod. It also plays wma files, something that also can't be done with an Ipod. My only concern now with the player is the battery, while initially I had a good 14 hours of playing time, now I'm lucky to get a couple hours before it quits. Anyways I'm now looking for a replacement battery so hopefully I'll be good for another year, by then maybe I'll be ready for an 80 or 100gb version as I'm sure they're around the corner. Otherwise this has been a great player, well worth the money and much more practical than an Ipod.
Excellent quality/value for this product!
Don't believe the negative reviews. I have the 40GB Ipod of Apple and this Zen Xtra of 60GB. So I will try to set the plusses and minusses together.
It simply is such, that there is not super perfect mp3 player on the market today that combines only the plusses on both models, so if you are still looking for an as good can be one, I recommend both types. Its up to your taste. To me, they both work to my satisfaction. Isnt it incredible, to fit hundreds of cds in them without loosing soundquality?
The ZenXtra is a lot cheaper, but not less versatile. The very big plus is the search option (song, artist, album), with the scrolling wheel on the side. The Ipod 40GB does not have this option, maybe because the clickwheel goes very fast to the song you are looking for. Some like the clickwheel better, but the negative point is, that with a case around it you need the remote control to operate it, because then the clickwheel is covered. Not with the Zen, you can reach the wheel on the side also when the protection case is there.
Fair enough, the Ipod looks a bit more sturdy, and the Zen Xtra case is a bit more fragile plastic. So keep them in a protection case and you don't have to worry about damage anymore.
For both models, you simply have to make sure your music dbase is consistent: not Abba and ABBA and AbBA or so, because then it will place songs under those 'different'artists. There are a lot of tag editors for free on the net anyway, so it pays to do it right from the start.
Ok, the Ipod with 60Gb (which I have not) has colours, not the Zen, but the price is almost double! The screen on the ZenXtra is fine, blue, and clear. Both models (Ipod 40GB and the ZenXtra 60GB) are sort of equal in size and weight.
The ZenXtra has EAX, a system that can control a same volume for the songs selected, very handy!
Both models have good sound quality.
For software, it both worked for me. I have not discovered how to put data on and back on the Ipod, but I managed to put a DVDmovie on my Zen as storage in the datalibrary, and back again on my computer.
If I would have to buy a 60GB model again, I would always go for a ZenXtra. The only reason to go for the 60GB Photo to me is the colourscreen and the model which looks a little bit more flashy. But hey, it also cost money! Apple is not cheap.
Go iPod...
This is the 6th month with (or was) my Nomad Xtra. I absolutely loved the product and it was totally worth it... until now. I remember correctly that I didn't drop it even once, and I went extra protection for my Nomad. The cover kept popping off but I didn't care, putting it back on wasn't much of a chore. But the headphone jack went awol and I was in the middle of a song when it went totally blank. I thought it ran out of battery until I realized that I left a few minutes ago fully charged and ready for my day. Then I went everywhere online to see what happened and saw countless ppl with the same problem. I was sad. I lost hope in the product, I even tried calling customer service who advised me to "stick my headphone end into the jack and wiggle it violently" or "bang the jack against the wall." it scratched and scraped my player but i just wanted it to play. After a month of grueling I pondered whether to pay 175 bux to fix a product that wasn't really reliable, or buy an iPod 20GB. I went with the 20GB and to say it still hasn't had any problems. Go iPod or Dell, iRiver at least. Save yourself while you can.
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Last update: 06/18/2005