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Creative ZEN 8GB MP3 Player
See it at Amazon.co.uk for £120.00Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
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**** Use it sensibly for a satisfying experience. Here's how ****
(4 out of 5) by Brilliance on Jun 29, 2008Right. Now for a more "user" perspective review. A review for people who will actually want to use this product the way it is meant to be. There are far too many negative reviews and some over-the-top positive reviews that really make buying this product more like buying a car on a wing and a prayer, hoping that it lasts out the depreciation. This turns out to be a lengthy review since I have spent some time using and abusing this player to establish the best way to use it resulting in a rewarding / satisfying experience. So dig in.
***** The Likes:
1. Small (not tiny) music player with photo and radio capability. No, seriously you don't want to watch feature length films on this, the odd YouTube flick maybe. The reason for this follows later.
2. Easy navigation buttons (rocker style) and are not flimsy as has been grandly claimed in other reviews here. Mostly if you stick to playing properly constructed playlists and the albums, you would not have to fiddle around with the buttons as much.
3. Crisp, clear sound but don't expect Dolby surround sound effects unless you have actually encoded the music using Dolby or THX or similar software. The EQ feature will help you tune the music to you taste. Good cans like the ones from Sennheiser or Grado will make a big difference to the listening experience. I am not trying to do a product promo here, but making the point that good headphones do make a significant difference to the listening experience.
4. SDHC support. Upto 16GB of external memory ought to be about the limit to which this player can take. Anymore and the firmware will start to strain. So with 16GB of additional storage over this player's inbuilt 8 GB and I have more than enough of all the music I need to hear on the go.
Besides there is not need to carry each and every one of my MP3's just because I can. We don't carry all out CD's with our CD player when on a holiday so why carry the excess baggage?
***** The Dislikes:
1. Radio can be used only with bundled headphones which act as an antenna (at least on my piece, I couldn't get reception with my personal cans plugged in). This is a shame because the bundled phones are not great sounding.
2. Memory card data cannot be logically structured the way it is stored on the player. So it's rather less intuitive.
3. Finger smudge magnet. Well this is solved with a screen protector. I won't recommend the extra accessories like the leather case or the clear case as this will double the size of the player, quite the opposite of the reason why I bought the Zen in the first place (small size). Just hold it nicely and wipe it regularly using a lint free cloth.
***** Myths vs. Reality *****
1. WSOD - Well documented problem of white screen of death. Fortunately I haven't faced it and most people won't either. The Zen's sold these days are preloaded with the latest firmware and together with the mass production of so many millions of players; Creative is also getting the hardware in top shape.
In case you do face the problem, the solution is to reinstall the firmware and use the Zen recovery tool from Creative's website. (All this is explained nicely in the FAQ's on the website). This does work well as I have used it before on the Zen MUVO. So this problem is being magnified by the negative reviewers many times over. The solution is there and it is pretty straight forward.
2. The Big Freeze - Again well documented. The player freezes intermittently and has to be reset. Now here's to all the people out there. I am a software designer and created many a multi-tasking software so here's some advice. Don't overload the player. It's best to leave it at about 90-92% capacity at the most. Softwares are but arrangements of 1's and 0's so if you stuff the player, it's going to seize. Much like your operating system. After a point overloading it to the brim of bursting is seriously going to compromise performance. This relates back to the first point I made about the videos. You seriously don't won't to watch movies on this piece. If you really want all that jungle juice go for a more expensive PMP like the Cowon A3 or the Archos 605. Don't simply buy this player, stuff it and then moan that it does not perform. Obviously it won't.
3. Albums/tracks appear in random order - No they don't if you take the pains of tagging the MP3's properly. If your tags are sloppy, the player is just going to tell you that you are sloppy.
4. No mains charger - Don't need one. The mini USB does the trick. Again, remember this is a portable media player to listen to music when out and about and not your mega bucks hi-fi system. I hope after you are out and about you will return to civilization. Just plug it in to the USB on your PC/Mac and recharge.
5. Reset button is way too small - Of course it's got to be small or you'll accidentally keep pressing and resetting the player and then complaining that its way too large.
6. Bundled software is too slow - You don't have to use the bundled software. Connect the player using USB and it will appear as a media storage device on your PC/Mac. Just copy and paste the music. I don't recommend drag-n-drop as this leaves behind cached information on your machine which is not much fun to have (techies will relate to this).
-------
So the bottom line is, use this player sensibly and in the manner in which it was meant to be used and you will be amply rewarded. Overloading will lead to trouble. Most problems can also be fixed with updating the firmware (latest is 1.21.01) and using the recovery tool.
Create proper playlists and tag the music correctly for ease of playback.
Hope this review clears some negative air over this otherwise genuinely good piece of kit. I am giving it 4.5 stars as it could be better and because no player out there is perfect enough to merit a 5 star.
I was reviewing the 8 GB version and later used my friend's 16GB version in put it thru its paces and got similar results. So this applies to all versions and maybe to all similar MP3 players in the market.
***** The Likes:
1. Small (not tiny) music player with photo and radio capability. No, seriously you don't want to watch feature length films on this, the odd YouTube flick maybe. The reason for this follows later.
2. Easy navigation buttons (rocker style) and are not flimsy as has been grandly claimed in other reviews here. Mostly if you stick to playing properly constructed playlists and the albums, you would not have to fiddle around with the buttons as much.
3. Crisp, clear sound but don't expect Dolby surround sound effects unless you have actually encoded the music using Dolby or THX or similar software. The EQ feature will help you tune the music to you taste. Good cans like the ones from Sennheiser or Grado will make a big difference to the listening experience. I am not trying to do a product promo here, but making the point that good headphones do make a significant difference to the listening experience.
4. SDHC support. Upto 16GB of external memory ought to be about the limit to which this player can take. Anymore and the firmware will start to strain. So with 16GB of additional storage over this player's inbuilt 8 GB and I have more than enough of all the music I need to hear on the go.
Besides there is not need to carry each and every one of my MP3's just because I can. We don't carry all out CD's with our CD player when on a holiday so why carry the excess baggage?
***** The Dislikes:
1. Radio can be used only with bundled headphones which act as an antenna (at least on my piece, I couldn't get reception with my personal cans plugged in). This is a shame because the bundled phones are not great sounding.
2. Memory card data cannot be logically structured the way it is stored on the player. So it's rather less intuitive.
3. Finger smudge magnet. Well this is solved with a screen protector. I won't recommend the extra accessories like the leather case or the clear case as this will double the size of the player, quite the opposite of the reason why I bought the Zen in the first place (small size). Just hold it nicely and wipe it regularly using a lint free cloth.
***** Myths vs. Reality *****
1. WSOD - Well documented problem of white screen of death. Fortunately I haven't faced it and most people won't either. The Zen's sold these days are preloaded with the latest firmware and together with the mass production of so many millions of players; Creative is also getting the hardware in top shape.
In case you do face the problem, the solution is to reinstall the firmware and use the Zen recovery tool from Creative's website. (All this is explained nicely in the FAQ's on the website). This does work well as I have used it before on the Zen MUVO. So this problem is being magnified by the negative reviewers many times over. The solution is there and it is pretty straight forward.
2. The Big Freeze - Again well documented. The player freezes intermittently and has to be reset. Now here's to all the people out there. I am a software designer and created many a multi-tasking software so here's some advice. Don't overload the player. It's best to leave it at about 90-92% capacity at the most. Softwares are but arrangements of 1's and 0's so if you stuff the player, it's going to seize. Much like your operating system. After a point overloading it to the brim of bursting is seriously going to compromise performance. This relates back to the first point I made about the videos. You seriously don't won't to watch movies on this piece. If you really want all that jungle juice go for a more expensive PMP like the Cowon A3 or the Archos 605. Don't simply buy this player, stuff it and then moan that it does not perform. Obviously it won't.
3. Albums/tracks appear in random order - No they don't if you take the pains of tagging the MP3's properly. If your tags are sloppy, the player is just going to tell you that you are sloppy.
4. No mains charger - Don't need one. The mini USB does the trick. Again, remember this is a portable media player to listen to music when out and about and not your mega bucks hi-fi system. I hope after you are out and about you will return to civilization. Just plug it in to the USB on your PC/Mac and recharge.
5. Reset button is way too small - Of course it's got to be small or you'll accidentally keep pressing and resetting the player and then complaining that its way too large.
6. Bundled software is too slow - You don't have to use the bundled software. Connect the player using USB and it will appear as a media storage device on your PC/Mac. Just copy and paste the music. I don't recommend drag-n-drop as this leaves behind cached information on your machine which is not much fun to have (techies will relate to this).
-------
So the bottom line is, use this player sensibly and in the manner in which it was meant to be used and you will be amply rewarded. Overloading will lead to trouble. Most problems can also be fixed with updating the firmware (latest is 1.21.01) and using the recovery tool.
Create proper playlists and tag the music correctly for ease of playback.
Hope this review clears some negative air over this otherwise genuinely good piece of kit. I am giving it 4.5 stars as it could be better and because no player out there is perfect enough to merit a 5 star.
I was reviewing the 8 GB version and later used my friend's 16GB version in put it thru its paces and got similar results. So this applies to all versions and maybe to all similar MP3 players in the market.
90 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
Creative ZEN is an iPOD Killer!
(5 out of 5) by Iain M. Maxwell on Jan 26, 2008 (Edinburgh)This is an amazing MP3 player that is much better than the equivalent iPod Nano for so many different reasons:
1. Sound Quality: To be fair to iPod, the Zen is just as good in this department as both devices have excellent sound quality.
2. Video Quality: The Zen display is excellent with crystal clear images and is just large enough to allow you to become immersed in the TV-Show or Movie that you are watching. Much better than the iPod for image quality and size. The only downside is that movies need to be trans-coded to play on the player with either the application Creative provide or a Third Party tool which does take a long time. But the range of support for different video formats is good and again better than the iPods.
3. Extra Features: The Microphone, FM Radio & Organiser are all nice touches although I have never used the organiser on any of Creative's products. Since the iPod doesn't have a Microphone or Radio the Zen wins again even though the iPod does have games, which I have no interest in.
4. Photos: Both devices display your photos adequately but again the Zen wins due to its larger clearer display.
5. Expandability: The iPod has no expansion capability but the Zen has the SD slot which can also take SDHC cards. I personally have a 8Gb SDHC card in my player (giving me a total of 24Gb of space) and it is an excellent feature that allows you to fill up this great player with more media. Some people do not like the fact that it doesn't integrate the content on the SD card with the players own internal memory in the UI but to be honest it's no big deal given the expandability that you get!
6. Looks & Build Quality: Even though I am a long time Creative fan I have to admit that Apple have always produced great looking devices, Creative aren't far short with this sexy looking player. The iPod also wins in the build department as some might complain about the Zen's flimsy controls and lightweight plastic case but so far I've found the Zen to be quite sturdy as I've dropped it several times until I got a decent skin for it.
7. Use-ability: Both devices are very easy to use with excellent menu navigation to your media. Although the iPod has the still innovative slider the Zen does just as good a job but without the gimmick.
8. Size & Weight: The Zen is the same size as a credit card but almost 10mm thick but it's still really small. It's also really light which is great for sport. The iPod is smaller and slimmer but given that both are so small I prefer the Zen as you get the bigger screen.
As you can see the Zen is a great player and a worthy adversary to the iPod nano, if not in fact a better choice on the whole for your portable media player.
Also get your player upgraded to the latest firmware (1.20.02e) and you can copy from the SD card to the Zen's internal memory.
Finally, a real bug-bear of mine about this player had been the lack of remote control for it when you are running or in the gym. The remote I had for my old Microphoto didn't work with it. But on a recent trip to Singapore I went to the Creative shop and they provided me with a remote which looks exactly like the one they have for the Microphoto. It's part number is DAA-WR0006 for those of you who need this feature.
Another excellent iPod kickin' player from Creative!
1. Sound Quality: To be fair to iPod, the Zen is just as good in this department as both devices have excellent sound quality.
2. Video Quality: The Zen display is excellent with crystal clear images and is just large enough to allow you to become immersed in the TV-Show or Movie that you are watching. Much better than the iPod for image quality and size. The only downside is that movies need to be trans-coded to play on the player with either the application Creative provide or a Third Party tool which does take a long time. But the range of support for different video formats is good and again better than the iPods.
3. Extra Features: The Microphone, FM Radio & Organiser are all nice touches although I have never used the organiser on any of Creative's products. Since the iPod doesn't have a Microphone or Radio the Zen wins again even though the iPod does have games, which I have no interest in.
4. Photos: Both devices display your photos adequately but again the Zen wins due to its larger clearer display.
5. Expandability: The iPod has no expansion capability but the Zen has the SD slot which can also take SDHC cards. I personally have a 8Gb SDHC card in my player (giving me a total of 24Gb of space) and it is an excellent feature that allows you to fill up this great player with more media. Some people do not like the fact that it doesn't integrate the content on the SD card with the players own internal memory in the UI but to be honest it's no big deal given the expandability that you get!
6. Looks & Build Quality: Even though I am a long time Creative fan I have to admit that Apple have always produced great looking devices, Creative aren't far short with this sexy looking player. The iPod also wins in the build department as some might complain about the Zen's flimsy controls and lightweight plastic case but so far I've found the Zen to be quite sturdy as I've dropped it several times until I got a decent skin for it.
7. Use-ability: Both devices are very easy to use with excellent menu navigation to your media. Although the iPod has the still innovative slider the Zen does just as good a job but without the gimmick.
8. Size & Weight: The Zen is the same size as a credit card but almost 10mm thick but it's still really small. It's also really light which is great for sport. The iPod is smaller and slimmer but given that both are so small I prefer the Zen as you get the bigger screen.
As you can see the Zen is a great player and a worthy adversary to the iPod nano, if not in fact a better choice on the whole for your portable media player.
Also get your player upgraded to the latest firmware (1.20.02e) and you can copy from the SD card to the Zen's internal memory.
Finally, a real bug-bear of mine about this player had been the lack of remote control for it when you are running or in the gym. The remote I had for my old Microphoto didn't work with it. But on a recent trip to Singapore I went to the Creative shop and they provided me with a remote which looks exactly like the one they have for the Microphoto. It's part number is DAA-WR0006 for those of you who need this feature.
Another excellent iPod kickin' player from Creative!
123 of 125 people found the following review helpful:
Almost perfect
(5 out of 5) by Henry Pupkin on Oct 23, 2007 (Scotland)I spent a lot of time looking at various MP3 players before deciding on the Creative Zen.
So far it has exceeded my expectations.
PROS
----
SIZE - It's very small but seems robust.
SCREEN - Exceptionally clear. Videos are very smooth and watchable. The colours are vivid and bright and it has a wide viewing angle.
SOUND - Excellent. I'm using some Sony headphones which sound pretty good.
SOFTWARE - Simple but very intuitive. It took me less than 5 minutes to get the hang of things. The options are clear, it's easy to find things and fast. Other people have complained about slow start up times but I just upgraded the firmware to 1.10 and it now starts in less than 5 seconds.
CONTROLS - Simple and very easy to use. I'm left handed, but having the controls on the right is not a problem.
EXTRAS - The radio has very clear reception and the presets work well. The SD slot is a big bonus especially as SD cards get cheaper.
VALUE - For £80 you get an attractive 4GB player which can play multiple audio and video formats. The sound is good and videos are very watchable. It has a radio and is easily expandable. 10/10
CONS
----
It's hard to think of any. The screen inevitably get smudgy finger prints on it but this is unavoidable. The supplied video conversion software is slow but I'm sure there are plenty of alternatives available.
One extra I'd like is a clear hinged cover to protect the screen. Ideally this could be flipped back to use as a stand when watching vides.
So far it has exceeded my expectations.
PROS
----
SIZE - It's very small but seems robust.
SCREEN - Exceptionally clear. Videos are very smooth and watchable. The colours are vivid and bright and it has a wide viewing angle.
SOUND - Excellent. I'm using some Sony headphones which sound pretty good.
SOFTWARE - Simple but very intuitive. It took me less than 5 minutes to get the hang of things. The options are clear, it's easy to find things and fast. Other people have complained about slow start up times but I just upgraded the firmware to 1.10 and it now starts in less than 5 seconds.
CONTROLS - Simple and very easy to use. I'm left handed, but having the controls on the right is not a problem.
EXTRAS - The radio has very clear reception and the presets work well. The SD slot is a big bonus especially as SD cards get cheaper.
VALUE - For £80 you get an attractive 4GB player which can play multiple audio and video formats. The sound is good and videos are very watchable. It has a radio and is easily expandable. 10/10
CONS
----
It's hard to think of any. The screen inevitably get smudgy finger prints on it but this is unavoidable. The supplied video conversion software is slow but I'm sure there are plenty of alternatives available.
One extra I'd like is a clear hinged cover to protect the screen. Ideally this could be flipped back to use as a stand when watching vides.
119 of 122 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic
(5 out of 5) by D. Mackenzie on Oct 15, 2007 (London United Kingdom)I've been searching high and low for a replacement for my dying iPod mini.
I looked at the new Nano - which looked great and also the Sony NWZA816 - which had great reports. I was never happy with the sound quality on the iPods, especially the distortion in the bass which a lot of people seem to notice, so after listening to the new Nano it was a no. I was just about to get the Sony whan I saw this new baby from Creative. I'm so glad I got it because it has everything I want (great sound and stunning looks).
I thought the video would just be a gimmic but it is actually very good, bright and detailed. Add to all that the radio, the SD slot, the drag and drop, the custom EQ etc and you've got an amazing piece of kit for the price. The only problem i did have was the volume was capped and not quite loud enough for my Etymotic headphones. I solved this by downloading
the US version of the firmware and reformating in recovery mode (you do this at your own risk obviously).
To sum up, if you love the Apple style and aren't that fussed on sound quality then the Nano might be what your looking for. If you want great sound, usable video and also great style then give the Zen a listen.
I looked at the new Nano - which looked great and also the Sony NWZA816 - which had great reports. I was never happy with the sound quality on the iPods, especially the distortion in the bass which a lot of people seem to notice, so after listening to the new Nano it was a no. I was just about to get the Sony whan I saw this new baby from Creative. I'm so glad I got it because it has everything I want (great sound and stunning looks).
I thought the video would just be a gimmic but it is actually very good, bright and detailed. Add to all that the radio, the SD slot, the drag and drop, the custom EQ etc and you've got an amazing piece of kit for the price. The only problem i did have was the volume was capped and not quite loud enough for my Etymotic headphones. I solved this by downloading
the US version of the firmware and reformating in recovery mode (you do this at your own risk obviously).
To sum up, if you love the Apple style and aren't that fussed on sound quality then the Nano might be what your looking for. If you want great sound, usable video and also great style then give the Zen a listen.
53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
Proof that reading reviews can be misleading
(5 out of 5) by Archbishop on Mar 3, 2008 (Sheffield, UK)I did a lot of research before deciding to purchase a Zen 8GB - mostly (Though not exclusively) from customers here on Amazon. There is clearly a 2-way split of opinion between the 'Don't touch with a barge pole' and the 'Absolutely fabulous' camps.
Consequently its virtually impossible to decide what to do.
I tried to get Amazon to reveal the scale of Zen returns but they either couldn't or wouldn't reveal such information.
In the end, with the knowledge that getting Amazon to take it back and give a refund wasn't going to be a problem, I decided that the only sure way to find out what this little MP3 player was really like was to go ahead and get one.
As a result I have now fallen into the 'Absolutely fabulous' camp.
As soon as I got it I did an immediate firmware upgrade before doing anything else and my experience is in agreement with all the 5 star reviewers here - it is just stunning.
I haven't got round to reading any instructions yet - its really easy to get to grips with the menu system though maybe if I had read them I would have discovered that plugging an SD card in with the power on isn't a good idea - it causes a reboot and loses all the Radio presets that you've carefully named! (Not a criticism that - just my stupidity)
Overall money well spent - get one!
Consequently its virtually impossible to decide what to do.
I tried to get Amazon to reveal the scale of Zen returns but they either couldn't or wouldn't reveal such information.
In the end, with the knowledge that getting Amazon to take it back and give a refund wasn't going to be a problem, I decided that the only sure way to find out what this little MP3 player was really like was to go ahead and get one.
As a result I have now fallen into the 'Absolutely fabulous' camp.
As soon as I got it I did an immediate firmware upgrade before doing anything else and my experience is in agreement with all the 5 star reviewers here - it is just stunning.
I haven't got round to reading any instructions yet - its really easy to get to grips with the menu system though maybe if I had read them I would have discovered that plugging an SD card in with the power on isn't a good idea - it causes a reboot and loses all the Radio presets that you've carefully named! (Not a criticism that - just my stupidity)
Overall money well spent - get one!