Saturday, December 01, 2007

Creative Zen (and my history with mp3 players)

The very first mp3 player I had was a Creative. At that time, I was in upper sec and, wowed by the wide list of extra features it boasted (FM radio, microphone etc.) as well as the promise of superior sound quality (since the company was famous for its audio equipment), I got the Creative Muvo FM instead of the (even-at-that-time) more popular Apple iPod.

The device served me well over the next few years and, despite experiencing cognitive dissonance a few times just because the iPod was so much more popular and I was a conformist by nature, it was my constant companion. Although I did never did get to use those extra features much, it was always a comfort to know that they were there.

Then, one day, the player just decided to hang on me. Out of the blue, it refused to start up, choosing to display a weird error message every time I tried the “on” button. Feeling rather disconcerted by the sudden spoilage but also knowing that it was time to move on (like most other teenagers, gadgets seem to have a very short shelf life for me and the two years I had with this one already seemed a lifetime), I decided to go with the popular choice and got an iPod Video to replace my demised player.

Despite the fact that it was pretty bare-bones on features (the extra FM transmitter cost a whopping S$80, as did the external microphone), the iPod was (as most people would know) a looker and packed a hell of a punch in the interface department. Its user interface was intuitive and simple while iTunes, with its autosynchronization feature that synced it with any attached Apple player as well as its ease of use and in-depth management system, provided an unparalleled usage for an obsessive compulsive neat freak like me. Sadly, though, the sound quality was, while adequate, simply sub-par compared to my previous player as well as some others on the market that I’ve tried.

After another couple of years with it, however, I felt it was about time for a change again and, when a friend offered to buy the iPod Video from me at a pretty decent price, I handed it over to him and, after a grueling comparison, I decided to try Creative again, this time getting the new centerpiece of their current catalog, the Creative Zen. Having used it for a few weeks now, I think I have a pretty good idea of how it stacks up to previous experiences.

Looks-wise I think the Zen actually holds up pretty well against the (by-now) rather antiquated look of the iPod Classic series (although the new iPod Touch is a whole different matter). While its landscape orientation and placement of its button might give it an impression of being, at first glance, the back of a consumer digital camera instead of being an mp3 player, the black, rounded and smooth exterior, along with the glossy finishing, gives it a pretty sleek feel.

In terms of sound quality (as well as the quality of the pre-packaged earphones), this player, like my very first one, beats the iPod flat. While I’m no expert audiophile, I’d say that the sound is fuller, much more in-depth and actually provides a truly stereo experience when it says it does, unlike the iPod, on which even the most high-quality mp3 tracks end up sounding pretty mono and muffled to me.

Features-wise, the Zen serves it up as usual, coming packed with FM radio (although its rather lousy auto-scan feature, without any option of manual scanning available, means that I can’t listen to some of my most beloved stations that the scan doesn’t seem to sense), microphone, video-playing, in-line recording and even comes with an expansion slot for a memory card which, in accordance to the rules in my army unit, I can’t utilize.

The one thing that the Zen majorly loses points on, though, is its interface with the PC. While its in-system interface is on par with the iPod’s (sometimes, the super intuitive interface and song search options make it even better than Apple’s player), the programmes it comes packaged with for the PC leave much to be desired. The media explorer’s synchronization system seems to be patchy (instead of making sure the songs are exactly the same as my music folder, it just adds whatever is lacking onto the Zen, neglecting to remove any files that I might have decided to delete off my computer, resulting in a lack of storage space on the player) and the playback programme it comes with (Audible) isn’t anywhere near as feature-packed nor even as aesthetically pleasing as iTunes. Plus, creating playlists is a headache, what with having to go through all my folders manually to add the songs in one-by-one.

Still, even with this one major flaw, the Creative Zen still gives a bang for its buck and is perfect for anyone who is more concerned about features and sound quality than looks although, like I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t look too bad itself.