MP3 Player - Creative Zen?

jonnibgood

Was thinking of either the Creative Jukebox Zen Xtra 30GB or else Creative Zen Touch 20GB - anyone got any experience of either of them or the alternatives and where the best price can be had?

Much appreciated.

loobs40

Ordered the xen extra 30gb from https://www.microdirect.co.uk for about £145.00 including postage. Saw the same model in John Lewis at lunchtime for £239 and that was reduced by £30

microdirect have the on special offer at the moment. Doubt you'll find it much cheaper even on ebay.

John_M_Business

I was just about to buy one of these, and was advised by a friend to visit: http://reviews.cnet.com/Music/2001-6450_7-0.html?tag=cnetfd.dir

Before you buy read the reviews - particularly the user reviews... I was going to get the 60Gb version, but have now gone for an iRiver (and you can read more about it too).

Pixmania have some good prices on the Creative stuff, but please, please, please read the reviews first. I just hope that if you have got them, they won't be as flakey as the ones in the states.

blinky

Got a Creative Zen Xtra 30Gb from Pixmania last week. So far I've been impressed. I did buy a new, spare battery from Ebay for about £11.

The problem with the headphone socket going faulty is supposed to be fixed. (This can be a problem on anything with a headphone sockets - I've wrecked a few radios that way). Creative will replace the unit if it fails under warranty.

Updating the firmware from the European version to the worldwide version will increase the volume level. (Something to do with EU restrictions).

Like any HD player it is potentially suspectible to drops and shouldn't be used for jogging etc. A memory stick type player would be better for such uses.

The Creative Software gets slagged off a fair bit, but it's a damm sight better than Sony's SonicStage for MD's and HD players.

Most people recommend Notmad by Red Chair Software. It's very good (I've bought a copy) and costs $25. Transfers with Notmad are fast (40-50Mbits/sec) and you can stream playback through your favourite Audio app (e.g. Winamp). Another nice feature is that you can the licence allows you to legally install the software on as many machines as you like.

So far I've got 970 Tracks on (mixture of MP3 / WMA) and used 6.5Gb.

Because it uses a standard 2.5" Laptop HDD drive you can always upgrade it if you want a larger capacity in the future.

Couple of useful links
Nomadness
Stainless Steel Rat
Official Creative Forums

Hope this helps

John_M_Business

The problem with the headphone socket going faulty is supposed to be fixed. (This can be a problem on anything with a headphone sockets - I've wrecked a few radios that way). Creative will replace the unit if it fails under warranty.

Without seeming to be pursuing this too hard, the problems with the Zen Xtra series in particular is a lot more than just a Headphone socket. Please visit the MP3 part of CNET https://www.cnet.com for more details:

Some excerpts:
"Buy an extended warranty - you'll need it!!! "

"not reliable, have gone through 2 in a course of 2 1/2 months!! My problems have been the headphone outlet left speaker went on it unless pressure was applied to headphone outlet, and the second one went on me today and that was the item froze after selecting the folder and deciding to play it and you couldnt even turn it off. Maybe Creative does make good products because i do have a soundcard by them but thats a soundcard and maybe i just have a bad luck with this. Also dont get a warranty with this its horrible they are all lies and i work for a company that sells them for products of this sort. Just leave you with this "BUYER BEWARE!!!!"

"Controls are seriously annoying. Software worked for the transfer of ONE song. Then there was error on top of error on top of freezing the computer on top of useless internet faq's that deal nothing with the zen xtra. software very very VERY annoying. Can't delete the songs that came with it."

" I bought the nomad zen xtra yesterday and am returning it today. After hours of making playlists from my incredibly organized MY MUSIC folder, I began to put them on the player. I made roughly 183 playlists and hooked up the player to my PC. After a few minutes it was completed and i looked at the playlists folder on the mp3 player. About 10 of the playlists worked great, then for the rest I just got one playlist anem "P*P**P*P**PPP**P*P**P". It was one giant error. I tried to put the music on the zen xtra again, but the same thing happened. This player is useless, wont accept playlists from its own program, and was a waste of my time and money. I dont recommend it at all."

amatoejoe

me and my girlfriend have the creative jukebox zen xtra. both have had it over a year. not had any problems whatsoever. great mp3 player

blinky

"not reliable, have gone through 2 in a course of 2 1/2 months!! My problems have been the headphone outlet left speaker went on it unless pressure was applied to headphone outlet, and the second one went on me today and that was the item froze after selecting the folder and deciding to play it and you couldnt even turn it off. Maybe Creative does make good products because i do have a soundcard by them but thats a soundcard and maybe i just have a bad luck with this. Also dont get a warranty with this its horrible they are all lies and i work for a company that sells them for products of this sort. Just leave you with this "BUYER BEWARE!!!!"

Headphone issue fixed.

"Controls are seriously annoying. Software worked for the transfer of ONE song. Then there was error on top of error on top of freezing the computer on top of useless internet faq's that deal nothing with the zen xtra. software very very VERY annoying. Can't delete the songs that came with it."

" I bought the nomad zen xtra yesterday and am returning it today. After hours of making playlists from my incredibly organized MY MUSIC folder, I began to put them on the player. I made roughly 183 playlists and hooked up the player to my PC. After a few minutes it was completed and i looked at the playlists folder on the mp3 player. About 10 of the playlists worked great, then for the rest I just got one playlist anem "P*P**P*P**PPP**P*P**P". It was one giant error. I tried to put the music on the zen xtra again, but the same thing happened. This player is useless, wont accept playlists from its own program, and was a waste of my time and money. I dont recommend it at all."

Software isn't supposed to be very good, but I haven't used it as I bought Notmad by Red Chair (cost ~£15). At least you can use alternative software, unlike other many portable music players.

Derv_2

I've had a Zen Xtra 30GB for nearly 12 months and have had no problems with it. I use it 5 days a week on the commute to work.

I have a few minor niggles such as the major power drain when connected via USB to the PC and the fact that it needs special driver software installed on the PC, but overall I would recommend it as a good player.