So far, so cool.
Written: Apr 25 '03
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Pros: Room for lots of music. Fast, easy transfers. Great small size, easy to learn.
Cons: Adapter, headphones on the cheap side.
The Bottom Line: The Creative NOMAD Jukebox Zen combines high storage capacity, speedy USB 2.0 transfers, great looks and form factor, long battery life and good sound into a great value.
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| bfsdfl's Full Review: Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen (20 GB) MP3 Player |
NOTE: This version of the review was written after having the product for one week. I will be updating it if anything material changes.
ALSO: This is my FIRST MP3 device, so please keep that in mind. I won't be comparing it to any of the other MP3 devices out there, and if what I rant (negative) or rave (positive) about is better or worse on some other device, please excuse my naivete.
In all other respects, I am pretty techno-savvy... I'm what most marketers call an early adopter of just about every technology that comes along. The first on my block with CDs in the early 80s (yes, Virginia, there was a time when there were no CDs), DirecTV, first with DVDs, first with TiVo, first with WiFi, etc. But for some reason, the MP3 phenomenon just never appealed to me.
Maybe it has something to do with my utmost respect for the rights of artists, and experience in past jobs with the recording industry and publishing. MP3, piracy, Napster and Kazaa just seem synonymous (although they most certainly are not). Heck, even though I've had CD-RW drives for years (used mostly for data CDs), I've maybe actually copied only two or three AUDIO CDs.
But a couple of things came together to motivate me to purchase something like the Creative NOMAD Jukebox Zen USB 2.0:
First, my music collection (more than 3,000 CDs) was just way out of hand... and I never seem to have a chance or have a good way of listening to much of it. I needed a portable method of transporting large portions of it with me, so I could listen to it at convenient times during the day. A CD player is okay, size-wise, but having to carry dozens of CDs (even in a CD wallet), etc., just wasn't working anymore, especially with all the other techno-trappings I now seem to lug around.
Second: The amount of storage on this device. With 20 GB, they claim you can store "over 8,000 songs" using WMA (Windows Media Audio; 80 Kbps) and "over 5,000 songs" using MP3 (128 Kbps). (I'll put this to the test a little further along in this review.)
Third: The USB 2.0 feature was very attractive. I have upgraded my PC to use 2.0, and have several other USB 2.0 devices (an external CD-RW and a new scanner) that absolutely scream when compared to USB 1.1!
So, seeing a new set of MP3 players come along that put all of these features together, and wanting desperately to put music back into my daily life, I started my research. Google, Epinions, BizRate, etc. Company websites. Newsgroups.
I did a lot of research, not so much because the price for these things ($250-400) is all that high. More importantly, whatever device you choose is going to require an investment in time... a lot of time. You're going to spend time learning how to use it. Getting music files into it. Organizing your music, etc. So those were the focus of my research - ease of use, quality, reliability, form factor - much moreso than "How much money?"
I considered the Archos jukeboxes, but most reviews panned them for poor workmanship, clunky design, etc. The Rio Riot was a funny shape that probably would make it difficult to pack along side other electronic and non-electronic "bricks" (cellphone, pda, wallet, checkbook, etc.). The field came down to the Creative Zen.
The only place on the web or offline that I found it for much less than list ($299) was buy.com (see my separate review on this), which I DO NOT RECOMMEND. In the end, I bought it at BestBuy.com and picked it up at my local store. Paid list (at that time): $299.
It comes with a nice little leather(oid?) pouch/carrier. HOWEVER... the velcro loop that is provided to attach it to a belt is fine, if you're wearing a belt. I guess you could attach it to a belt loop, or thread the belt of a fanny pack through it. Not great.
It also comes with a pair of behind-the-head/over-the-ear headphones of moderate-to-cheap quality, a recharger/adapter of moderate quality, an adequate USB A/B cable, a software CD-ROM and (just what I always wanted!) an AOL CD-ROM. Excuse me while I store this AOL CD-ROM in my cylindrical storage receptacle. There, I'm back.
The software included is:
Creative's PlayCenter (the control panel you use to rip CDs into MP3s, create playlists, and transfer your MP3s and playlists to your Zen. If your PC is connected to the Internet when you rip a CD into MP3 (or other) format, the software will connect to the CDDB (CD DataBase) at gracenotes.com, and insert all of the artist, track name, and other information into your local file system. The PlayCenter software also has an AudioSync feature, that lets you match up the contents of your PC files and Zen files. All very cool.
Creative's FileManager. Basically a customized implementation of Windows file manager (aka Explorer), this makes it possible to save other than audio files on your Zen. Haven't used this yet, but it's nice to know it's there.
Getting Started. An interactive tour of the major features. For me, the newbie MP3'er, this just left me wanting more information.
Acrobat PDF file of User Manual. This is what I really needed, because as a newbie, I needed full explanation of the playlist concept, etc. I ended up printing this out, and read it front to back. It's the only place you're going to find out how to get random shuffle (either one-time-through or repeated) to work, outside of pure serendipity.
Installing the drivers and software from the CD-ROM into Windows XP Professional (Pentium III, 550 MHz, 384 MB RAM machine), using the autorun, went fine. Connecting the device AFTER the installation, it was recognized, and the software (PlayCenter) automatically started up. (The software also sets itself to autostart whenever you insert an audio CD, so it's ready to rip. For now, I'll keep this enabled, as this is typically what I'll want to do. The software lets you turn this feature off, when you no longer want PlayCenter to be the default application for audio CDs.)
A CAUTIONARY TALE: I then went to the nomadworld.com site as recommended in the instructions, to get the latest drivers and patches. The first time through, I did not install them in chronological order, and then had a problem getting the CDDB registration to work. I then reinstalled the patches, in chronological order (oldest first), and everything's been great ever since. (The Creative site didn't warn me about this... it would have been nice to see a simple note to install the drivers/patches in their release date order.
The software works great. It takes about 7 minutes to rip a CD to MP3. The USB 2.0 speed comes into play when you transfer the ripped files to the Zen: I've transferred several times, and the average works out to about 5-6 minutes per GB.
I haven't filled my Zen up yet; as I write this review I've only had it a week! I am taking my time, since even with all of the space on this device, my entire CD collection is not going to fit. But so far, I've got about 1.65 of the 20 GBs filled: 458 songs, at MP3 format. This works out to 3.602 MB per song, which means I'll get approximately 5,289 songs on this using MP3... so their claim looks good. Note: My taste in music ranges all over the place, and some of these tracks were 10 or 15 minutes long, some even longer. I don't believe any track was less than 2:30.
Also, the battery is said to last 14 hours on a charge. I haven't run to the end yet. I do recharge it at the end of each day, and may use it around 5 hours a day. I've seen reviews that complain about the limited number of charge cycles (I've seen quotes between 1,000 and 5,000 cycles) and inability to replace the batteries, but I don't consider any of these a problem. I likely will not run more than 2 or 3 cycles in a week, so that gives me 10 years of life... it's likely that I will want to upgrade to something new in a year or two anyway.)
How's it sound? I don't think it's all that noticeable a step down from CD quality. The key is really headphones, and when I have my Koss home headphones on, I can notice a very slight difference between the MP3 on the Zen and the original on CD. When I use my Koss SportClips, there is no difference noticeable at all. And since I am much more likely to be using this with my SportClips or similar, the whole quality question is moot, in my mind. When I want an audiophilic experience, I'll go home and listen to CDs on my big system. When I want good quality music on the go, this new way is now my way.
Note: The Zen allows you to sculpt the sound with a number of equalizer presets (jazz club, concert hall, etc.), as well as timescaling (running music faster or slower than original, with no change in pitch). While I likely will not use the timescaling (I have abhorred radio's increasing use of timescaling to cram more music in shorter time, to make room for more commercials), I have used several of the EQ presets and they are great. None that are gimmicky and wasted, and none missing in my book.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 299.00
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Epinions.com ID:
bfsdfl
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Location: Chatsworth, CA (USA)
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Free-lance graphic artist. Hiker and camper. Music lover.
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