I recently decided that it was time to take the plunge and purchase a MP3 player. Since my birthday is fast approaching, I was able to coax my girlfriend into buying this for me, along with a Johnny Cash The Legend box set. I think I'm going to owe her a big present this Christmas! But enough about me, here is what I have experienced with my Zen Sleek so far...

Out of the Box/First Impressions

The Zen Sleek comes in very attractive package. The design is simple and clean. Why does this matter? Well, it means that maybe Creative is finally learning something from Apple. Inside the box is biodegradable/recyclable cardboard which is well designed, and provides more than adequate protection for the device during shipping. If you knew how some of these things were handled during shipping, you would definitely agree that having enough protection designed into the packaging is a big plus.

Appearance/Size

I looked at a number of different MP3 players at my local Big Box electronics store. They had models by Rio, iRiver, Creative, and of course, the ubiquitous iPod. Of all the models there, I liked the appearance of the Zen Sleek the best. The sleek is aptly named, with dimensions of 2.32"W x 0.67"D x 3.98"H. Contributing to the "sleek" look are rounded edges, a brushed aluminum case, and simple controls. On the front of the unit, there is a 2 inch backlit screen. There is also some white plastic on the front of the unit, around the screen and buttons. The touch pad is also made of this white plastic. I do kind of wish that they had made this silver instead, as I think it would have looked better with the brushed aluminum case. The plastic, as well as the case, seem to be of good quality and I have not had any scratches show up on either surface. The Sleek fits nicely in my hand, and is also small enough to slip into just about any pocket.

On the front of the Sleek, there are also buttons for play/pause, fast-forward, reverse, back, and menu. A vertical touch pad control is on the front, located in the middle of all the other buttons. The jack for connecting to a computer or recharging is located on the bottom. On the top of the unit, there is the headphone jack, microphone, hold button, and power button.

Connectivity

The Sleek comes with a connector that has two cables running from it: a USB cable to connect to a computer, and the AC adapter for recharging. I do wish that the two cables hooked up to the unit separately, but this is a minor quibble. The Zen Sleek features high speed USB 2.0. The unit does also support the older USP 1.1 format.

Files transfer very quickly via USB 2.0. I was able to transfer approximately 7GB of music in about 20 minutes. The songs I have are encoded at 320 kbps and average about 10 MB each. Each song took about 1-2 seconds to transfer.

Formats Supported

The Sleek supports:

MP3 (up to 320kbps)
WMA (up to 320 kbps)
WAV (Up to 48 kHz, 16-bit)
WMA with Digital Right Management 9 and 10

Storage Capacity/Memory Type

The Sleek offers 20GB capacity. This is enough space to hold 10,000 songs encoded with 64 kbps WMA. I prefer to encode MP3s at maximum quality (320 kbps), which will make the capacity more like 2,000 songs. This is still basically the equivalent of a 200 CD changer in a player so small I can slip it into a pocket and forget that it is there.

The memory type is hard-drive based. This means that while it should be perfectly fine to walk around with this player, exercise such as jogging or running would be a bad idea. Any sort of continuous jarring is likely to damage the hard drive. So this player is better suited for at home or at the office, rather than the gym.

Software

The Sleek comes with a software program called Zen Sleek Media Explorer. I had no problems loading this program on to my computer, which is running Windows XP. I also found it fairly easy to download songs onto the Sleek from my pre-existing collection and create playlists.

Sound

First of all, I should probably note that all my listening has been MP3s encoded at 320 kbps quality. The sound is quite good. Creative is known for their high-end computer soundcards, and they have also purchased Cambridge Soundworks. So they seem to be a company that is a bit more concerned with sound. This is reflected in the Signal to Noise Ratio, which is an impressive 97dB.

The sound is well balanced across most of the audible spectrum. Some reviewers have previously noted that MP3 compression compresses the most at the high and low ends of the audible range. However, the Sleek still seems to have pretty good response overall, including extreme highs and lows.

The Sleek has a good amount of power in the headphone output. The volume goes up to a maximum of 25. There is more than enough volume for most consumer headphones, which are generally around 32 Ohms impedance or less. These headphones generally sound good at a volume level of 6-11. Surprisingly, the Sleek can also power my Sennheiser HD580s with power to spare, sounding good at a volume of about 15. This is really pretty impressive, as the 580s have an impedance of 300 Ohms, which would make the headphone outputs in many portable players whimper and give up.

Because the Sleek has a decently powerful headphone output, it is important not to play music too loud. Take it from me; I have some minor hearing loss from loud music and concerts when I was younger. It isn't fun asking people to repeat themselves quite often. Music through headphones should generally be listened to just loud enough to hear. If your ears start hurting, or ringing, you are listening much too loud and are at risk for hearing damage. (End lecture.)

Included Earbuds

The included earbuds are white with gray cushions. I could not find an impedance rating for the earbuds, but I would guess that they are probably in the 16-24 Ohm range. I do not like earbuds, as I cannot get them to stay in my ears. However, I did have my girlfriend, who has more cooperatively shaped ears, try them out. She said they were the best cheap earbud style phones that she has heard. This fits pretty well with the impressions that I had during the minute or so that I was able to hold them in my ears. I think these are better than average for included earbuds.

Battery Life

The battery is a non-replaceable (or at least it would void your warranty) rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. Creative claims a battery life of up to 18 hours. I imagine this is probably at a very low bit-rate and with things such as volume leveling and backlighting turned off. I have experienced a more realistic battery life of about 12-15 hours, depending on what quality songs are encoded at, volume, and what features are turned on. I use volume leveling, and have backlighting set to 5 seconds. 12-15 hours of battery life is much better than the battery lives reported in most iPod reviews that I have read.

The battery needs to be fully charged before you use it the first time, as with pretty much all rechargeable devices. Not fully charging before the first use could cause decreased battery life in the future. The Zen Sleek charges quickly; the initial charge only takes about two hours. Since then, every time that I have recharged the battery took slightly less than two hours.

Ease of Use

So far, I have either written or insinuated that the Sleek looks better, has a more durable case, sounds better, and has better battery life than its competitors, including the juggernaut known as iPod. So does the iPod have any advantages over the Zen Sleek, other than marketing?

Unfortunately, yes. The area in which the iPod most likely outshines the Sleek is ease of use. Almost every iPod review gushes about how easy they are to use.

The Sleek is not so easy. Sure, the basic functions work well. But the Achilles Heel is the aforementioned touch pad. It is used to control the volume, choose from menu selections, and find songs by touching at the top or bottom, or moving your finger up or down on the pad. Selections are made by tapping in the middle of the touch pad. The touch pad is very sensitive.

Mastering the touch pad is tricky at best. I previously read complaints about the touch pad on the Zen Touch, and discounted them as the complaints of technophobes or people with poor dexterity. After spending some time with the touch pad of the Sleek, I can totally commiserate. Setting the clock and date was one of the most frustrating things I have done recently, and took about 10 minutes. Sometimes, while trying to change the volume, I move back to the menu screen. Often while trying to move around within menus, I accidentally choose the wrong thing and have to go back.

I have actually taken a dexterity test before, and scored better than average. And my fingers are probably medium sized. So I do feel that the touch pad is difficult to use. I would have preferred a simple up button and down button, with a select button in between.

Other Considerations

The Zen Sleek is new, and currently sells for around $250. At this price, it is very competitive with similar offerings from Apple, Rio, and iRiver.

The package includes a velvety drawstring pouch for storage of the player. While this does provide some protection for the device, it is not possible to see the screen or any of the controls while it is in the pouch.

The Sleek has a FM radio. I have tried this out, and the reception is good. Up to 32 station presets can be stored. There is also FM recording capability.

There is a voice recorder feature. I have tested it, and it works. It seems like it would be good enough to record conversations at close range, but I am unsure if it would be sensitive enough for recording lectures.

There is a 5-band equalizer with 8 pre-set and one custom setting. I do not use the EQ, as I think the Sleek sounds better with a flat frequency response.

Creative offers an optional docking station, which offers transfers via USB 2.0, recharging, and a line-out for powered speakers. The docking station retails for around $40.

One thing to keep in mind is that there are not as many accessories (such as cases) available for this MP3 player as there are for the wildly popular iPod.

The factory warranty is one-year limited hardware/90 days service. As with any hard-drive based MP3 player, I would recommend purchasing an extended warranty.

Overall

The Zen Sleek offers an attractive appearance, large storage capacity, good sound quality, impressive battery life, quick file transfers, and durable case. The Sleek is not as easy to use as I would desire, mainly because of the touch pad. As a fairly new model, the price is competitive with similar models from rival manufacturers. The price should also come down once the Sleek has been on the market for a while. I feel that the Zen Sleek would be a good choice for those who are seeking a better alternative to the Fruity MP3 players out there, provided that the user has enough patience (and dexterity) to get used to the touch pad.


Replacing the stock headphones with a better after-market pair is a quick and easy upgrade for any MP3 player. Here are some headphone options:

Sennheiser HD201 - 3 stars, approximately $20

Sony MDR-Q22LP - 3 stars, approximately $20

AKG K 26 P - 4 stars, approximately $45

Grado SR-125 - 3 stars, approximately $125-$150

Sennheiser HD-580 5 stars, approximately $200

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 250
Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection