Creative's newest flagship product is the Zen X-Fi, a high-capacity flash-based digital media player that adds Xtreme Fidelity (X-Fi) sound technology, a built-in speaker, a few wireless functions, and a whole lot of extra buttons to the company's original ZEN device.
Do these new features take what was already a solid device to new heights of excellence? Read my full review to find out.
This review is based on the Creative Zen X-Fi running firmware version 1.02.01.
System Specifications
| Capacities: |
8GB, 16GB, 32GB |
| Expansion: |
SD card slot |
| Supported audio: |
MP3, WMA, AAC4, WAV (ADPCM), Audible |
| Supported video: |
MPEG-4, WMV, DivX, XviD, MJPEG |
| Extras: |
Wi-Fi (16GB/32GB only), photo viewer, FM radio, organizer, voice recorder |
| Display: | 2.5” TFT (320 x 240, 16.7M colors) |
| Dimensions: | 3.3” x 2.2” x 0.5” |
| Weight: | 2.4 ounces |
| Colors: |
Black |
Box Contents
Included in the reusable plastic container are the Zen X-Fi, short USB 2.0 cable, mini software CD, quick start guides and other paperwork, and Creative EP-830 noise-isolating IEMs with three sizes of silicone tips. Additional accessories, such as an armband, leather case, and TravelSound speakers, are available separately.
Design
A sleek blend of glossy black and both matte and shiny silver makes the Zen X-Fi one of the best- and most sophisticated-looking players Creative has ever made. Although the casing is made of plastic materials and the entire face is covered by a hard glass-like plastic that is anything but smudge-proof, build quality is excellent.
The company's build quality has always been good, but it's exceptionally good here. It's 0.3 ounces heavier than the first ZEN, but the added weight makes the player feel more expensive and better in the hand.
Size
Like its predecessor, the Zen X-Fi is about the same size as a credit card.
It looks rather big in the promo ads and marketing materials (without reading the specs, you'd almost think it was a full-size PMP like the Zen Vision W or something from Archos), but as you can see above, it's actually quite small and compact.
Here it is beside the original Creative ZEN:
And hanging out with some other players:
Clockwise from top left: SanDisk Sansa View, Samsung P2, Toshiba gigabeat T400, Creative ZEN, Creative Zen X-Fi, and iriver clix 2.
Display
The Zen X-Fi is equipped with the same 2.5-inch 16.7M-color QVGA display as the ZEN, so everything looks fantastic on it.
The rich, accurate, and bright colors make viewing photo slideshows, watching videos, and doing anything else that requires looking at the screen an absolute pleasure. The entire face of the player is a tad too reflective for my tastes, but it doesn't affect visibility too badly and is easy enough to look past.
Controls
The back/menu (top left), option (top right), My Shortcut (bottom left) and play/pause (bottom right) controls from previous Creative players make a reappearance on the Zen X-Fi, but they are greatly overshadowed by the raised set of round metal buttons between them.
Used to adjust volume, move through menus, and select items, the nine buttons add such little value to navigation that the reasoning behind implementing them over an analog stick or standard directional pad is, at the very least, questionable. The buttons are easy to press, provide good feedback, and are spaced out enough to prevent mis-presses, but I don't understand their value. They literally do nothing that can't be done with a more traditional control.
While the X-Fi's controls may not be what anyone is accustomed to seeing on a media player these days, the unit's ports and other buttons/switches are very commonplace.
First up are the reset button, USB 2.0 port, 3.5mm standard headphone jack, and LED power/charging indicator on the right side.
Below all of that, on the back of the player, is a sliding power/hold switch.
SD Card
At the top of the X-Fi, next to the microphone at the corner, is an uncovered, spring-loaded SD card slot.
As with the first ZEN, content stored on an SD card is only accessible through its own menu item and not integrated with media on the internal memory. This was one of the biggest complaints voiced by original ZEN owners, so it's sad to see that Creative hasn't done anything about it.
Speaker
At the bottom of the Zen X-Fi is a built-in speaker that can be turned on/off through the My Shortcut button or context menu.
Sound quality through the speaker is better than expected and more than adequate for personal listening. Maxing out the volume (there are 25 increments) doesn't result in very loud sound (the Samsung S5's speakers are louder), but it doesn't distort playback either.
User Interface
With the exception of two new menu items (X-Fi and Online), the Zen X-Fi's patented user interface is identical to the one used on the ZEN.
So indistinguishable are the two UIs, in fact, that I'm just going to direct you to the "User Interface" section of my Creative ZEN review and call it a day.
If you don't feel like clicking over, here's the copy-and-pasted version:
The patented user interface (UI) found on other Creative players has been cosmetically enhanced for the ZEN and features oversized glass-like icons and submenu overlays.
Beneath the makeover lies the same well organized, straightforward, and easy-to-use UI that Creative fans have come to know and love (and that Apple paid $100 million to continue using on iPods), so navigation is a breeze. Paired with the self-explanatory tactile controls, the UI has virtually no learning curve.
One of the nice things about the interface is that the main menu can be configured to each user's personal liking. If a particular feature has no value to you, just remove it from the menu. The menu doesn't wrap around itself (i.e., once you reach the bottom, it doesn't continue from the top), so one less menu item to scroll through can be a welcomed omission. It actually doesn't make sense for the main menu not to wrap because the submenus, context menus, and media lists all do.
In addition to being able to set any photo, including zoomed-in portions, as wallpaper with various effects applied and brightness levels adjusted, the ZEN can be personalized with a set of six themes: (clockwise from top left) velvet red, marine blue, sable black, royal purple, neon orange, and forest green.
Transferring Content
The Zen X-Fi, like the ZEN, is an MTP-based player that only supports Windows computers. The official system requirements list only XP SP2, XP 64-bit, and Vista, but other operating systems and platforms could probably be coaxed into working as well.
XP and Vista machines will support standard drag-and-drop through Windows Explorer with no problem out of the box, but those looking for more advanced options like CD burning, video conversion, and syncing will need to use the newly supplied Creative Centrale (screenshot below) or third-party software like Windows Media Player, Media Monkey, or Winamp.
Audio
I've never been disappointed by the sound quality of Creative DAPs and after listening to the Zen X-Fi with my Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 Pro earphones, I have no reason to amend that statement. In fact, my ears tell me that the Zen X-Fi is the best sounding Creative to date . . . but only without X-Fi enabled and the EQ set to Off.
With the supplied EP-830 earphones, the first "premium" pair to ever be included with a Creative player, sound quality (regardless of the settings) is very good.
- Users who have only used stock buds in the past will be incredibly impressed with the clear, rich, and loud sound delivered straight to their brains via the EP-830.
- More discriminating listeners and/or those who've invested a few hundred dollars in a better pair of earphones (my super.fi 5 Pro launched at $250) and have extensively used more than several dozen DAPs will be less impressed with the unnatural sound created by the preset EQs and X-Fi but still pleased with the overall quality and extraordinary loudness. With my super.fi 5 Pro, for example, I keep the Zen X-Fi's volume set at 4 (of 25, mind you!).
- Hardcore audiophiles with serious audio equipment will be . . . annoyed that I'm speaking for them. So I won't!
Xtreme Fidelity (X-Fi)
Creative X-Fi sound technology, according to the company's own What is X-Fi website, is designed to make music and movies sound "way better" because it "restores detail and expands the music to surround sound." In other words, X-Fi on the player is an audio enhancement similar to the SRS WOW HD sound effects found on other devices. The technology is different, but the general purpose (i.e., to improve sound quality) is the same.
On the Zen X-Fi, X-Fi has its own spot on the main menu. X-Fi Crystalizer, which remasters compression-compromised audio elements, and X-Fi Expand, which repositions the sound to the front, can be toggled on/off through the menu or My Shortcut button assignment.
Whether X-Fi actually improves the sound of your music is not for me to decide, but my music (192-256kbps MP3s) sounds better without it. Crystalizer seems to intensify everything but the vocals, which I don't like, while Expand just sounds muffled to me.
Other playback features include on-the-go playlists, play modes (normal, repeat track, repeat all, shuffle, shuffle repeat, track once), custom and preset EQs, Lookup Artist (searches for other songs by the artist being played), bookmarking, rating, and a DJ function (album of the day, random play all, most popular, rarely heard, highly rated, yet to be rated).
Video
Unlike the Creative Zen Vision:M and exactly like the Creative ZEN, the Zen X-Fi is very picky about the video formats it likes. Sure, the player supports DivX 4/5 and XviD files, but only if they are in 320 x 240 resolution and encoded as standard MPEG-4 SP or ASP without GMC support. Whereas the Vision:M was a free spirit that could play just about anything you asked it to (including odd resolutions), the Zen X-Fi is a stickler that refuses to bend, or even lean on, the rules.
When you do happen to load something the Zen X-Fi likes (or you use Creative Centrale to convert the file first), watching videos on the awesome 16.7M-color display is a treat: smooth playback, vibrant colors, the works.
Wireless Features
This section applies only to 16GB and 32GB Zen X-Fi models. The 8GB model is not equipped with wireless LAN.
The Zen X-Fi is Creative's first player ever to have built-in wireless features (802.11b/g with WEP, WPA-PSK, or WPA2-PSK security). The capabilities are rudimentary compared to other wireless-enabled DAPs with web browsers, but it's nice for streaming and downloading content from the Creative media server (Creative MediaBox) or one you have at home.
Zen X-Fi Chat
The player can also use its wireless radio for instant messaging.
Official documentation mentions compatibility with Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger, but at the moment it seems that only Creative's own chat app is supported. [Update: Creative's app can actually serve as a gateway for Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. Check out a video demo here. Thanks, Michael!]
Though you can create an avatar as well as search for, invite, and add friends, instant messaging on the Zen X-Fi is unimpressive and nearly unusable because of the way the onscreen keypad and hardware controls interact with each other.
As stated in the "Controls" section of this review, the nine buttons do nothing that a regular joystick or directional pad couldn't do. Rather than correspond to a cell phone keypad, the eight outside buttons are used to navigate the onscreen keypad (each key is just as accessible without the four corner buttons) and the center button is used to select the desired letter. For example, to type the word "Sky," you must:
- Use the outside buttons to highlight the PQRS7 key and press the center button eight times for "S"
- Use the outside buttons to highlight the JKL5 key and press the center button two times for "k"
- Use the outside buttons to highlight the WXYZ9 key and press the center button three times for "y"
This is about as far away as you can possibly go from T9 texting! There's also a "circular" keyboard that borders the screen, but the learning curve is steeper than the onscreen keypad because the keys are laid out alphabetically (rather than QWERTY-ly).
Extras
The Zen X-Fi's extra features are identical to those found on the ZEN, so I won't rehash them individually here.
In brief, there's a photo viewer, FM radio, read-only organizer functions (calendar, task lists, contacts), and voice recorder. Standard fare for a Creative device.
Battery Life
The Zen X-Fi's non-removable lithium ion has the following estimated battery runtimes:
- Up to 36 hours for audio playback through headphones
- Up to 13 hours for audio playback through built-in speaker
- Up to 20 hours of FM radio playback
- Up to 5 hours for video playback through headphones
- Up to 4 hours for video playback through built-in speaker
As usual, actual runtimes will vary according to brightness settings, file formats and bitrates, and other factors.
Conclusion
Creative is marketing its new Zen X-Fi digital media player as "the sound of perfection," which unfortunately is a bit of an overstatement. It is the company's best-sounding player to date and it does sound undeniably great, but really only when X-Fi, its most lauded feature, is disabled. Most of the other features unique to the Zen X-Fi are gimmicky at best, and the new controls do nothing but clutter an otherwise attractive player.
Creative newcomers will find it difficult to resist the compact player's great price point ($150 to $280), generous internal memory with the option to expand, gorgeous 16.7M-color display, built-in speaker, wireless streaming capabilities, and stylish good looks. Owners of the first ZEN, however, will be hard pressed to find reason to upgrade.
The Creative Zen X-Fi is available now in 8GB (no WLAN), 16GB, and 32GB capacities and carry respective MSRPs of $149.99, $199.99, and $279.99.
Actually MTP (Microsoft transfer Protocol) is fully supported in Linux, so it isnt a Windows only protocol. I know this because until recently I owned a Creative MP3 player with MTP and it worked fine in Amarok (pretty much the same as iTunes).
whats the difference with the 8GB X-fi and original Zen? Only x-fi?
The speaker
I was hoping better wifi implemntation on this device. I suppose archos reigns supreme there. I found it dissapointing that in IM one must use the buttons to select, rather than having it correspond to the actual key, as that would have made more sense. I like the design factor of the buttons, the previous zen looked a bit more clutered to me. Great review, thank you for sharing this devices shortcomings ^_^
I read this review this morning before 16GB Zen X-Fi was delivered by UPS. To say I was disheartened is an understatement. I already own a 4GB Zen and wanted to upgrade b/c of the X-Fi feature (my sound card on my pc has it and I love it). Sure enough, when I unpackaged my player, and tried out the X-Fi, it sounded like utter shit. I then checked out the latest firmware for the Zen X-Fi (posted on 7/19) and installed it. Guess what? The player sounds amazing with X-Fi on now. SO, anyone who was considering getting this player, and is familar with X-Fi or likes it like me, I highly suggest this PMP. Just make sure you install the new firmware to fix the buggy one.
I have a Creative Zen 4gb. To be honest since day one I hate the freaking thing. I only have it because my old MP3 player finally died after 2 years of faithful service.
The screen was already scratched when I got it and I put it in my pocket with nothing in it and 10-15 minutes later more scratches. Buy.com said it wasnt their fault it got scratched.
Also when I first turned it on, the screen froze and I had to reset it. And I have had to do that ever since the last year or so Ive owned the bloody thing. Yes Music sounds great, video is great, pictures are great but the damn thing resets itself and freezes almost everytime I start it and it has to rebuild the library and I lose files I just put on it and have to do everything all over again. Rather than fussing with that I just put my new stuff on a memory card and play my stuff off of it.
I loved Creative before and now I really don’t like them anymore. My old Insignia player was 4gig also and that thing survived 2 wash cycles (one was my fault other friend borrowed it and forgot) and came out looking brand new lol, screen looked so clean and shiny. The Zen 4gig I dropped it once off an arm of a chair onto a carpetted floor and got a dent in the plastic cover near one of the buttons.
Also I figured the Online part of this new player would be crap and alot of places have said it is too.
I’ve always loved Samsung and Insignia also so Im going to switch to a Samsung P2. I already got lots of emails before about my Creative ZEN and some people experienced my same problems early on and returned it. Buy.com refused to give me a refund which made me royally P.O’d at them so they lost me as a customer forever.
@plop
thanks
um, x-fi is really superb on the x-fi website… is x-fi expresscard for notebooks good? and, if i dont need wifi is there a need for this instead of the normal zen?
well seeing as the pricepoint between the Zen, and the Zen X-fi are only $20 off (MSRP), I’d get the Zen X-fi. It will have a better resale value down the road, if you shale need to sell it for any reason.
Does it have is proper wi-fi or it is only for connecting chat clients? Can someone watch youtube video on this using wi-fi?
I like this one, perhaps a good replacement for my 1G iPod Nano, instead of an mp3-phone.
One of the things I’m wondering about is the WiFi. Thinking, would it be possible to use the WiFi connection to listen to internet radio stations?
Would be awesome.
As stated in the “Wireless Features” section of the review, the player’s wi-fi capabilities are limited to streaming from media servers and chatting.
Great review. I love my ipod but always keep my eyes on gadgets I may want to add to my collection. Jenn, did you have a chance to install the new firmware and retest the X-Fi?
Hi Steve. The review is actually already based on the latest firmware (1.02.01). I didn’t test X-Fi with the original firmware, so I don’t know how much the update improved it. I preferred the sound quality without it, but I wouldn’t take issue with those who think it’s great. Even with scientific tests using high-end audio instruments, I still think sound quality is subjective. We just hear the way we hear and like what we like.
Hey Jenn, Ted in Overclock forum did a review on Zen X-Fi as well and he mentions that the X-Fi technology actually improved the sound quality but only for some output devices like speakers. Perhaps you can check it out on that. http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards-computer-audio/362639-ted-s-zen-x-fi-review.html
Anyway, is there any possibility that there is a “import contacts from msn/yahoo” function in your Chat account that you missed out? Cos I think you cannot log-in your account from your X-Fi, but you have to do it first in your chat account (meaning one chat account for one msn/yahoo)? Just some random guessing of mine. Hahaa.. No one actually showed what the online “Chat Account” functions in Creative site have, so it would be great if you can provide online screenies as well since registration is only valid for X-Fi owners.
Colaman, thanks for the info. As i was scared to buy it after reading the review. So after the firm ware upgrade, it should sound excellent. Let me try and inform u people back
Hey Jenn, I think you don’t know how to configure the IM chat function. Anyway, I found some screenshots showing the IM being used. Cool eh?
http://www.epizenter.net/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?183795.0#post_183929
Hi Jenn.
I found a new update on Zen X-Fi firmware(1.03.01) which is released on 29 July. I hope you can retest it as some people say the new firmware actually improve the X-Fi quality.
http://support.creative.com/downloads/welcome.aspx?nDriverType=4&showdetails=1&bLatest=1
Great review Jenn, as always, ofcourse:-)
I was just wondering, after all the reviews, which is the best overall PMP in your opinion???
@ Ruben: The review has been updated with a link to a YouTube video showing the IM feature in action.
@ Billy: Unfortunately, I don’t have the player anymore. Since I have the first ZEN, I decided not to keep the X-Fi and returned it shortly after publishing the review. If I hadn’t gone way over my gadget budget in July with the Willcom D4 and Kohjinsha SC3 UMPCs, I would’ve kept it. But since the UMPCs were over $2K, I decided to recoup the $200 X-Fi cost.
@ brane: Tough question! I think the X-Fi is Creative’s best-sounding DAP to date, but my personal favorite is still the iriver clix 2. The sound quality isn’t as good as a lot of players I’ve used since then, but I still reach for it more than anything else. My Samsung S5 still gets a fair amount of use as well.
As for the best overall PMP? All things considered, right now I’d say the Creative Zen Vision:M is pretty tough to beat across the board. If the ZVM had the ZEN/X-Fi screen, flash memory, and maybe a slightly slimmer design, I’d probably call it perfect. The ZEN is a good successor to the ZVM but I don’t like how strict it is with video formats (the ZVM could play just about anything, regardless of resolution, bitrate, codec, etc). I also like the ZVM’s touch pad better than the ZEN’s controls.
Hi Jenn, I am new to mp3 players.I am thinking of investing in the Zen X-fi.Could you tell me how does the
battery get charged
well one thing i’m sure about is that it can be charged by lugging it into your pc, also it has a battery spot, now what i am unsure about is whether or not it has a battery charger for the li-ion battery it has.
Also, even i am looking forward to this PMP, but i have a few issues with it, one is that it offers only 8gb worth flexibility, other thing is that there is no clear opinion nywhere as to whether it is better than the original zen 32gb or not.
plz suggest.
NOTE: i do know it can be expanded but then i dont want to bank upon that.
Fix the expansion slot so is fully intergrated and incorporate a web browser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fix the expansion slot so is fully intergrated and incorporate a web browser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fix the expansion slot so is fully intergrated and incorporate a web browser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi
Can you comment on the volume on the X-Fi in comparison with the earlier Zen device? Your review of the X-Fi points to very good volume and there is no particular reference to this feature on the Zen.
I’ve had (and still got) a variety of MP3 players including several generations of Zen. I like them a lot but they all seem a bit quiet to me.
Any views?
Thanks
@ Terry: The player charges via USB (connected to a computer or to USB wall outlet).
@ Abhinav: I’m not sure what you mean by “8gb worth flexibility.” Both the Zen X-Fi and original ZEN come in 32GB versions.
@ Paul: The X-Fi is considerably louder. According to my ears and super.fi 5 Pro, volume level 4 on the X-Fi is comparable to about volume level 8 on the ZEN.
I would quite like to use this to stream music to my HiFi system from my PC wireless network. How effective will this be and how easy to use? Is there much deterioration is sound quality? Thanks Paul.
First of all, thanks jenn for answering my question…….
I wonder if you could help me out a little further………
1. It claims it can download content from my pc within a network…how long is the capability of the player of catching the network?
2. secondly, do I need to have any hardware or software installed on my pc so zen x-fi can connect to it no matter where I am in my house?
3. i live in India, and i have an airtel 512kbps connection. Now to connect to the internet and download stuff from the zencast, what do I need to do?
it nowhere shows my connection name in the list of supported connections on it’s website…how do i know whether it will run on mine?
also, i just have a simple modem installed which i switch on to run the internet, will it connect to my player or do I have to get another set of modem which has wifi capabilities in it ?
and last one……
If i order it from us or singapore, i wont have any warranty on it, but if i buy the ZEN (original) which is available in my country, unlike x-fi. i will have 12 months of warranty, but then its not the model i want…….
i’m confuzzled.
please help me out
thanx.
why isn’t thr a single reply?
wtf!
@ Abhinav Mishra
Jenn states in an earlier comment that she does not have the player anymore.
Maybe you should post your question in the forum. Someone should be able to help you there.
Can you create and delete play lists on the zen like you can onthe iPod?
thanks,
can you copy “dvd movies” to Zen X-file (I have a Zen V plus but I can’t copy any movies that last than “1 hour”)
So you need to either have Yahoo or MSN? No AIM huh.. that’s just a POS then.
I have the zen vision m 30gb would you say I’m better off keeping it then upgrading to the new 32gb x-fi? I use it a lot for movie, and I’ve enjoyed the freeness of the vision m and I’m worried about issues with the x-fi.
thus the x-fi is available in Philippines?
I have the zen x-fi 16gb. I like the mp3 player overall. I do hope that they have more updates though. The audio is outstanding. The video is good but when I converted my video files and transferred it, I felt that it frame lag a little on all my videos that I converted. The streaming is just audio, I haven’t noticed any online video streaming. I was able to connect to the internet easily but only able to stream audio. Oh, the USB cable is only like 2 inches long! Luckily, I have my own cable that’s much longer. I was surprised with the speakers on it! For such a small player, it can be pretty loud. Probably not loud enough to hear from several feet away but clear enough, if it was sitting on a table next to you. The mp3 player did crash on me once when it was connected to my computer. I’m hoping that was just an isolated event. The softwares that it comes with isn’t all that great. It’s nothing to be of concern as long you get updates and able to just drop music into the mp3 player instantly. I kind of like the buttons, you do need to get used to it. Also, I have small hands, so I didn’t see any problems. Customization of the mp3 player is really nice (i.e. background, shortcut, etc). One last note, when its connected to the computer, you can’t play anything. I wish that you could continue using the player while its connected. Sometimes I just want to charge it and listen at the same time. Anyways, its a great player and I hope they continue to update it!
Thanks for the review. I bought an 8 GB X-FI in Stockholm. just one question! is there any way to have a folder view for music files? It’s the way to list files on primitive DAPs, but seems not available here. I have my music files sorted in folders and i want to have them the sae wat on Zen X-FI.
I know this is how it works if I put my folders on the SD card and usig th SD slot, but……
Thanks for any helper out there.
Hi all,
Question: I just bought the Zen X-fi 8 gig player, and i absolutely love it, apart from one thing.
When i unplug my headphones, the player automatically turns on it’s speaker, even when i switch it off in the audio settings, it will still do.
Has anybody got the same problem, or does anybody know what to do perhaps?
Your help is very much appreciated guys!
Hello. First of all, congratulations, you have here a great review.
I’ve bought my Creative Zen X-Fi 8GB yesterday, but I’ve noticed something. On my “now playing” player, there are no diplays of the album artwork. Even if the artist have it.
Can you help me displaying it?
Thanks,
Valter
I have ripped a DVD to the Zen X-Fi 8GB. I have video but no sound. I have deleted the video and redone but it didn’t help. This was done in the Creative software that came with the player. It used MJPEG format.
Any suggestions?
In response to the first comment, the MTP stands for Media Transfer Protocol, not Micro$oft Transfer Protocol.
I thought this was common knowledge, but…apparently not.
I guess people really do think Microsoft owns everything.
@ BabbaGiNush: Why would you post something like that here?
The person that reviewed the device doesn’t have any power whatsoever to change it…Jenn doesn’t make the player, she just writes reviews.
And besides, even if she did, do you really think that spewing out random garbage and spamming your opinion makes anybody want to help you? It doesn’t.
Also, using a ridiculous amount of exclamation marks at the end of your sentences makes you look like an idiot.
I like zen Krystal, but it seems zen X-Fi is greater.
someone said here is new zen september, is it true?
I want to convert dvd to zen and play music of course
http://www.daniusoft.com/dvd-to-creativezen.html
i love having this audio player…where can i buy it? is this already available in the philippines?
I got zen krystal
Hi,
I have never had one of these devices before. Do you have the option to delete tracks from the music libary as i know you cannot do this on my Ipod.
Mostly a very good player. Mine has a big problem with the shuffle tho, constantly skips to the same song or album and i have 4800 songs on! If only it was as my Zen Xtra was. Lets hope it can be fixed in an update.
I know it says the the zen x-fi is only compatible with windows but i have a mac and im wondering if there is any way i can make the zen x-fi compatible???
Hello! I want to buy a Zen X-fi,but I have a question.
Which is better? This creative EP-830 earphones or the Sennheiser CX 300 ? Thanks for the answer
ps:Sorry for my English I learn only for 1 month
@ Paul: Actually it’s only the remark about increased volume that would make me change from my old Creative Zen to this one.
Is the volume on the X-Fi sold for the European market better, too?
it would be awesome for x-fi to be a mobile phone.do u know if creative is going to make a mobile phone?
doesn’t it have a line-in?
haii… im just buy this product….. great with latest update….but 9 button????? no use…. i just use 5 button only …. why 9 button if u use 5 button…. why not just make as a hand phone pad?????
I was willing to purchase this product. I understood from the seller that the only way to charge the batteries of the player is via USB connection.
Is that true?. I need to charge it separately without connecting it to an operating computer.
Can anyone advise how to get TV programmes or DVD’s onto theh Zen X-fi? (o point me in the right direction).
also I totally agree with BabaGiNush who says it should have a web browser! Hopefully a firmware upgrade or something will address this issue. Does anyone know if this is possible / probable?
I loved my Zen Vision M and prefer Creative over iPod for many reasons; superior sound quality and Creative not feeling the need to “nanny” my mp3 files like Apple does being the big two.
However, my major concern in purchasing a new player from Creative is the horrible experience I had with their warranty service.
My old Zen Vision M would repeatedly lock up and would have to be reset by poking a pin into the reset hole on the bottom of the unit. Eventually, that did not work and I sent Creative an email requesting service.
They asked for and I replied with all the purchase, date of sale, warranty and problem info they requested and sent my Zen in for repair. I was warned to be extra patient and to expect about two months before I would receive my player back from them.
After three months went by without hearing anything, I sent another email asking about the status. Two weeks after I sent this email, I finally received a reply from Creative stating they had no record of my Zen being received and did I have the tracking number from UPS? After almost 4 months, I could not locate the tracking information and Creative said too bad.
I lost my player, my files and am out a few hundred dollars on the deal with nothing to show for it. The Zen sounded great and I enjoyed the heck out of it while I had it, but it did have repeated problems with freezing up.
I am worried any new Zen I purchase might have the same problem and would require service, which could involve me losing another expensive piece of equipment into the ether as the only option for service or repair is to ship the unit to Creative and they take months to respond. I also recall email was the only way to get in touch with them and they were not interested in pursuing the matter further when my Zen was lost.
Just a heads up for those considering this purchase.
amazing review you helped me so much i was unsure wether i should get this or the new ipod nano chromatic which do u think is better
Hi Jenn
I just got mine X-Fi 32 GB a month ago, now there is a new firmware 1.04.08 which installed without any problems. I want to ask you 2 questions:
1. How was the battery life on the X-FI you tested? Mine is not doing it pretty well as expected. i am not using X-FI capabilities, and only using the Disco Eq (I know that activate the X-FI reduces the battery life)
2. When playing songs, does the display always be on? the backlight goes off, but i can still see whatever is on the screen wich i think is a complete waste of energy.
Thank you for this nice review and for your answer
I would like to point out that the X-Fi when you have both X-Fi features on actually improves audio quality and also removes any distortion that may be present in an MP3 file i.e.: an MP3 file dumped at 128kbps for example, however if there are any digital clicks though it doesn’t remove that.
Also the video feature only plays videos for approx 30 minutes before it starts to desync in audio and video and eventually ends up giving up [tested with a converted video file in WMV, video length 1hr & 30 minutes].
Basically the only thing they need to do now is fix the video playback, which I’m sure they will and the player itself will be perfect in every way.
I have a 4GB Zen. It’s been a fantastic player for both audio and video.
Although it is my preferred brand of player, it has room for improvement. But I see no reason to upgrade at this point based on the new features of the X-Fi.
Integration of the SD card with the rest of the media would have been enough to sell me on it. Too bad.
i heard that the creative zen x-fi frezzes a lot. im looking for a good reliable mp4-mp3 that doesnt cost much and it easy to use. i dont want a mp4 that frezzes all the time. can some one back me up and tell me if it does frezze.
excellent article,very useful,detailed,sounds[i have not used any mp3] honest,i hope other sites carry such good reviews
So after Owning one I really recommend others not to buy this product Here are some Reasons :
(1) X-Fi feature is not at all functional If turned ON the music becomes muddy ( very unfit to listen ). X-Fi is completely fake upgrade.
(2) X-Fi is meant to provide a backup of 30+ hours of music and 5+ hours of video however the music backup is only 11 – 15 hrs with X-Fi features Turned OFF ( Which are meant to use more energy )( Music at 160 kbps CB ) and the player locked.
(3) The player has no power saving mode the screen keeps turned ON as long as song plays which eats up more battery. The screen turns off only when the player is locked.
(4) The player has some problems in software as well, Sometimes however you try the player hates to turn on until the reset button is used.
(5) The screen quality is very good but not great compared to rival Apple Ipod.
(6) Record from Radio is not available and the HOLD button is placed at the back of player which is a bit uneasy to access.
I’m totally new to Mp3 players and all. I have no idea what your talking about when you say PMP and stuff. I don’t really do any computer stuff in our house. I just want to get an Mp3 player one with a good amount of space, absolutey simple and all, hopefully comes in blue, and hopefully has really good sound quality and video quality, and it hopefully could be on the lean side when it comes to money. At first I considered getting an ipod then i heard about this and I just can’t decide. Any suggestions?
Oh yeah, could you show a pic of the Zen X-Fi on its back anyone? Or at least say? I mean we always see the side or front but do they put anything on the back? When you say video resolution does that mean I can just get a video from youtube or from a dvd??? Or would I have to run it through a converter? But if I do have to convert it, does the Zen X-Fi come with the software for it or not?
I recieved a Zen X-fi for Christmas, it died two days ago, after about a month of (prudent!) use. It simply will not turn on, there are no signs of life. Is there any hope, or should I just return the player and suffer through more meticulous transferring? Your advice is greatly appreciated!
I too hate this piece of crap. I too only bought it because my old 2 year faithful zen touch died and the greedy Creative coc su ers want 50 or more for the new battery then they want you to pay the shipping, which just increases the price of fixing the piece of sh t. You know the headphone jack is gonna go out on one side eventually meaning another trip in the mail and more repair money. So in the end, better to buy the latest thing right??
WRONG!!
These Creative scumbags, have put so much useless sh t into this new X-FI thing that the battery doesn’t last 12 hours, and they consider that acceptable, considering they advertise 30 hours, in this article 36, I find that to be a complete false advertisement. The other day I only got 8 hours out the battery and the fuc in thing is 3 months old, and I haven’t been using it like regular(because I am disapointed by the performance). The tech support is horrible as well. They sent me 4 new ones the last one was an upgrade to X-Fi, which is the one I deal with now. I feel cheated. I feel like Creative has stolen money from my pocket and said thank you for the money, and go fu k yourself. I will never buy another Creative product ever again after the way I was treated. I hope they go bankrupt and out of business in this trying economic time.
The sound is great the X-FI thing is a good add on, but at the sacrifice of the battery, not worth it to me. The old players sounded just as good to me. This is not the only problem I have had with batteries not living up to their potential. My new phone also a battery problem. I recently had to buy an “extended life battery” for the phone. It almost doubled the size of the phone. But you have to buy it, if you want use all the features it is capable of all day long, that is.
Has the battery technology gotten worse, or do they not have it to run the new stuff they come out with? I think if it’s they latter, they should say so. Actually I think if it’s the latter, they should not sell the fuc in thing until they get it!!! I am so sick and fuc in tired of companies blatantly, falsely advertising products, and then not refunding money when the customers are not happy with all their false claims!! I mean do I HAVE to buy a fuc in Ipod? By buying creative for the last 10 years, I have been avoiding that!!!! ON Purpose!!!! Dic heads!!!! This whole MP3 industry has inflated itself to drive up the prices of the things. Did you know that no one makes a boom box with the aux. input anymore? Why? So Apple and Creative and Sony and them can sell you a 300$ set of speakers!!! That’s why!!! Pure fuc in corporate greed!!!
I just want a Mp3 player that’s all I don’t need video IM and all that crap. Maybe pictures, just to associate with things, and get rid of the stupid wallpapers and stuff, but that’s it.
I have been doing some research on this and trying to come up with “my own Mp3 player”(TOTALLY LACKING THE KNOWLEDGE AND BRAIN POWER OF HOW TO GO ABOUT DOING IT) I know the bear minimum about computers and even less about circuit boards and programming and even less about everthing else involved in inventing an Mp3 player, but what I have come up with is. It seems cheaper and safer frankly to get a card reader with a headphone jack and 5 sd cards(40G) instead. You wont lose your data unless you lose the cards or drop them in a puddle or something. The battery power of a card reader should last all day, in fact, from what I have seen, most of them run on AAA or AA batteries. To put a lith ion battery in one seems like it should last a couple days.
In Summation,(now that you got me to write my tirade out) I wish one of these Mp3 player makers would ask me for input on the next best thing to come out this year. Maybe we could save money and they can still make a shi load of money and every one could be happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cant not open program /the red only open
I find that the X-Fi feature works real well for mp3′s encoded at lower bit rates. It really does help with the lower frequency range that get lost at the lower encoding. Since I have a real hodge-podge collection of music, I set my shortcut button to the X-Fi feature so I can change it quickly.
I suppose I could re-download my music, but I have been collecting since long before Napster was sued.
Get off my lawn!
Yes I also found that MTP also works on linux but only on certain versions (I use 3). I find it only works on ubuntu( fully updated). Whereas it does not appear to work on debian or knoppix.
To be honest they are the same. If you want to blow your money on new headphones that are the same as the ones that come with the x-fi then go ahead. but, my personal advice would be to stick to the ep-830 ( THEY LOOK BETTER)
P.S your english is good.
Of course you can.
Dude do not post shit like this on a forum. If you want to bitch, bitch to creative
USB 2.0 my friend. Yoe can also buy a docking station if you want.
Hoping that Jenn will reply, but any advice from others appreciated…
I started to purchase the X-fi (32gb), because I am after two things- optimal sound quality and good FM radio capability.
That’s it. I am not even hung up on capacity. I’ll store my library elsewhere if I can get these two things.
These days, like most folk, I want to be careful with $$ spent since these days its much more valuable, so I am trying to do the homework before a headache.
What would you recommend for me? I next was going to look into the Zune…
Hi April. What kind of headphones will you be using with the player? If it’s just the stock ones, then the X-Fi is a fine choice. If you have a better pair of headphones and are very nitpicky about audio quality, then something else might make you happier.
good review.
If you are looking for upgrading notebook sound try X-fi 5.1 USB
Reviewed here
http://www.taranfx.com/blog/?p=123
Hey, I bought a Creative Zen Last year and it worked perfectly up until recently, when it wouldnt turn on and said there was a firmware problem and as it was insured i gave it back to the company and they said it was ‘beyond reparable’ so they said we will give you an upgrade Either the IPOD NANO 8GB or the CREATIVE ZEN XFI and i have a dilema on which one to choose which one would you recomend because its all about the music quality and durability for me? Please Could anyone help?
they lie about battery.
15 minutes when you use network function.
FU creative.
Hi Jenn.I know it’s a lot of time now,but could you please tell me what sounds best in your opinion? Zen or X-FI[apart from the X-FI function,of course]?Or do they sound the same?Thank you.
Glad it worked fine for you but the comments below about fragile, easily breakable devices with faulty software and the post sales service of a dodgey real estate company seem to outnumber anything positive I’ve read. Or my own personal experience. Buying Creative is an expensive mistake I won’t make again.
My wall and car chargers worked for the ZEN and ZEN XFI2 but not for the XFI. Is this their design? Customer diservice told me I had to buy their charger but they don’t offer a car charger.
This thing is the worst piece technology I have ever bought. In 12 months I have gone through two of these things because the keep malfunctuning in the strangest ways, and then eventually stop working completely. Creative central is terrible too. I haven’t gotten it to work right in five months.
This may be a little too late, but, to maximize your battery life… turn off every audio enhancement, rip your music to 128 bit mp3′s, set the volume to no more than 2 and switch the power button to “lock” so that the screen shuts off. This basically ruins the mp3 player, but if there’s a way to do it, Creative can say they didn’t lie about battery life. Next time… get a Cowon.
cament fai ton pou ol ianstalé
i have ZEN x-Fi 32gb but stop working completely.. when i switch on it didnt respond. what is the problem
When I bought this there used to be 1 video on the 4GB can anyone remember which song? thnx
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