Apple iPod Classic vs. Microsoft Zune 120

• The Contenders
• Navigation
• Sexiness
• Compatibility
• Sound and science
• Wallet factor
• The winner is...

Round 4: Sound and science

The technical stuff

Zune 120 (3G)

Let's talk about sound quality, build quality, bonus features, battery life, and any other wonders of science. Is the Zune's Wi-Fi worthwhile? What about video performance?

Player	Jasmine	Donald	Brian	Total
iPod Classic (2G)	3 Good sound quality, nice build, and excellent video battery life, but I find myself missing FM radio and subscription music support--the Classic just doesn't have the extras I want in a device.	3 The Classic's sound quality is very clean and the built-in EQ presets do a decent job of maximizing the performance of inexpensive headphones. Battery life is the best you'll find on an MP3 player, but otherwise, there aren't many features here you wouldn't have seen two years ago.	4 Stellar battery life with about 36 hours of audio playback and 8 hours of video. Genius feature is great. Audio quality is solid, but the Zune sounds better.	3.3
Zune 120 (3G)	4 Like I said, I dig the big, video-capable screen, and audio sounds straight up great. I guess 4.6 hours is sufficient for video, but it pales in comparison to the iPod's 8.8 hours. Docking a point for that.	4 The Zune lacks any kind of EQ, but its sound quality is as good or better than the Classic on a nice pair of headphones. Video battery life blows, but features such as video output, Wi-Fi music downloads, tagable RBDS FM radio, subscription music support, and multiplayer games should make iPod owners jealous.	5 Zune gets the edge with sound, but its FM Radio, Wi-Fi features, and the capability to download music directly from the device give it the edge, even if it doesn't have as much battery life.	4.3

Winner: Microsoft Zune 120 (3G)