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Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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4.0 stars
"Versatile, a recording studio in your shirt pocket!"
Pros: Small size, good FM radio, good WMA playback, plus voice and FM recording, and 1 gygabyte is really a lot of space
Cons: None that I can see!
Summary: I'm new to flash players and I bought this one on impulse. I had a lot to learn about using the tiny thing, and let me admit, I was daunted at first. The designers packed so much into the Zen Nano Plus that one fumbles around a bit before you get the hang of the menu system. But "get" it, I did.
I recommend using Windows Media Player 11 and Explorer to manage files in the Zen Nano Plus. I'm using Win XP, of course; Vista is unknown territory for me. XP recognizes the player automatically. I rip my own CDs in WMA protocol (MicroSoft's version of MP3) and at the highest possible bit rate (192), then I sync (download) my music files to the Nano's flash memory. Next I go to Explorer, open up "Drive E" (which is how my laptop "sees" the Zen Nano attached to the USB 2 port) and move all my separate music files into folders that I create myself. A straightforward process, if a bit involved. I prefer to download whole albums intact into folders, and even so, I find that a gigabyte of flash memory can store a lot of WMA "Highest Quality" recordings.
So how do they sound on playback? Great! Or that's how they'll sound if you have a good headset. I'm not trying to make a fashion statement, so I use my all-purpose Grado SR60 earphones. The in-the-ear phones that come with the flash player are just barely OK (they have a ragged, ugly high end), so you've got that extra expense to consider if you really want to exploit the good sound that the player can provide. Now we all know that the WMA protocol is a lossy format, but I can attest that playback with the Zen Nano Plus is still eminently ***musical***. At the highest bitrate the WMA format allows, crescendos come through intact, one can make out the individual instruments in ensembles--e.g., in string quartets--and the gritty feel of a real musical instrument (rosin on a bow, say) is available. There is even solid bass to underpin the music. All this makes listening to this thing very enjoyable. I'm amazed, to tell the truth. And readers should know that this assessment comes from an audiophile (me) who has a very, very fancy living-room music system (complete with tubed preamp and monoblocks, etc.), who has long been skeptical of the digital revolution (I've got tons of vinyl records).
Clearly the designers have not skimped on the player's electronics and I applaud them. The device is a complete and most pleasant surprise.
---------------------------the Audiomaniac--------------------
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