- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 42 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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19 out of 32 people found this review helpful
2.5 stars
"BE CAREFUL!"
Pros: Looks nice and may offer a great alternative to Ipod
Cons: ALL CREATIVE DEVICES HAVE THE SAME DEFECT TO DATE
Summary: For the most part, Creative is a great company with great products except for the fact that most of them have the same problem. I myself have gone through 3 Zen Micros already, and I know for a fact the Zen Touch and Nomad have the same problem. The problem is the earphone jack connection isn't properly soldered to the board of the device, and this is a known problem to Creative, but from what I've seen they haven't done anything to fix it. This causes the sound to either not come out of the right earphone, or the sound quality will get worse and worse. The problem usually shows itself about 3 months into having the product. So, before you buy this product maybe you should wait alittle while to see if they did in fact fx the problem or if its the same story.
- 17 replies to this review
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I have had a zen sleek photo for 2 years and the sound quality is still great like day 1 =)
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Okay... I bought my Zen Sleek Photo about two years ago. I had researched it a lot, and saw many reviews like this warning about the headphone jack. Once I received my Zen, I connected my headphones. I couldn't hear out of my right earphone, so I freaked out thinking that the reviews were true and that I got a bad mp3 player. Then I realized that I hadn't pushed the headphone piece all the way into the port; it wasn't completely connected. I pushed it in all the way, and all the sound came through both earphones wonderfully.
Just wondering. -
Hey, This is a good warning. I wanted to know if the earphone problem was also applicable to the new Creative Zen Vision M? I ask this because I like to change my earphones to bigger ones to get a better stereo sounds, and I also would like to set it on a speaker system. So, if the sound is a problem maybe I shouldn't get it??
Thanks for the help -
I did not know of this defect, lucky for me I have had mine since july of 06 and i'm still in good shape
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This guy's right. Any claims that this problem has been rectified are false. I bought one about 3 months ago on the assumption that the earjack problem had been fixed (an assumption I made because of this very forum), only to have the sound work improperly within a couple of months use. You should only buy this thing if you want a product that works for 3 months or less
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I got my zen micro last year and just the like the above comment states about 4 or 5 months in I started to have a problem with the earphone jack. I though it was the headphones but I went out and bought new ones but the sound was the same. Progressively, the earphone jack has gotten worse and now it is basically unbearable to listen to music as every 2 seconds I'm trying to readjust the headphones to just the right spot in order to get clear sound. This is the MOST annoying thing ever. I'm not sure if I want to buy another one just to run into the same problem.
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I have had the exact same problem within about 3 months of when I recieved the product, and it is INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING!!! The only negative comment I have for any creative product.
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I have had my Zen Touch 20 GIG for over a year (almost a year in a half I'd say) and I havent had this problem at all. I've listened to my Zen Touch with headphones and on a stereo via cassette, and the sound quality was fine.
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i have had my zen micro for about 6 months and it started to only deliver 1 channel of music to my headphones. at first i could just slightly adjust the jack to fix this but eventually it got worse. currently i can't even use my player. the jack won't send a clear signal unless i actually hold it in place while i am listening to music, and to walk and listen to it is just impossible. it sux.
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I have no problem with my Zen Touch.
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I got Zen Micro and have no problems whatsoever, have heard about a faulty batch some time ago but that's long gone
If sleek photo maintains precisely same design as the version wih
mono screen this is going to be the most beautiful 20GB player with color
screen out the there -
I lost sound in my right headphone with my micro too, but I just bought new headphones and haven't had a problem since.
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its an electronic divice dont throw it around i have a zen micro and touch and iv had then for more than a year and no problems at all!
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Please do research before giving a newly released product a bad rating. This problem has been fixed months ago.
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I'm all over the discussion boards at Creative.com and not one sleek owner that I have talked to has complained about the headphone jack. This problem I have only seen in the Zen Micro's. But since Creative released a second generation Micro with a reinforced headphone jack, there have been little problems in comparison to the first gen. The Sleek is a wonderful little machine although I do not own one, soon I will.
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I don't know about other players but the Zen Touch doesnt have that defect. I have had mine for more than a year now and I still have the same quality sound and nothing is broken.
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as the owner of a sleek, i have TRIED to break the headphone jack, and it works fine still
Where to buy
Creative Zen Sleek Photo (20GB):
$169.96
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$169.96 | Yes |
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