Thoughts on [me] buying X-Fi 2 as my next PMP? :) ^^

[justing943]

Hi all!

I've been racking my brains out for the past couple months deciding on whether to buy as my next PMP. After my first week or so of research, I thought, with all these comments on the X-Fi 2, I'd buy some no-warranty, underpriced, probably completely glitchy, unbranded PMP from some dodgy online website before I'd get the X-Fi 2, but after some firmware updates and some more extensive reading on other players, here I am, 2-3 months later, considering buying the X-Fi 2.

I'm considering it because of it's lower price than most branded PMPs out there, as well as its apparent unmatched quality in sound with the right settings, not to mention how satisfied I was with my Zen:Vision W [which is now somewhat dead, courtesy of myself].

So, what I'm asking is, from users who have personally had an X-Fi 2 and have had their own experiences with it now, would you recommend me to buy it as my next PMP? All I want from it is music and movies/videos, nothing more. The main issues I've read on is how troublesome changing volume can be, and that it takes 11 seconds to do the whole process, as well as dodgy touchscreen, etc.

Thanks in advance!s,
-justing

[JJLoke]

it depend on how how u will use the device.

the touchscreen has improved tremendously over the last few updates, so that shouldnt be a problem, but still kind of lag in scrolling

video experience is not that great, considering it having only hundreds of thousands of colour output, compared to 16 million on other devices. gradients will no be smooth (blocky patch). resolution of the video is quite low, but many formats are supported

audio is above average, unless u know how to tweak the equaliser. some slight improvements in quality in the latest firmware.

games support is a plus point, given users in this forum are writting their own.

battery is average, given only 500mAh of life which is pretty low

overall i rate it 7/10, unless creative adds support to FLAC album art, video playlist, etc ...

[Brett_val]

Volume control could indeed be better, but after I got used to it, it doesn't bother me anymore.
Which process takes 11 seconds?

And more important, you say that the sound quality is unmatched, and I don't think that this is true. I read around here that Creative used to have top of the line sound quality back in the Vision days, but that they nowadays fall behind other brands.

Anyway I am very pleased with it, the chrystallizer enhancement is really nice at low percentages, and I choose this player because it has the biggest screen of the players I could afford. Just too bad that it doesn't have 16 million colours.. I used to own a Vision, and that one had a nicer picture, a higher resolution, but a far less good viewing angle. I thought that they fixed that on the Vision W.

In your search for a PMP, have you seen the Sansa Fuze? Many people around here are very enthusiastic about Sansa products, more than (the newer) Creative products..

EDIT: Just found overhere that the Fuze's screen is worse than the X-Fi2: http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum...ad.php?t=34501
Fuze: 1.9”, 64k colour, 224x176 pixel
X-Fi2: 3", 262k colour, 400x240 pixel

Good luck on your choice

[justing943]

Okay cool thanks for the replies!

Sorry if I'm going offtopic, but would you recommend any other players out there without a huge price tag over the X-Fi 2? I'm not too worried if there are minor problems [with the zen], I just don't want any dealbreaking setbacks, haha.

Say, like the Samsung P3? Price tag seems okay, and reviews aren't bad, either.

Thanks in advance,
-justing

[dfkt]

In that range of players: Cowon S9 or J3. Much better sound enhancements, much better codec support, gapless playback, AMOLED screen, capacitive touch screen, stellar battery life - the list goes on.

[justing943]

Okay cool thanks, although I took a look at the price and it is much higher =( $70 more than the 32gb of the X-Fi 2 =S. With that said though, would you strongly recommend against me getting the Zen X-Fi 2?

Thanks

[Brett_val]

Originally Posted by dfkt

In that range of players: Cowon S9 or J3. Much better sound enhancements, much better codec support, gapless playback, AMOLED screen, capacitive touch screen, stellar battery life - the list goes on.

Both those players are almost twice as expensive as the X-Fi2, at least overhere. Or did you mean something else with "range" ? Video playback looks to be a bit better, but does a 0.3 inch increase justify the price? I guess the other things like sound quality and all do though..

justing943, I wouldn't recommend against the X-Fi2 because you also want to use it to watch movies, and if you can't afford a Cowon player I think this is your best option.

But I'd wait a little more to see what others have to say, I'd hate to see you buy this thing and discover that the sound quality is less than what you have now on your Vision W.. I do miss some power in the sound, not sure how to call it, although, as I said before, the crystallizer does make up for it in a way.

But again, I hope others may provide some advise on this.

[jammaniaclord]

Love my Zen X-Fi 2. The pause feature does not bother me much, but i feel they could add a feature to the firmware, where you could double tap the power button, or home button, to pause it, or even a shake shake motion, since it has the accelerometer.

The gradient was unnerving at first, but it doesn't kill the movie experience. I have my EQ set at custom, and the volume is loud with the pack in ear buds with firmware 1.20.08, but i noticed a drop in major "oomph" with the new 1.21.05 f/w, with same settings, and volume cranked.


Touch screen has improved drasticly. FLAC album art is not supported yet, but just knowing it DOES support FLAC, is awesome!

Sound quality is amazing, and always has been since i first bought the Zen Vision:M. X-Fi technology is pretty amazing.


It runs neat apps, although simpler than Iphone, i still think it is great that people are making games for it, and i download them all just about.

I have 16GB, and 64GB models, and love both. Overall, you can't beat the price for what you get with it.

i don't understand why people pay 145 dollars for an 8GB Ipod Nano 5th generation. 8gb?!!! 145 dollars?!!! COME ON APPLE!!!


Now we have the Creative Zii coming out, which looks to be bad butt!!! Very interested in getting one of those bad boys! *whenever it is finally released*

[justing943]

Okay cool~

Pause? :S I haven't heard anything about any pause problem before.

Oh, also, how does the battery life fair? The other PMP I considered getting was the Cowon J3, although the price gets jacked up heaps. The major advantage I saw with that one was the battery life; I think it was double that of the X-Fi 2's. 45-ish hours audio and 11 hours-ish video vs 25 and 5 seems kinda horrible

Of course, paying an extra $150 just for the battery is too much for my budget. So, is creative's claim on 25/5 hours true? Or are the figures actually morelike 20/3 or something D=.

Does anyone happen to know of a way to get a different battery for the X-Fi 2 with a much better battery life? I know it's a long shot.

Oh, btw why do you have 2 X-Fi 2s =P

Thanks,
-justing

[Brett_val]

I think he means that pausing the player should be easier. You now have to take the player, unlock it, tap the screen, tap pause. There isn't really a problem with it right?

Another battery could be an option.. if you can find one that fits.. but is loosing your warranty and risking damage to the case worth it?
I started a battery drain test today, it's playing through the headphones on repeat, I'll let you know when it shuts off, and also some more details ofcourse.

But battery isn't the only difference between this one and the J3, the J3 is better on every aspect.. screen, sound, codecs, it even has bluetooth for wireless headphones

And I was wrong about the prices, the difference isn't that big. Amazon has the 8GB J3 for 200 dollar, but the S9 is cheaper; $170 for the 16GB version.

[justing943]

Oh wow okay thanks :O

My main problem, though, is that my parents don't trust online stores and so I'm restricted to retail in general, so a Cowon is rather hard to obtain over here in Australia

[Brett_val]

Okay.. well I screwed up.

I started the test in an impuls and I didn't time it right, and somewhere while I was asleep the battery ran dry. I should have paused it but I expected it to still be running the next morning. Looking at the numbers I should have known better.

I've been using this player for about 6 months now, the battery has run dry a few times and I always fully recharge.

Album at 256kbps on repeat all playing through the included headphones,
custom EQ,
Chrystallizer at 1%,
volume 11,
locked.

After 14.5 hours it was still running, and after 21 hours not anymore. So it's somewhere in between .

This doesn't really say anything because 20 hours wouldn't be bad I think with EQ on and all, but 15 hours would disappoint me.
I'm doing it again to get a better test result, and this time without EQ and Crystallizer, I'm hoping to get at least more than 21 hours.

[kumayam]

i own a zen x-fi2, its a great pmp!
only drawbacks it has is that u cannot search song by typing in word to search for them, u have to slide the alphabet letter bar to seach for the song beginning with that letter. u would think and touch screen pmp would include a search by song using the touch qwerty keyboard......well maybe that might be included in the next firmware update

one more thing is creating a playlist is such a hassle on the x-fi2 itself. if u use a media manager like wmp, media monkey or creative centrale, its ok but on the fly, its a hassle....

overall its great pmp 8/10

[justing943]

Okay cool! After asking around with some friends who owns cowons though, I'm starting to have doubts again. My original choice to get the X-Fi 2 was because of the price, but now that's not an issue anymore.

If I have the money, would you [anyone who replies to me ^^] definitely recommend me to get the Cowon J3? Since from what I've seen it seems to outperform the X-Fi 2 in every aspect.

Thanks in advance,
-justing

[glove4]

If you're looking for unrivaled sound quality, the J3 blows the Zen X-Fi 2 out of the water, and yes, perhaps, everything else.

[justing943]

Woah! Okay thanks XD. I know this will sound monumentally idiotic, but after doing so much research of the X-Fi 2 and [until yesterday] I set my mind on buying it, but after all that time I spent reading up on the X-Fi 2, I'm kinda attached to buying it, despite knowing the J3 beats it in almost every aspect.

If anyone is willing to, could they please please give me a brief overview of all the aspects which make it a better purchase/aspects that outrival that of the X-Fi 2 ^^

In the meantime, I'll go read up on the J3 as well myself, I just need to find somewhere to buy it now, I guess.

Thanks !

EDIT: Hmm, a downside of the Cowon J3 seems to be the 20-pin cable thing D=. Are there many setbacks to the J3?

[Brett_val]

It managed to break the advertised batterylife by 4 hours, to a total of 29 hours playing time !!!

Which is really fantastic. This battery really lives up to (and beyond!) it's expectations (Creative advertises 25 hours of audio playback).

But, X-Fi and EQ are quite heavy on the battery, shaving off at least 30% (don't know how much exactly but it didn't reach 21 hours with those things on).

Details:

I bought this player about 6 months ago, don't use it every day but I think it's gotten about 10 full recharges from being totally empty;
The other recharges it's gotten are numerous because it charges through USB as soon as you connect it, and there were many instances when I just wanted to transfer some files and didn't have the time to let it charge fully. But I always try to let it fully recharge when it's possible (I read somewhere that this was advised for Li-ion batteries).

Yesterday I fully recharged it through my PC after my ludicrous attempt to do a battery drain test. After it indicated it was full, I started an MP3 album at 256kbps on repeat-all and let it play through the connected headphones (the included ep-630),
EQ off,
X-Fi off,
volume at 11,
and locked the player.
I didn't touch it from then on, except for the moments where I shut it off for the night and turned it back on the next day. I listened periodically at the earbuds to see if it was still playing, and ofcourse I took it with me throughout the day, but I didn't do anything that would turn on the screen, like browsing the library or skipping tracks. It was locked the whole time.

The first day it played for 12h 42m, the next day for another 16h 31m;
start 15:37
shutoff 4:19
resume 11:55
still playing at 04:26
not anymore at 04:35

Pretty impressive huh

[pyradark]

go for x-fi2....more sharper image and a lot codec support.... unlike cowon j3, 480x272 is the maximum req...what the hell....watching that small resolution on 3.3inch...eiWWW