Aweful Sound Quality

[sirgeeks]

I have a v+ that was brand new in the box, never been used. I put a couple mp3s (128kbs) on it tonight and the sound is horrible. Its so bad you can't even recognize the songs. The one has a fair amount of bass and none of it comes through and another the song plays slowly so the pitch is completely off. I saw there was a firmware update so I installed 1.32.01, no change. I've messed around with the EQ, bass boost and smart volume with no change. Is there something wrong with the hardware or is this something that can be fixed? I'm not too picky when it comes to sound quality but this is so bad that I cannot even listen to it. Imagine worse than AM radio. Any ideas?

[bikertrash]

I thought the V was discontinued a long time ago. Anyway your number one problem is 128kbs. Try 256 and maybe that'll help. I've never heard 128 that sounded good on anything. I run WMA variable 240-355 on my Zen, sounds fantastic.

[rohit3192]

Some oldies pre-ripped @128kbps sound fine on my players(not creative)
try different earphones otherwise it must be player if not files.

[sirgeeks]

Well all of a sudden, it magically started playing well. Not sure what happened. What I did was loaded a 256k mp3 on it. It played well. Went back to the previously loaded mp3s and they started playing just fine as well. Not sure if there was something in the new mp3 that 'kicked' the firmware loose or what but everything plays fine now. Very weird.....

[lestatar]

Hey welcome to ABi...

I have been a longtime owner of the ZenV+ - had an 8GB from day 1. That sucker still works and I use it semi-regularly - it remains the last Creative device that I like.

Your issue is weird indeed. Stick to HQ rips [LAME v2 or better, OGG, whatever your flavor] and you will be fine. The ZenV+ still sounds pretty OK to me so many years after its debut.

However, what I might consider doing is doing a format/wipe of the device right now, before you put a ton of music on it - save yourself a chance of later headaches.

cheers and enjoy [hope the battery life is good for you]...
-les