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SanDisk Sansa Express Review

sansa express main SanDisk Sansa Express Review

The Sansa Express is SanDisk’s budget MP3 player selling in the sub sixty dollar price range. Although it is what you would expect from an inexpensive MP3 player, there are a few features that give it a little bit of an edge in the budget MP3 player market, one being its microSD slot for memory expansion of up to 2GB. Memory is cheap these days; last I checked a 2GB microSD card can be had for around twenty bucks.

The Express is not perfect, but it may be worth having as a second MP3 player, or it may be a nice for a first time buyer looking to get into portable digital audio without breaking the bank.

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SanDisk Sansa Express Disassembled

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sansa disassembly main SanDisk Sansa Express Disassembled

It’s always interesting to take a look inside of gadgets so once again I cracked open one of SanDisk’s latest creations, the Sansa Express. While there is nothing inside that is user replaceable, it may come in handy one day if you break or jab a button. Some industrious readers have been using these guide to buy broken player off of eBay for pennies on the dollar to pull together parts- fixing them and reselling them.

The disassembly is simple with 4 screws and a snap to the entire process. The ribbon cable may be difficult to new comers. Deataching it requires you to flip up a little brown bar over the cable with a flat head screw driver. You will understand when you see it. Other than that, follow the chronologically ordered pics and you will be on your way to Sansa guts.

SanDisk Sansa Connect, View, and Express

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I had the pleasure of checking out three new players being added to the Sansa lineup. We knew about the two players from a leak on SanDisk’s site, but they did manage to keep one of their stars under wraps.

The Sansa Connect will be a flash-based player with WiFi and will retail for around $250. Initially, the player will sport 4GB of memory with the ability to add 2GB via microSD. The Connect is fairly slim and about the size of a business card. The 2.2” screen is similar to the e200, but looked a bit clearer. The scroll wheel is improved over the e200 and is very smooth and fluid.

Check out the video after the jump.

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abi Editor's Choice

SanDisk Sansa Clip+

The Clip+ has a fantastic little form factor; somewhat cheap in build quality but very rugged. The interface is simple and relatively straightforward. The features on the Clip are more or less average, however it supports the alternative Rockbox firmware which provides tons of additional options (gapless playback, Replaygain, playlists, Last.fm scrobbling, etc). Read the full review or go ahead and buy it.
Cowon J3

The J3 is a fantastic PMP with a very nice AMOLED screen and tons of features. It sports Cowon's trademark BBE sound enhancements, and offers a customizable user interface with strong support by our user community. You can usually find it at Amazon for the best price - and don't forget to check out our review.
Microsoft Zune HD

Sure, many of us are not big fans of the walled garden, but there are a lot of great things going on with the Zune: sturdy hardware, ultra easy to use user interface, and a media player that is worthy of Editor’s Choice. You can check out our Zune HD review or stop by our Zune forums for the latest info and gossip.
Phonak Audéo PFE

Phonak Audéo PFE offer outstanding clarity and precision; natural, dynamic mids and treble, and decent bass for a single armature in-ear phone. They handle dense, complex music very well. The PFE work well with most acoustic and some electronic music genres, but bassheads might have to look at other alternatives. They're great for sports as well, since they fit very securely. Check out our review.
Hippo VB

The Hippo VB (Variable Bass) offers a serious subwoofer for on the go, right in your head. They don’t just deliver generous quantities of punchy, textured bass, but good audio quality over the whole frequency range with decent clarity and exceptional soundstage. Exchangeable bass ports let you customize their sound to your liking. Read our in-depth Hippo VB review.
Soundmagic E10 / E30

The Soundmagic E10 and E30 are basically right in the middle between the Phonak PFE and Hippo VB - not too analytical sounding, not too bass heavy. The E10 provide a bit more bass, the E30 a bit more clarity. Both come with a very fair price tag considering the sound quality they deliver - a great choice for the audio aficionado on a budget. Read our E10 and E30 reviews for more info.