Nano 3G, Touch, Classic, T10, Zen SQ 1st Impressions

[ceres]

As I am still waiting for Sonystyle Europe to ship my NWZ 818 I went out to see if I could pick up a unit in one of the large electronics outlets in town.

While in the store I saw the latest daps from samsung, creative and apple. I played around with all of them and each offering is -in its own right- a perfectly viable solution.

I picked up the nano first. The new colors look very appealing. The back is a smudge and dirt magnet and will become rusty over time (my 5g did). It still looks very nice. The screen is at default (50%) already very bright (151,49 cd) and can reach a max of 357 cd. Contast is also very good 180:1 (figures from German Macwelt 11/2007). However build quality is only middling. All units on display had crooked screens. Clich Wheels were not perfect either.

Navigation on the player (FW 1.01) was slow and imprecise. Coverflow often pixelated and sluggish. Same is true for backtracking. While (useless) animation was loading on the right side of the split screen navigation with the clickwheel stalled for a sec or so. The Clickwheel is unpleasantly small for me (don´t have big hands) The new ui has some nice eye candy touches to it but does not improve usability. Quite to the contrary. Getting around the player is slow. Still no way to easily access functions from now playing screen. The nice 2" qvga screen is wasted as far as usability is concerned. Eyecandy is nevertheless a pleasure to behold. I didn´t try video bc I don´t care about pocket cinema. Now on to sq. I tested the preloaded tracks of which I knew quite a few. QOTSA - A Song for the Deaf, Digitalism - Anything New, Arcade Fire - No Cars Go. Phones used were MDR EX90 and Triple Fi 10s.

You don´t need to be an audiophile or connoisseur of high fi to realize that nano3g SQ is TOTALLY off. I am not going into detail and blur the sordid facts with countless attributes usally found in high fi reviews. I knew something was off so I searched for labwork on the 3g so look at the graph below. This graph shows nano 3g frequency response under load (included buds). What you see is a 6-7db rolloff from 1khz to 20hz -> Bass and Mids flawed badly. Depending on phones used it can get even worse. The chart for ipod touch is even worse with a 7-8db rolloff. EQ is shit compared to sony and cowon. The classic sounded better (eq also a tad bit better) to me and dealt really well with the Triple Fis. THD measured is worse than on the 5.5g but 6g deals better with high end iems (don´t know how it´s done). Yet there seemed to be a lack of width and warmth in the soundstage presented by the 6G. I will need to buy one to further test the classic but it is clear that it outperforms nano3g and touch by a WIDE margin. UI on the classic is the same as on nano3g but even a bit slower. Nevertheless it´s a solid device that will do well when hookep up to my receiver. The screen was flawless and the clickwheel is easier to use than the one found on the nano. Max brightness of the classic was even higher than on the nano, contast comparable. At 249 for 80 gig it´s a very good value. If you buy an ipod get the classic.

On to Samsung. Nobody cared about the T10 because it was (accidentally) priced at 249 for 8 Gig. I saw it as low as 159 for 8 Gig. The unit on display was black and meticulously crafted. The back and sides are made of anodized Al, the front glossy polycarbonate. I didn´t try to scratch it The device is operated lg chocolate style. You tap the touch field once to activate it and then one more time to issue your command. It´s very precise and quick to get around the player. There were only 2 demo tracks on the device so my listening tests were limited. Nevertheless it sounded great, more hiss than classic (when paused) with the triple fis. thd better than nano and classic ( just how does the classic cope with my iems so well?). Hiss wasn´t detectable with low volume music, however. The T10 can get brutally loud with the MDR-EX90 (no hiss). The screen is really nice and navigation fast. You can turn off the parappa the rapper style cartoon animation if you want to and revert to T9 Menu structure. EQ worked nicely as far as I could tell. FM reception was good. No dedicated volume control on the side of the player. It´s done via the touch control. Unfortunately I couldn´t try bluetooth. I didn´t find an option for on device playlisting. At 159 the T10 is a killer. Samsung Processor, Screen and Memory. Samsung can muster a lot of materials in house and will leverage this advantage in the future. of that I am sure. Production values on this untit can only be rivaled by Sony NWZ A series at this time. Samsung looks flashier but still high class. I will buy this player once I cant get it for 159. I have a frequence response chart for 32 ohm phones but need to find this damn steroplay issue....(check back on Friday)

Zen. The new Zen also sports a metal back, plastic front. It´s not nearly as polished as the Samsung Player. I won´t buy it on looks. The Zen came preloaded with some video ads (don´t care about video) and some tasteless mp3 tracks that made my synapsis suffer. Battery gave out after 2 mins so inference is limited to that the zen player sounds very clean and defined. EQ and on the device playlisting work nicely. UI is very intuitive and swift to use. The Zen gets verly loud and fm reception was good. Most things can be done from the now playing menu. The Zen makes good use of the 2.5 in qvga screen in order to improve usability. As the Zen also offers sd expansion and a very competitive price it will understandably appeal to many potential buyers. I would have to take it home to really assess sq but there is no chance of me keeping it. Once labwork on the device becomes available I will post it.

I was also interested in the YP2 by Samsung. Unfortunately the unit was not in stock. I will check back next week or so.

Edited October 3, 2007 by ceres

[dura_]

thanks for the impressions, the Samsung sure sounds like a wellmade DAP.

So the worlds most beloved player still has abysmall buildquality and distorted sound?

There are those here who think Sony should follow Apple? I hope they don't!

But it will probably sell very well, even batterylifes of only 6 hours didn't hurt Apple sales in the past.

Edited October 3, 2007 by dura

[aob9]

So the worlds most beloved player still has abysmall buildquality and distorted sound?

There are those here who think Sony should follow Apple? I hope they don't!

But it will probably sell very well, even batterylifes of only 6 hours didn't hurt Apple sales in the past.

Thanks for that. You put a bit work into the detail. I don't have the technical background to comment on SQ but I know 'shit' sound when I hear it. My cousin has the new nano and quite honestly I don't know how reviewers can rate this damn thing at all. As for the Samsung, well I have some funds for a new DAP and I just may start looking at Samsung......................cheers.

[Shinji Ikeda]

A long review. A good perception that was well presented.

The "holy grail" of portable players does not exist. It has been known that because something is the most popular it does not make it the best quality.

I do like what other manufacturers are doing. Who really cares about an iKiller? We want the best for our tastes. I still prefer replaceable gum-stick batteries.

[antiipod]

great review, i do like walkman and samsung dap much better compare to other brands. i don't like the crap sound of ipod, though i wouldn't stop anybody else supporting it, cause either they don't care about sq or they really do feel the sq of ipod is impressive, our ears can be very different......thanks for the comment dura, i totally agree

[juli_]

great review, i do like walkman and samsung dap much better compare to other brands. i don't like the crap sound of ipod, though i wouldn't stop anybody else supporting it, cause either they don't care about sq or they really do feel the sq of ipod is impressive, our ears can be very different......thanks for the comment dura, i totally agree

Well I've never ever tried an iPod because I'd read too much about the inferior sq beforehand and it put me off. But in a couple of weeks I'm meeting someone to let them try out my headphones, and as he has an iPod (5.5 or something) I'll get to try one out for the very first time! I expect it to sound dire in comparison with my A808, and let's face it - praise about the iPod sq is very thin on the ground. But I am very curious to hear just to how bad it is!

[mmp64]

New iPod SQ really isn't that bad if you don't use EQ. I still prefer Sony. Actually, I prefer the old Minidisc SP to all other Codecs. But I do have two iPods, because they have their purposes.

[pomj]

New iPod SQ really isn't that bad if you don't use EQ.

I'll second that! iPods EQ is horrible. *really* Some settings make it sound like you broke the headphones. If you can listen with no EQ settings I think they sound quite good actually.

[ceres]

As in the past Apple will probably improve the current ipod lineup in may or so. As with the mini a long time ago...

Edited October 4, 2007 by ceres

[ceres]

Well I've never ever tried an iPod because I'd read too much about the inferior sq beforehand and it put me off. But in a couple of weeks I'm meeting someone to let them try out my headphones, and as he has an iPod (5.5 or something) I'll get to try one out for the very first time! I expect it to sound dire in comparison with my A808, and let's face it - praise about the iPod sq is very thin on the ground. But I am very curious to hear just to how bad it is!

5.5 G sounds better to me than any current ipod so you will likely enjoy it. It´s definitely a good sounding device. How good depends on personal preference.

[juli_]

5.5 G sounds better to me than any current ipod so you will likely enjoy it. It´s definitely a good sounding device. How good depends on personal preference.

How good is it compared to the 808? The person who's testing my headphones also has an 806 (4GB) in addition to the iPod. He didn't compare the two, he just said that particular iPod had a very good sound. I'd like to know 'how' good compared with the 808.

I know he said that applying any EQ at all distorts the sound, and that the custom EQ is abysmal, so that 'flat' is the only way to listen. I do like the 808 EQ, it really gives me a huge variety of sounds to choose from, it's very versatile.

Edited October 4, 2007 by juli