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Zune 80 vs Sony NW-A808

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juli_

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So finally I have managed to come to a conclusion about the Zune 80 compared with the 808.

First, sound: Even though I don't use all the enhancements on the Sony, I do use the normalizer and a notch of clear bass on all instrumental. I love the way Sony EQ etc is so efficient and actually does a good job.

The Zune has no EQ. I think it's odd that Microsoft would assume we would all want to hear the music the way its engineers want us to hear it, instead of letting us choose for ourselves. To that end, I found the Zune lacking with my Denon C700. I needed more bass from the Zune and even the bassy Denons couldn't do it for me. The Zune has a much more neutral sound than the Sony - for those of you who are at all sensitive to hiss - the Zune has no hiss at all. Not even a whisper. It's perfectly silent. I was never bothered by the Sony hiss, but I know there were people who were irritated by it. Well, the Zune is 100% hissless!

With the Sony set to no enhancements, no EQ and no normalizer, it still packed a fuller more dynamic punch than the Zune (a Sony trait?).

But the Zune has a little more detail than the Sony. It's not enough of a difference to bother me - but as I was 'analysing' the sound differences, I thought I'd mention it. But the Sony has more than enough detail for my ears.

The bass: Sony does bass best! It's present and correct on the Zune - but if you want the extra kick, you won't get it unless you pair it with the right headphones. The Zune headphones that come with it are pretty bassy (although I'm not using them because I don't care for the cloth cable that gets knotted up as soon as you look at it.) But I think most people would be happy with the supplied headphones because they do pack more of a punch. I guess that was deliberate so no one would notice the lack of bass. And when I say 'lack' - I mean from a Sony bass-loving point of view :D

The Zune has an inoffensive sound quality, it's pretty and it's clean - but lacks excitement (for me with the Denons). Whereas the Sony always manages to sound exciting to me no matter what headphones I use with it. It's much more versatile in my opinion.

Software: SonicStage wins this round hands down. I swear to God I have never come across such truly appalling software. I was so frustrated at one point I was ready to send the Zune back. My library is meticulously maintained (a lesson learned in my early days of SS) - but once I tried to sync the music with the Zune, it went crazy. Album art missing on 30 albums, albums missing entirely etc etc. And a painful 90 minutes transferring one album that Zune decided was Elton John. I don't even have any Elton John but the Zune insisted it was Elton John. I then decided to rip the CD in the Zune software. Big mistake, as 15 tracks came up 'unknown' and despite having the correct artist named - once it was ripped, it reverted back to Elton John. I fixed it in the end by perseverence - but it shouldn't be that hard and it really spoiled the entire process.

It took 3 full days to figure it out and I almost had a breakdown. Honestly, why I ever complained about SS is beyond me. I can see Zune picking up 'worst software' award in the years to come, making everyone forget about the gripes they had with SS.

The only way to 'control' it was to turn off all auto updating for album art - and manually drag music folders over to the software - and then sync it with the Zune. It's boring and time consuming but it was the only way I could keep track. And God forbid if you need to edit your tracks after you've ripped them. It is hell on earth to get the Zune to accept the changes. I had to delete the rogue albums from the software and re-transfer once I'd edited the tracks. Having said that, I can get it to 'work' my way now - but the journey was not pleasant, trust me!!

Sound again: I'm currently trying out some outrageously overpriced Klipsch Image headphones with the Zune and the combination is wonderful. But it would have been nice if my perfectly capable Denons would have matched better. I can't see that I'll keep the Image. They're just too expensive but it's nice to know that the Zune responds positively to different headphones. The Image gives the Zune the Sony 'punch' that I felt was lacking.

Ease of use: Sony wins that. It's easy to get back to the 'now playing' screen no matter where you are in the Sony - but it's 2 or 3 clicks to get back with the Zune. Also, you can keep scrolling once you get to the end of your album list in the Sony, so once it reaches the end - it will scroll to 'A' again. not so with the Zune - you have to scroll backwards???

Screen display: The Zune has a much bigger screen than the Sony, but the display is not as clear.

So in 'brief'. . . if you're a Sony user who prefers no EQ, no normalizer and no enhancements at all - then you'll probably love the Zune with the supplied headphones as the combination almost mimics the Sony with flat EQ etc.

I love the Zune with the Image but I can't see myself keeping them. It's been an enjoyable tryout anyway, and I hope this was of some use to someone!

I'm still interested in the new Sony player as I can't fill up an 80GB player in my lifetime. It's complete overkill.

Which player do I prefer? The Sony because I like the enhancements I use. I like to have the option of EQing a nasally singer, or adding a kick of bass if I want to. I like to tailor the sound to my own ears. But I know there are many who prefer not to use any enhancements. In that case, you will certainly like the Zune. Especially as it is 100% silent.

The Zune + Klipsch Image is better than anything I've ever heard, and I don't yearn for EQ with that combination - but sadly, it's pretty much an unaffordable combination!

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So finally I have managed to come to a conclusion about the Zune 80 compared with the 808.

First, sound: Even though I don't use all the enhancements on the Sony, I do use the normalizer and a notch of clear bass on all instrumental. I love the way Sony EQ etc is so efficient and actually does a good job.

The Zune has no EQ. I think it's odd that Microsoft would assume we would all want to hear the music the way its engineers want us to hear it, instead of letting us choose for ourselves. To that end, I found the Zune lacking with my Denon C700. I needed more bass from the Zune and even the bassy Denons couldn't do it for me. The Zune has a much more neutral sound than the Sony - for those of you who are at all sensitive to hiss - the Zune has no hiss at all. Not even a whisper. It's perfectly silent. I was never bothered by the Sony hiss, but I know there were people who were irritated by it. Well, the Zune is 100% hissless!

With the Sony set to no enhancements, no EQ and no normalizer, it still packed a fuller more dynamic punch than the Zune (a Sony trait?).

But the Zune has a little more detail than the Sony. It's not enough of a difference to bother me - but as I was 'analysing' the sound differences, I thought I'd mention it. But the Sony has more than enough detail for my ears.

The bass: Sony does bass best! It's present and correct on the Zune - but if you want the extra kick, you won't get it unless you pair it with the right headphones. The Zune headphones that come with it are pretty bassy (although I'm not using them because I don't care for the cloth cable that gets knotted up as soon as you look at it.) But I think most people would be happy with the supplied headphones because they do pack more of a punch. I guess that was deliberate so no one would notice the lack of bass. And when I say 'lack' - I mean from a Sony bass-loving point of view :D

The Zune has an inoffensive sound quality, it's pretty and it's clean - but lacks excitement (for me with the Denons). Whereas the Sony always manages to sound exciting to me no matter what headphones I use with it. It's much more versatile in my opinion.

Software: SonicStage wins this round hands down. I swear to God I have never come across such truly appalling software. I was so frustrated at one point I was ready to send the Zune back. My library is meticulously maintained (a lesson learned in my early days of SS) - but once I tried to sync the music with the Zune, it went crazy. Album art missing on 30 albums, albums missing entirely etc etc. And a painful 90 minutes transferring one album that Zune decided was Elton John. I don't even have any Elton John but the Zune insisted it was Elton John. I then decided to rip the CD in the Zune software. Big mistake, as 15 tracks came up 'unknown' and despite having the correct artist named - once it was ripped, it reverted back to Elton John. I fixed it in the end by perseverence - but it shouldn't be that hard and it really spoiled the entire process.

It took 3 full days to figure it out and I almost had a breakdown. Honestly, why I ever complained about SS is beyond me. I can see Zune picking up 'worst software' award in the years to come, making everyone forget about the gripes they had with SS.

The only way to 'control' it was to turn off all auto updating for album art - and manually drag music folders over to the software - and then sync it with the Zune. It's boring and time consuming but it was the only way I could keep track. And God forbid if you need to edit your tracks after you've ripped them. It is hell on earth to get the Zune to accept the changes. I had to delete the rogue albums from the software and re-transfer once I'd edited the tracks. Having said that, I can get it to 'work' my way now - but the journey was not pleasant, trust me!!

Sound again: I'm currently trying out some outrageously overpriced Klipsch Image headphones with the Zune and the combination is wonderful. But it would have been nice if my perfectly capable Denons would have matched better. I can't see that I'll keep the Image. They're just too expensive but it's nice to know that the Zune responds positively to different headphones. The Image gives the Zune the Sony 'punch' that I felt was lacking.

Ease of use: Sony wins that. It's easy to get back to the 'now playing' screen no matter where you are in the Sony - but it's 2 or 3 clicks to get back with the Zune. Also, you can keep scrolling once you get to the end of your album list in the Sony, so once it reaches the end - it will scroll to 'A' again. not so with the Zune - you have to scroll backwards???

Screen display: The Zune has a much bigger screen than the Sony, but the display is not as clear.

So in 'brief'. . . if you're a Sony user who prefers no EQ, no normalizer and no enhancements at all - then you'll probably love the Zune with the supplied headphones as the combination almost mimics the Sony with flat EQ etc.

I love the Zune with the Image but I can't see myself keeping them. It's been an enjoyable tryout anyway, and I hope this was of some use to someone!

I'm still interested in the new Sony player as I can't fill up an 80GB player in my lifetime. It's complete overkill.

Which player do I prefer? The Sony because I like the enhancements I use. I like to have the option of EQing a nasally singer, or adding a kick of bass if I want to. I like to tailor the sound to my own ears. But I know there are many who prefer not to use any enhancements. In that case, you will certainly like the Zune. Especially as it is 100% silent.

The Zune + Klipsch Image is better than anything I've ever heard, and I don't yearn for EQ with that combination - but sadly, it's pretty much an unaffordable combination!

I also purchased a Zune 80 and was overall impressed with the hardware, but...

1. The software almost made my dog cry.

2. No use as a hard drive out of the box...useful for use students.

3. IMPORTANT!!! NO KANJI/KANA support!!!!

After I got my dog to stop crying, I returned the Zune.

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I also purchased a Zune 80 and was overall impressed with the hardware, but...

1. The software almost made my dog cry.

2. No use as a hard drive out of the box...useful for use students.

3. IMPORTANT!!! NO KANJI/KANA support!!!!

After I got my dog to stop crying, I returned the Zune.

I'm glad you agree about the software. I can only imagine that the guys who were too inexperienced to work on SS were allowed to work on the Zune software instead!!

There is a way to view the Zune as a hard drive but it involves a patch. Best to wait till the new Sony comes out.

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1. The software almost made my dog cry.

2. No use as a hard drive out of the box...useful for use students.

3. IMPORTANT!!! NO KANJI/KANA support!!!!

After I got my dog to stop crying, I returned the Zune.

:D:D LOL

Yeah, MS is the reverse of Sony. The software is unicode capable, yet Microsoft refuse to put the required fonts on the Zune itself. Even a Microsoft person complained about this on his blog.

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Hi Juli,

Thanks for the very detailed review. I too moved outside my Sony comfort zone recently (I broke my HD3) and purchased a Creative Zen 8GB DAP. I have complained about Sony in the past but I have to say that this device is manufactured for the 'masses' with 'acceptable' sound and build quality. I don't like it, and like you I find I have to make numerous button functions to navigate the device where one or two clicks would suffice on ALL of my Sony DAPs. It also hangs frequently requiring resets, another thing my Sony's never do, I would have to look for the reset button on my Sony devices, to be honest.

So, I went to ebay and bought a NW HD1 from a nice person who no longer had any use for his. I know I am restricted to Atrac ( no firmware upgrade ) but it will be worth it.

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Thanks for the detailed comparison Juli, I really feel this is giving me a good impression of the Zune. And it's Elton John-loving software.

it still packed a fuller more dynamic punch than the Zune (a Sony trait?).

I completely agree with this description of the Sony A8xx. However, older Sonys, like my old MD-player, he NW-HD1 and the A3000 sounded far less dynamic, softer with smooth, a little rolled off treble and more midbass warmth to my ears.

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Juli. Thanks for a very compulsive review. I enjoyed reading it. So, no regrets about the purchase?

A few regrets as I just got a customs bill in today for nearly £50. So on top of the £170 it cost me to get someone to order it from Amazon.com and ship it via Fedex - it's cost me £220 - twice the real price. That part does not sit well with me!! Or the stupidly expensive headphones that I'm trying with it!!

I would say that the Zune is a good option for an HD player alongside a Sony flash player. Like I said, the sound is very nice and clean - and similar to the Sony with no EQ on and no enhancements at all. With the 'silly' headphones - it begins to sound more like the Sony.

But I'm still waiting for the new Sony to come out, because I like the fact the players are designed to get where you want to get FAST. No click click click to play a song - and there's no 'now playing' feature (which I like) - and the volume control is part of the touch pad so it's easy to accidentally whack the sound up without realising what you've done until it's too late.

Anyway, it's nice to have 80GB even though I will be dead long before it ever gets filled up!! The 16GB Sony would be the perfect capacity. My only concern with flash players is their lifespan, so I don't know if it's 'safer' to have an HD player as back up?

aob9 I really wasn't impressed with the Creative Vision: M and my b'f/s Zen Touch sounds horrible. I guess everything has to live up to the Sony sound and that's a hard thing to do. If you'd never listened to a Sony, you'd never know know what you were missing, but we know what it sounds like!

At this stage I am going to keep the Zune till the new Sony comes out, and then wait for someone to review it!!

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:D:D LOL

Yeah, MS is the reverse of Sony. The software is unicode capable, yet Microsoft refuse to put the required fonts on the Zune itself. Even a Microsoft person complained about this on his blog.

The bad part is that all one has to do is add about four font files to display Japanese, Hangul, and Chinese. The problem is that even with the hack, you cannot get to the correct partition to add the files. You have to actually take the hard drive out, connect it to a PC, copy the files and then reassemble the Zune. I spoke with MS three times about this and each time they said it was being addressed....the first time was a week after the original Zune came out.

I have had a grudge against Sony for putting out regional "versions" of Sonicstage all these years, making it extremely difficult to transfer my Jpop over to a Sony unit...especially to U.S. region MD (early models). Both Sony and MS have been playing the region/race-card crap for way to long.

The simple fact is that Apple has a program (iTunes) that is unicode and supports multiple languages with east. AND, they have a device that displays those languages without problems. AND looky, looky, who is the leader in mp3 sales...and still growing?

I don't care about the Zune at this point, but if Sony would get off their high-horse and treat everyone equally (same software/same hardware/same colors - just different firmware) then they would save so much dang time and money.

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Thanks for the detailed comparison Juli, I really feel this is giving me a good impression of the Zune. And it's Elton John-loving software.

But I'm sure if you actually had Elton John in your library - the Zune would insist it was The Eagles. The criteria seems to be that if an artist is NOT in your library - the Zune will decide you should have an Elton John title in there somewhere, and rename it as such!! I didn't understand what was going on till I re-ripped the CD in the Zune s/w and saw that the artist came up as Elton John! It would have been laughable if I hadn't wanted to cry.

Sure, if you can perservere with Satan's software, and don't rip anything in the Zune software, there's more chance it will behave better.

But to be honest - 90 minutes to transfer one album? And the fact the Zune s/w allows you to fill in all the 'unknown tracks' it couldn't name when the CD was inserted - and then once it's ripped, they're all unknown again and Elton John is the artist once more? It's that kind of illogical rubbish that really annoys me. I know there are people here who are fantastic with all sorts of software - but I defy anyone to use the Zune s/w and not cry, scream - kill someone!

Why on earth MS didn't make it compatible with WMP is beyond belief.

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