A sleek, mean, listening machine (Creative Zen Sleek 20 GB)

Member Name: sifox1

Product:	Creative Zen Sleek 20 GB
Date:	03/01/06 (631 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Value for money, stylish, intuitive, amazing sound quality, fantastic battery life

Disadvantages: Apparently dodgy earphone socket, no colour screen

Firstly, apologies for the apalling title....I just got a little excited about this MP3 player. I got it for my birthday in November, and its taken me until now to remember to stop listening to it and loading songs onto it. I won't go into the detail too much, because you can go to the Creative website for that (very good supportive website), I want to concentrate more on why you might or might not want to purchase this player over others on the market.

When I started looking at possible MP3 players I considered the following makes...iPod (how could I not), Creative, Sony and IRiver. The others all fell off at that point due to poor quality, price or lack of features.

Now something inside me just stuck in my throat everytime I looked at or thought about the iPod. Now part of that is probably a refusal to add iTunes to my computer, and part of it is irritation that people are so easaily sucked in to a marketing scheme...but then I also read a lot of user reviews. The industry, (e.g. What HiFi) will tell you that the iPod is the best MP3 player on the market, but the users tell a different story. Endless tails of malfunctioning units, iTunes wiping things from computers, wiping the player if your songs aren't left on your computer amongst many other things. Now many people will argue that these are all issues you can get round. But I don't want to have to do that...I just want a machine that works.

So that narrowed it down a little more. I then decided on the iRiver...a fantastic bit of kit, although slightly more expensive....the one problem. Damn hard to get hold of. The version that I wanted is no longer on sale in the Uk, and the newer versions aren't quite as high in terms of spec. One benefit, they do record direct from stereo through an input socket. Still, not for me, so between the Sony and the Creative. Both have a 20GB version. But, issues with software (Sonic Stage) in Sony, a shorter battery life, and a less sleek looking unit eventually made me go for the Zen.

And since I got it? Amazing battery life, huge capacity, carries WMA format for sound files, intuitive touch pad control, amazing sound quality, Creative Media Source is a nice program, and all in all a good package.

If you want a colour screen and photo capabilities go for the Zen Photo Sleek, and there is of course a 40GB version for those of you with larger CD collections. Although 350 or so on mine, and not even half full yet.

In conclusion, this bit of kit rocks, for the average joe, or joe-ess on the street this is a nifty bit of sound equipment, works beautifully, no problems yet, and well well recommended.

[Added in response to comments - I have had no problems with the earphones, they are perfectly fine, although I am going to get some wrap around ones as they are a little large and do not sit very comfortably. This was just a problem noted with the earphone jack itself by one or two people. To be honest through the phones with it now, I'm hearing stuff in the music that I've never realised is there before. The manual is short, if you want to do lots of stuff with it, you'll need the help file on the CD. The software is very easy to use, and much more intuitive than iTunes. Hope this helps. Simon]

Summary: Need a mid-range MP3 player at around £200...this is for you

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