Creative Zen X-Fi?

[phasmaphobic]

I'm considering getting one of these, but wondering if it is compatible with my favorite program ever, MediaMonkek. Anyone have one, or otherwise have the skinny on this device?

[botijo]

Hi, there,
the following might be rubish, but a quick look at Creative's webpage stated that the Zen X-Fi needs "Windows Media® Player 10 or higher". To somebody like me, who can read between lines, that means that the portable uses MTP for synchronization, like many other Creative gadgets. Still, I wonder how about the SD card you can put there...
I hope I am right here.

As a side note... There is already a firmware update out (did not take long!), and there is no X-Fi chip on board. Sneaky as of lately.

[phasmaphobic]

As a side note... There is already a firmware update out (did not take long!), and there is no X-Fi chip on board. Sneaky as of lately.

Really? I've heard that there is indeed a chip. What's the source for this lack of chip?

[botijo]

You know, this is all marketing bluff. Please have a look at this wikipedia article. From the many things, what they did with the Zen X-Fi is putting the Crystalizer in. As you know, or should know, saying that you can not only recover the 16bit accuracy of a CD, but 24bit accuracy from an MP3, that is a big lie. And Crystalizer is by no means the most processor consuming feature of the Soundblaster X-Fi cards (see 3D sound in multichannel enviroinments), so Crystalizer can be put on any DSP, as far as I can tell (see the low end card that was rebranded as X-Fi, doing the Crystallizer via software).
But giving the brand X-Fi to the Zen, well, that is particullarly confusing. It just does the Crystallizer stuff as far as I know. Ok, maybe some stereo expanding. I wonder if people could not create a device that actively does noise cancellation without requiring extra batteries. That would be a really nice use of a powerful DSP. And not just this marketing stuff.
Call me ranting swede, but damn, I know that even uncompressed audio CDs have noise coming from the mastering process. How can you have 24 bit accuracy if somebody put noise at the 16 bit levels? (The reason for that is that you are likely to like random noise better than quantization noise). Damn, I just hate marketing stunts.
At the end, they just branded X-Fi because of the Crystallizer stuff that is not X-Fi dependant, as they already demoed with that rebranded Audigy card.

"If they got someone up to the moon, how come they could not have left him up there?" - THE ranting swede.

[botijo]

The reason for that is that you are likely to like random noise better than quantization noise

Found another wikipedia article.

[phasmaphobic]

Sorry, man, you're just not dissuading me =) Sounds like you have some kind of serious personal axe to grind here...

[botijo]

Believe me, it is not Creative (happily gaming with an Auzentech X-Fi Prelude), it is marketing in general. I remember that time somebody some years ago was selling more youghurts than usual because he said it had some bacteria in it (L. Caetias something). After some research, it was obvious to me that without that bacteria, you could not have youghurt. So simple was it.
Oh, man, do you know what is the definition of an 16 bit converter? That all the bits toggle! Such simplicity soooo misleading.
Marketing... You could live without them, but who will then tell you about new exciting products? The Zen X-Fi looks like a decent product (except for the X-Fi branding and the Crystallizer). To me the best part of the whole is that it is bundled with a decent earphones. I hope you enjoy it!

[Eyal]

Your completly right, botijo.
Marketing...
I have a X-FI PCIE sound card and got tired on the crystalizer which produces noisy sound on a good audio system.

phasmaphobic: If you don't need the extra features like integrated speaker and
wireless (16 gb), you'll be better with the Creative ZEN (non-X-Fi) which is the
same price and have the same internal hardware and software interface.

I have one for many mounths now, and it's my best player compared to other brands.
No problems synching with MM.

About the SD card: the Zen will treat it like a second storage location. It will not expand the internal memory, and most functions of the player (like playlists) will not work with the SD card.
Its main purpose is to add space storage.

[RobSpook]

Bringing this topic back from the dead... I don't care about opinions of this device, does anyone one here actually USE one with MediaMonkey?

Do the playcounts and ratings sync correctly using this MTP device?

[nynaevelan]

Hi Rob:

I use one and yes the playcounts sync correctly back to MM, I am not sure about the ratings because I do not rate on my player.

Nyn

[nynaevelan]

Hi Rob:

I use one and yes the playcounts sync correctly back to MM, I am not sure about the ratings because I do not rate on my player.

Nyn

[RobSpook]

Nyn,

This is funny, you always arrive with the answer whether it's basic or script use... Thank you very much!

Do the last played times/dates get synced also? Does this play better than the ipod's with mediamonkey?

I am looking for a new player for Christmas and have decided against the iPod Nano 4th gen...

If I get this Zen X-Fi, I'll no longer need to use DEISync or keep my library on my laptop, since I have 14 GB of music and would get the 32 gb model. I do however use last-played date and playcount data to build auto-playlists in MM though, so these functions are important to me.

Looking forward to hearing from you again m8! Reply in PM if it's better to discuss the device there.

[nynaevelan]

Nyn,

This is funny, you always arrive with the answer whether it's basic or script use... Thank you very much!

I always try to help, especially in areas where I have first-hand knowledge to assist other users as I have received assistance.

Do the last played times/dates get synced also? Does this play better than the ipod's with mediamonkey?

I am looking for a new player for Christmas and have decided against the iPod Nano 4th gen...

If I get this Zen X-Fi, I'll no longer need to use DEISync or keep my library on my laptop, since I have 14 GB of music and would get the 32 gb model. I do however use last-played date and playcount data to build auto-playlists in MM though, so these functions are important to me.

Looking forward to hearing from you again m8! Reply in PM if it's better to discuss the device there.

No the player does not sync back the playdates because the Zen's do not save the dates on the player. I have tried to see them in Windows Explorer and the crappy Creative software. Also, as with the other Creative devices you cannot play the files from on the player from within MM. But what I do is use Bex's Add/Remove PlayStat script to update my playdates. Since I only use my player when I am away from my home or work computer, this works for me. If you are looking for something besides a player which plays in MM or syncs back dates and ratings, this one is a good one. I like it but I've never been one to rate songs on my player so I do not miss this, and since I can use Bex's script to update my dates this player works for me. Also, I have no first-hand knowledge of iPods, so I am a little biased in my opinion.

Nyn

[RobSpook]

Ahhh, So the playcounts will update reliably, great! But, as I understand it, the "last Played" date will NOT change even though the playcount does. That's fine for me as I don't care when I heard it...

[RobSpook]

I pulled the trigger at Newegg last night and purchased the Zen X-Fi 16gb and a silicon case to go with it. At $165 I couldn't pass it up...

What finally sealed the deal on the Zen X-Fi over the 4th gen Nano was a review I read on Amazon... The new iPods apparently don't use the firewire charging pins, so my iLuv i177 alarm clock, JVC RAP11, and the iPod adapter I have in my '07 MINI Cooper wouldn't charge the new Nano. So a big lesson learned here is never to buy accessories specific for a single brand/type of media player. All three of those devices I listed have AUX inputs, so the Zen will play through them, but now I can't use the alarm function on my alarm clock , can't use the remote on the JVC , and will no longer be able to see the title of the song playing on my Mini's radio display (Who cares anyway?) The Mini scrolling system with the iPod adapter was a joke anyway... I'd much rather just use the player to select songs/playlists.

Now that my entire collection of music can be on the Zen, I won't need to worry about playdates/play history because I won't need DEI Sync anymore... I can erase my music library off my laptop as I won't need it anymore.

Thanks again to Nyn for the MediaMonkey/Zen X-Fi sync info as playcount sync compatibility is very important to me. I paid $40 for MM and wanted something that would play (close to) perfectly with it. I really appreciate the contributors to this forum and the scripters who expand MM and expect nothing more than a Thank You. You guys add so much value to MM, and I hope the MM developers realize that.

Sincerely,
Rob