Review of Creative Zen X-Fi (2)
One of the nice things about the interface is that the main menu can be configured to each user's personal liking. If a particular feature has no value to you, just remove it from the menu. The menu doesn't wrap around itself (i.e., once you reach the bottom, it doesn't continue from the top), so one less menu item to scroll through can be a welcomed omission. It actually doesn't make sense for the main menu not to wrap because the submenus, context menus, and media lists all do.
In addition to being able to set any photo, including zoomed-in portions, as wallpaper with various effects applied and brightness levels adjusted, the ZEN can be personalized with a set of six themes: (clockwise from top left) velvet red, marine blue, sable black, royal purple, neon orange, and forest green.
Transferring Content
The Zen X-Fi, like the ZEN, is an MTP-based player that only supports Windows computers. The official system requirements list only XP SP2, XP 64-bit, and Vista, but other operating systems and platforms could probably be coaxed into working as well.
XP and Vista machines will support standard drag-and-drop through Windows Explorer with no problem out of the box, but those looking for more advanced options like CD burning, video conversion, and syncing will need to use the newly supplied Creative Centrale (screenshot below) or third-party software like Windows Media Player, Media Monkey, or Winamp.
Audio
I've never been disappointed by the sound quality of Creative DAPs and after listening to the Zen X-Fi with my Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 Pro earphones, I have no reason to amend that statement. In fact, my ears tell me that the Zen X-Fi is the best sounding Creative to date . . . but only without X-Fi enabled and the EQ set to Off.
With the supplied EP-830 earphones, the first "premium" pair to ever be included with a Creative player, sound quality (regardless of the settings) is very good.
Users who have only used stock buds in the past will be incredibly impressed with the clear, rich, and loud sound delivered straight to their brains via the EP-830.
More discriminating listeners and/or those who've invested a few hundred dollars in a better pair of earphones (my super.fi 5 Pro launched at $250) and have extensively used more than several dozen DAPs will be less impressed with the unnatural sound created by the preset EQs and X-Fi but still pleased with the overall quality and extraordinary loudness. With my super.fi 5 Pro, for example, I keep the Zen X-Fi's volume set at 4 (of 25, mind you!).
Hardcore audiophiles with serious audio equipment will be . . . annoyed that I'm speaking for them. So I won't!
Xtreme Fidelity (X-Fi)
Creative X-Fi sound technology, according to the company's own What is X-Fi website, is designed to make music and movies sound "way better" because it "restores detail and expands the music to surround sound." In other words, X-Fi on the player is an audio enhancement similar to the SRS WOW HD sound effects found on other devices. The technology is different, but the general purpose (i.e., to improve sound quality) is the same.
On the Zen X-Fi, X-Fi has its own spot on the main menu. X-Fi Crystalizer, which remasters compression-compromised audio elements, and X-Fi Expand, which repositions the sound to the front, can be toggled on/off through the menu or My Shortcut button assignment.
Whether X-Fi actually improves the sound of your music is not for me to decide, but my music (192-256kbps MP3s) sounds better without it. Crystalizer seems to intensify everything but the vocals, which I don't like, while Expand just sounds muffled to me.
Other playback features include on-the-go playlists, play modes (normal, repeat track, repeat all, shuffle, shuffle repeat, track once), custom and preset EQs, Lookup Artist (searches for other songs by the artist being played), bookmarking, rating, and a DJ function (album of the day, random play all, most popular, rarely heard, highly rated, yet to be rated).
Video
Unlike the Creative Zen Vision:M and exactly like the Creative ZEN, the Zen X-Fi is very picky about the video formats it likes. Sure, the player supports DivX 4/5 and XviD files, but only if they are in 320 x 240 resolution and encoded as standard MPEG-4 SP or ASP without GMC support. Whereas the Vision:M was a free spirit that could play just about anything you asked it to (including odd resolutions), the Zen X-Fi is a stickler that refuses to bend, or even lean on, the rules.
When you do happen to load something the Zen X-Fi likes (or you use Creative Centrale to convert the file first), watching videos on the awesome 16.7M-color display is a treat: smooth playback, vibrant colors, the works.
Wireless Features
This section applies only to 16GB and 32GB Zen X-Fi models. The 8GB model is not equipped with wireless LAN.
The Zen X-Fi is Creative's first player ever to have built-in wireless features (802.11b/g with WEP, WPA-PSK, or WPA2-PSK security). The capabilities are rudimentary compared to other wireless-enabled DAPs with web browsers, but it's nice for streaming and downloading content from the Creative media server (Creative MediaBox) or one you have at home.
Zen X-Fi Chat
The player can also use its wireless radio for instant messaging.
Official documentation mentions compatibility with Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger, but at the moment it seems that only Creative's own chat app is supported. [Update: Creative's app can actually serve as a gateway for Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. Check out a video demo here. Thanks, Michael!]
Though you can create an avatar as well as search for, invite, and add friends, instant messaging on the Zen X-Fi is unimpressive and nearly unusable because of the way the onscreen keypad and hardware controls interact with each other.
As stated in the "Controls" section of this review,
1 votes
