Originally Posted by fuzzypenguin
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I have a Zen Vision:M--upgraded from a Dell DJ20 which was absolutely hateful. The DJ20 almost turned me off to MP3 players altogether until a number of years later I researched and researched and found that the Zen had about 97 dB of signal-to-noise ratio (the noise is about as low as the quietest level a CD can produce). I've been really happy with the device.
I use my Zen with the following:
Ultra Ears Super.fi 5 Pro in-ear monitors
Sennheiser HD650 headphones
HeadRoom Desktop Portable amplifier with DAC
The biggest drawback right now is that I get better sound out of the line out port, but I have to attach the small docking connector to the Zen in order to achieve that. My Zen is in a DLO neoprene case and I have to undo the velcro flap to attach the dongle, which lets the Zen almost slide out on occasion (luckily, it all fits in a Travel Bag that houses the amplifier and 4-D battery pack, etc.).
A second drawback is when I bought mine, Creative stopped including chargers and I had to buy a separate charger if I didn't want to use USB.
All in all, though, the Zen is a terrific unit. Almost wonderful. Even using the headphone output with the Super.fi 5 Pro earphones is very rewarding, but using the line output through the HeadRoom amp and the HD650s is inspired.
Finally, the Zen Vision:M only supports MP3, WMA, and WAV audio files--the only lossless format is WAV and that format doesn't allow tagging and is pretty useless (besides being a memory hog). It would be great if it supported at least WMA Lossless, and I haven't checked Creative's website lately to see if there's a firmware update that will allow it to do that (I doubt it).
Have fun,
Scott
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I have a Dell Pocket DJ - have had it for over 2 years now, and it still works fine. I still use it often. I also have a 30GB Zen Vision:M, as well as a couple of Sandisk e200-series Sansas.
Scott, you do not need to use the "dongle" adapter with the ZVM. I used mine when I first got my ZVM (when they first came out in Jan. '06) for the initial syncing and downloading of my music onto the player, but I have never used it since. The iPod has much more third party accessory items than any other DAP combined, but the ZVM still has the second most, next to the iPod.
If you check out ebay, and search under "creative zen vision:m", you'll find many direct-connect sync & charge, AV-out, automobile charging cables for the ZVM that connect directly into the dock port. They are usually at a great price, as well.
Qables.com sells some outstanding line-out to mini interconnects for the ZVM. I got the black interconnect with the angled plug, and use it with my Xin SuperMini IV, and either my MylarOne XB's (IEM's), Grado SR225's or ATH A900's. Here's the site:
Qables.com
