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Creative Zen X-Fi 16 GB Video MP3 Player with Wireless LAN and Built-In Speaker (Black/Silver)
From Creative Labs
List Price: $199.99
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Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

Great MP3 player with some flaws.
Appearance:

Sleek and simple. The front is a very nice black consumed mostly by a gorgeous screen. Too bad the back and edges are a plastic that scratches very easily. The player is very light and fits nicely in the had.
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Audio:

Simply put, this is the best sounding MP3 player I have used (compared to Ipod, Insignia, Zen: M, and even Sony players). The superior quality audio is what makes this MP3 player my favorite on the market.
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X-Fi:

This player has two X-Fi sound enhancement features crystallization (which is meant to enhance music to match CD quality) and expand (which is meant to create a surround sound effect when using headphones).

I personally felt that the crystallization feature did an excellent job at bringing out the instrumentals in my music without taking away from the lead vocals. However, the biggest improvements are noticeable on tracks with low bit rates (most of my music is 64kbs WMA). On tracks with higher bit rates (128kbs WMA / 256 kbs MP3 and up) there is a minimal improvement at best from the crystallization feature.

The expand feature works by increasing volume in one ear while decreasing volume in the other (for example – I`m making up these percentages – if drums are supposed to be at 100% volume in the left ear and 0% volume in the right ear, this feature will adjust the drums to 90% volume in the left ear and 25% volume in the right ear). I feel that the expand distorts the audio.

Thus, I would recommend keeping the expand feature off, and the crystallization feature on and even at max if used with tracks at low bit rates.

Nonetheless, I feel that the quality of sound on this MP3 player is unbeatable with or without the X-fi feature turned on.
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Video:

The 2.5″ screen is bright and the colors are brilliant, making this seemingly a perfect video player. However, with the Zen X-fi it is not as simple as it was with the Zen Vision: M. Almost all DIVX, XVID, and WMV files that are supposedly supported by this player would experience errors after transferring. Videos would simply not play at all, play with audio and video out of sync, or – really weird – play perfectly until interrupted to fast forward, rewind, or pause, then the audio would start over from the beginning while the video play from the appropriate place or vice versa.

As of the October firmware update, my issues have not been fixed. In fact, files that would once play audio and video out of sync are now experiencing the really weird error I mentioned.

Fortunately this video issue is generally overcome-able. I found the best thing to do is to convert all videos using Windows Media Player first (which will convert to the most compatible format and then transfer to the Zen X-fi). Unfortunately, this process is long, and although it does generate a file that provides smooth playback for most videos, it is unsuccessful for maybe 15% videos (same errors mentioned above).
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The earphones:

The included earphones sound really great, noticeably better then my Sony MDR-EX51LP fonotopia earphones. However, they have a big flaw in terms of durability associated with the flexibility of the wire immediately following the 3.5mm plug (I am already on my second pair). I WOULD SERIOUSLY RECOMMEND wrapping electrical tape around about an inch of the cord starting immediately after the 3.5mm plug, to prevent any problems.
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Extras:

The good: FM radio with 32 presets with decent reception, useful microphone despite not-so-good recording quality, surprisingly loud and decent sounding speaker (which I have used a lot more then I ever expected to).

The bad: The wi-fi is battery consuming and has very few features. Files on SD memory cards are in separate folders from those on the players memory.
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Summary:

The Zen X-fi is a good looking, incredible sounding MP3 player. Despite a few serious flaws, I would highly recommend it.

Bad interface, worse software
Creative has done it! They came up with a good mp3 player the Zen Vision, and then, decided to downgrade their image with a ridiculous mp3 player..
The button are to laugh about.Hard to press, and much worse than the touch pad they had on the Vision M. The Creative Centrale is way worse than the previous software. Not flexible at all. While the previous one had the two tab screen that you could just click on transfer and choose the folder the files would go to, now the only option is a default folder that you choose as library in the software settings.
Pros: Lightweight, SD Card, Very good sound quality
Cons: Everything else.
I Recommend you buy the MS Zune, despite being heavier and larger, its interface is much easier to deal with.
Hope Creative comes out with a new software.

Attn Dancers, Steppers and Choreographers–This Is For You
Creative Zen X-Fi 16 GB Video MP3 Player with Wireless LAN and Built-In Speaker (Black/Silver). Also applies to 32 GB Creative Zen X-Fi MP3 Player. Does NOT apply to 4 or 8GB Creative Zen MP3 Player.

This excellent MP3 player allows dancers, steppers and choreographers to record the audio of class sessions and listen to it anytime, such as sessions to practice or improve the choreography. For example, if a class uses building blocks of combinations, or concludes with a 32-count combination summary, a 30-minute recording of the build up can be split off easily during the class from the concluding 10 minute 32-count combination summary of the same class, allowing you to review, practice or perform the concluding 10 minute 32-count summary without replaying the first 30 minutes of the same class.

You also can develop lists of your favorite music by type of class taught, or taken, so you can pretest the choreography with the tempo and meter of the music before burning a CD with your computer.

At the present time, this MP3 Player does NOT allow the user to channel the music on the MP3 Player OUT through a studio’s audio system via a USB connection.

You may have to buy your accessories directly from Creative Labs in order to assure an EXACT match with the MP3 Player you buy. You will need a screen protector as well as a matching protective skin, and a quick charger called a Power Adaptor. If a skin doesn’t match EXACTLY, it will cover up the recorder’s microphone and the ON/OFF power switch.

NOTE1: When you receive your MP3 Player from Amazon, don’t panic. The tiny Zen X-Fi software CD and quickguide are inside the plastic container the MP3 Player is shipped in. You just can’t see them until you totally open the plastic container and remove a separator.

NOTE2: Each time a session is recorded, check the volume first. I like listening to music at Volume level 5 but have to reduce the Volume to level 2 before recording a live session. Distortion may occur if a session is recorded at higher Volume. This MP3 Player has an bar indicator to help set the recording session Volume.

NOTE3: Your session recordings will be filed on your MP3 Player AND in the CREATIVE CENTRALE media manager which Creative Labs provides in a software download. Look for a microphone image. YOU WILL NOT (I REPEAT NOT) BE ABLE TO MANAGE YOUR RECORDINGS OR RECORDING PLAYLISTS WITH MICROSOFT MEDIA PLAYER, so it’s really better to start using the full-featured CREATIVE CENTRALE as soon as possible. It manages music and video files as well as the recordings you make. You won’t be giving up anything important (that I’m aware of).