Creative ZEN Vision: M

Filed under: Multimedia Players, Reviews | Last updated: Monday, February 12th, 2007

Last update: Review by BiosMagazine (added on 12/02/07)

Creative ZEN Vision: M is a multimedia player developed by Creative Technology with the ability to play audio, video, FM radio, view your digital photos, record voice and many more. The device is equipped with a built in 30GB/60 GB hard drive with dimensions & weighs of 104 x 62 x 18.6mm/163g (30Gb) and 104 x 62 x 22.1mm/178g (60GB).

Creative ZEN Vision: M Latest Price Info

+ REVIEWS (last updated: 12/02/07)

BiosMagazine have reviewed the Creative ZEN Vision: M where they rate the device 8/10 and write;
“The player is well built, well designed, easy to use and has a host of useful features. But it’s not without its shortcomings. Most noticeably for audiophiles is that it only supports MP3, WMA, and WAV. Granted they cover the majority of codecs and most consumers will be happy, but there are quite a few hardcore users that would appreciate FLAC, OGG, AAC, gapless and lossless. Despite the lack of codec support the audio playback does not disappoint, especially when using higher quality headphones. It plays loud and clear even at high volumes, and only distorts when you really boost the low end and turn on the bass boost. Creative also keeps the audio setting to the essentials and does not confuse with extraneous and unnatural sounding audio tweaks like WoW SRS, 3DSound or any of the other synthetic audio enhancements. Quality of video playback is superb in all the formats. The frame rates are smooth and the video has no artifacts. The video also scales down nicely if the video is larger then the screen real estate of 320×240 pixels.”

CNET have reviewed the Creative ZEN Vision: M where they rate the device 8/10 and write;
“The good: Available in five colors, the Creative Zen Vision:M has an incredible screen, a simple interface, excellent video battery life, an FM tuner and recorder, and a voice recorder. It features a customizable Shortcut button, and it supports a wide range of online music stores and subscription services, as well as video formats. It has excellent audio and video quality. The bad: The Creative Zen Vision:M has no iTunes-like video content–yet. Some will find the touch-pad controller frustrating. The black model scratches easily. The documentation is skimpy. You must use an adapter for transfers and power, meaning that occasionally you need two cables and the adapter. A dock and an A/V-out cable are not included. Finally, the Zen Vision:M isn’t as elegant as an iPod. The bottom line: The dazzling, DRM-friendly Creative Zen Vision:M gives the iPod a run for the money as the current high-capacity WMA champ. “

Atomic has reviewed the Creative ZEN Vision: M and writes;
“Sound quality is excellent, and the earbuds are much better than anything Creative’s released before. We also tested with Sennheiser HD595 audiophile headphones which would show up any shortcomings in the output, but the Zen rose to the occasion. The response is clear and unmuddied. There’s a “Bass Boost” option in the menu which really needs to be enabled to get a true well rounded sound, otherwise it’s a little flat. With such high quality on tap it’s best to make use of the generous 30GB storage and rip your music at the highest possible sample rate to really fly…Creative has finally nailed it. The Zen Vision: M is the end result of everything Creative has learned over the years trying to compete with Apple. It is a serious assault on the portable player market and right now it is easily the superior choice. It will do everything you need well, simply and put a smile on your face while you’re at it.”

CNET Asia have reviewed the Creative ZEN Vision: M where they rate the device 8.2/10 and write;
“In terms of audio, the Zen Vision:M certainly delivered the goods when it came to the base line. The low end was tight and powerful enough without the need to activate the bass booster. For the mids and highs, there was detailed articulation though we felt the sound was a little too clean at times…he good: Fast transfer speed; wide video codec support; brilliant screen; improved vertical scroll. The bad: Stiff keys; bothersome sync adapter; thicker than the iPod. The bottom line: There is a lot going for the Zen Vision: M, and true to form, Creative has just created yet another iPod killer to take on the incumbent.”

ExtremeMHZ have reviewed the Creative ZEN Vision: M where they highly recommend the device and write;
“Battery life is, by far, the one area that truly blew me away. While the specs alone are much better than the Video Ipod, the actual tests showed that the battery really is capable of much more when loaded with properly encoded files. Video playback was an impressive 5hrs and I found myself playing a 1hr 20min DVD three times with plenty of juice to spare for music playback…Despite the deviation from their previous players in regards to on-the-fly playlists, the Vision:M was impressive enough that I can learn to live with the changes, regardless of how much I do not like them. The Vision:M earns my highest recommendation and worthy of the “Extreme Excellence Award”.”

+ VIDEOS (last updated: 12.02.07)

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