The Creative Zen WAV hits the States
I have been lagging on this players review for the last month or so since I did not think it would ever make it to the US. But sure enough it found its way to Wal-Mart’s online retail channel. The WAV, Creative’s first player with built-in speakers sells for a reasonable price: $80 for the 2GB and $100 for the 4GB capacities.
I will post a review shortly but here is a quick take: The Zen WAV is pretty much the Zen V Plus with speakers, similar feature set and same great Zen interface and controls. The screen is subpar, but video watching is not too practical considering large Motion JPEG video files, like with the Zen V. The speakers are what you would expect-- not as good as the Sansa Connect or the Samsung K5, but they lend well to the WAV’s alarm functions. Overall the WAV is nothing amazing, but with its built-in speakers, it’s a niche product and may be worth a consideration at its current price.
Update: Check out the full Zen WAV review now posted.
Comments
Utew on August 8, 2007 11:45 PM
I'll be curious to hear one of these in action..
Yes, comparing it to the K5 would be a natural.. At 20 hrs of speaker playback time.. it would have a big advantage over the K5 (appx 4-5 hrs.). The LCD screen on the Samsung isn't extraordinary either.. so it should be a interesting comparison between the two. =)
EnzoTen on August 9, 2007 12:25 AM
The K5 is much more dynamic than the WAV. I listened to the WAV for and extended period of time with the acoustic dock and i found it to be fatiguing to my ears, much more so than than the K5. So im not sure you want to listen to too much music with this but podcasts or radio programs may be a hit.
However, on the other hand the K5's interface is not as intuitive and the touch controls may look great but dont lend well to easy use.
Utew on August 9, 2007 2:01 AM
I have mixed feelings about touch controls.. the K5 controls I like.. perhaps I acclimatized to them easier than most.
Enzo, I believe you on the Wav's speaker SQ.. it is, I suppose possible that they have somehow improved the sound, since the earlier units were silver (as in the above photo).... perhaps the new black/gunmetal grey colored unit we will see in the US, will be improved in this regard.
I'm hoping that is the case.. perhaps a firmware update to affect speaker playback quality.. yeah.. I'm a dreamer ;)
EnzoTen on August 9, 2007 10:21 AM
The 4GB is the black/gunmetal and the 2GB is the silver finish.
I dont mean to crush your hopes on improved SQ =)...., but i don't think Creative will be spending much time improving this one. I am almost positive this is an ODM player manufactured outside of Creative-- it dosent have the same quality feel as all other creative products.
But still... i dont think its a bad player for the price and it still have the great Zen interface.
Squee on August 9, 2007 11:39 AM
One gripe I have about this player is that it's missing volume control buttons...to adjust the volume, you actually have to go to the options menu...
EnzoTen on August 9, 2007 12:44 PM
I know that was my complaint too... ..the Zen V has one... =/
keybowvio on August 10, 2007 12:51 PM
why on earth would Creative bother producing a player that looks as crappy as this, when they already have like 100 mp3 players available?